HANDLING CUSTOMER

COMPLAINTS
What is aComplaint?
 What is aComplaint?

 “An expression of dissatisfaction made to an

organization, related to its products or services,
or the complaints-handling process itself, where
a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly
expected”

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 Why do customers complain?

 Their expectations have not beenmet!

 To release their anger
 To help improve the service
 Because of concern for others who also use the
service

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 Why do customers complain?

 What proportion of unhappy customers complain?

 Generally 9%to 37%of unhappy customers make complaints
to the firms.
 The rest never bother to complain
 Why don’t unhappy customerscomplain?
 They think it is not worth the time or effort.
 They further think that no one would be concerned about
their problem or solve it.
 They do not know where to go or what to do.

Each happy customer will tell at least six other people

 Most common complaints...

 Wrong information
 Poor customer service attitude
 Overpricing
 Lack of adequate information
 Delays
 Unresponsiveness of service
providers
 ….
 ……
 The customer is not always right
but...

 The customer is always the customer and this means simply

that solving the problem is often more important than who
is right.

 If you can solve their problem without blaming yourself or

others,
 you will reducestress,
 everyone will feel better and
 you will be on your way to attaining CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION
Identifying a Complaint as aGift
 Is a complaint a gift? Why?

 Complaints are gift packages waiting to be

opened because they:
 Are given freely
 Are not solicited by the recipient organization
 Are unexpected…they come as a surprise(usually)
 Hold the key to happiness for the recipient
organization
 Ifthey are well handled

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 Is a complaint a gift? Why?

 A complaint gives you:

 Free direct communication from the customer about
service failures, competitors offerings etc. without the
added cost of conducting a survey
 Readily available market research: they define what
customers want

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 Is a complaint a gift? Why?

 A complaint gives you the opportunity to:

 Increase customer trust
 Build long term relationships-
 customers will use your services again if they believe
complaints are welcomed andaddressed
 Rectify service failures
 Engage customers asadvocates
 Is a complaint a gift? Why?

If a customer is complaining, you are being given a

chance to retain that customer

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 The customer’s needs when they
complain

 The customer has 2 separate needs when complaining-

 needs relating to the complaint
 needs as individuals and

 Example 1
 Complaint – the product is not working as expected
 Underlying message – I don’t understand the new technology, I need help

 Example 2
 Complaint- I was disappointed with the service during my last visit
 Underlying message – I am testing the value you place on my loyalty to your
business

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 The customer’s needs when they
complain

 Needs relating to the complaint

 To have their concern dealt with quickly, fairly and properly
 To be given what they have been denied and perhaps an apology
 To have action taken to rectify a problem or address a concern-
 a resultant process change

 Needs as individuals
 To be heard
 To be understood
 To be respected

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 When the customer’s needis
met…

You automatically Engage your Customer

as your Advocate!

 Who is your advocate???

 Aperson who publicly supports or
recommends you
 Someone who speaks, or argues in your
favor

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Steps for HandlingCustomer
Complaints
How to Handle Customer Complaints

 How do you react to customer complaints about the way

you do your work?
 Especially when you think you are doing your best???

 People react to customer complaints in different ways…

 Some
 Ignore complaints
 Become defensive
 Become angry or annoyed
 Are concerned about the loss of trade or the damage to their
professional reputation

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How to Handle Customer Complaints

 For others, it is
 A hindrance
 They just wish the customer would go away! Or
 They do not believe some or all of what the customer
is complaining about.

 These reactions are as a result ofblame being

attributed to us or our organization.
 How to Handle Customer
Complaints

 In making complaints, some customers portray the following

characteristics
 Lack of gracious social skills to communicate properly
 Nervousness
 Harshness
 Very Emotional
 Lack understanding of you or your organization’s limitations
 Rudeness
 Unreasonableness

 We need to learn to expect such behaviour and remember

however that a complaint is evidence that, in the customer’s
view, we have not met their expectations.

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 How to Handle Customer
Complaints

 Listen  Remember not to take it

 Repeat personally
 Apologise  Remain calm
 Acknowledge  Focus on the problem
and not person
 Explain action
 Thank  Turn unhappy people into
happy customers
 Follow up
How to Handle Customer Complaints

 Address customers by name

 All communication should be in the first person.
 Use “I am sorry” not “we”
 Don’t make excuses or blame others in your organization
 Give the customer your full attention and establish eye
contact
 Paraphrase their complaint in your own words to
determine whether you have correctly understood the
situation.
How to Handle Customer Complaints

 If you don’t know the answer to their problem, don’t

lie.
 Call back when you say you will, even if for some
reason, you haven’t been able to obtain a satisfactory
answer by then
 Make the customer part of the solution
 not part of the problem
How to handle customer complaints

 Don’t be defensive
 Be composed at alltimes
 Don’t take criticismspersonally
 Offer an apology even if the disservice is not your fault
 Show empathy by using such phrases as: “I can understand
how you feel”, “I appreciate what you’re saying.”
How to Handle Customer Complaints

 Tell them what you can do…not what you can’t do

 Find out what it will take to turn their dissatisfaction into
satisfaction
 If they agree to that solution, act quickly before they
change their mind
 Follow up
 And remember: You can never win an argument with a
customer
 Steps for handling complaints
At the organization’s level, there is the need for a complaint handling system which
will involve the following steps as a minimum:
Acknowledge It is important that you acknowledge the receipt of all complaints,
receipt of the verbal or written. Preferably allocate a complaint reference number
complaint and provide the customer with a contact point for further
correspondence.

Accurately record Make sure that your recorded version of the complaint matches exactly
complaint what the customer said. Also make sure that the complaint record is
information and accessible by any branch of the organization that the customer may
make itaccessible
contact.

Attach The company should attempt to resolve complaints on first contact,

timeframes for but if this is not possible, then a complaint should be finalized within a
resolution of specific number of days eg. 30 days.
complaint
 Steps for handling complaints

Customers must
be informed
As soon as you realizes that they are unable to resolve a
about anydelays complaint within the given timeframe, contact the customer,
in resolving a and inform advising him/ her of the delay and set a new timeline
complaint

Make staffaware
of complaint
The complaint handling procedures should be known to all
handling employees and be part of regular training
procedures

Inform Customers
Of Complaint
Posting your complaint handling procedures on your office
Handling premises is a good way to inform customers. Also these
Procedures procedures may be incorporated in the organisation’s brochure
Find out what your customers really
think…

 HOW?
 THROUGH

 Surveys,
 focus groups,
 mystery shopping

 One complaint statisticallyrepresents 24 similar ones

Strategies for ServiceRecovery
 What is service recovery

 Service recovery is how you remedy a failed service

encounter with a customer. In other words,
 pull a customer from hell to heaven in the shortest
possible time.

 It involves:
 apologizing,
 solving the problem,
 compensating the customer with something of value
 Service recovery

 95%of customers who have a complaint that was

handled efficiently and promptly will not only
continue to do business but will become even
more loyal (Wharton Business School)

 So how do you make amends or appease the

customer?
 Through
 product replacements,
 good will gifts,
 free of charge services, etc…
 Some important statistics

 Only 4%of dissatisfied customers complain.96%leave

without any communication to the business
 Of the 96%who leave, 91%will never return
 A typical dissatisfied customer will tell 8 to 10 people
about the issues with your business
 1in 5 dissatisfied customers will tell 20 people about the
issues with your business
 It takes 12positive service incidents to make up for one
negative incident

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 Some important statistics

 7 out of 10 complaining customers will do business with

again you if you resolve the complaint in their favour
 Of complaining customers, 95%will do business with you
again if you resolve the complaint at the first contact
 On average, a satisfied complainer will tell 5 people about
their problem and how it was solved
 It costs 6 times more to attract new customers than it
does to retain current ones
 Customer loyalty is worth 10 times the price of a single
purchase “How to win and Keep Customers” – Michael LeBoeuf

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Handling Difficult Customers
 Handling Difficult Customers

 Who is a difficult customer?

 How do you handle such people?

 Types of Difficult Customers

 Angry  Sarcastic
 Nasty  Argumentative
 Demanding
 Critical
 Non-stop Talker
 Indecisive
 Why Are They Difficult?

 They are often expressing  They are difficult for their

a need but chose an own reasons –
appropriate and impolite  not because of you
way to communicate this
need
Common Reasons For Being Difficult

 tired or frustrated  don’t understand

 confused or  in bad mood
overwhelmed  in ahurry
 defending their ego  other reasons…..
 unfamiliar with situation
 feel ignored
 under influence of drink
or drugs
 How Do I Deal With Difficult
Customers?

 “this job would be very good if it weren’t for the

difficult people I have to deal with everyday”

 Approach them professionallyand not

personally
 Taking things personally can damage yourprofessional
reputation
 Listen for the signals that you are taking things
personally
 How Do I Deal With Difficult
Customers?

 Check you customer service attitude

 Attitude is the key to success
 Attitude is your mental position on facts - or more simply,
the way you view things
 How Do I Deal With Difficult
Customers?

 Five points about  your attitude affects

attitude: everyone who comes in
 your attitude towards contact with you
customers influences  tone and bodylanguage
your behaviour. You reflect your attitude
cannot always
 your attitude is not fixed.
camouflage how youfeel
The attitude you choose
 your attitude determines to display is up to YOU
the level of job
satisfaction
 How Do I Deal With Difficult
Customers?

 Remind yourself!  Reinforce this bysaying…

 This is my job andI’m
going to do it
professionally
 If it were not for these
customers I would not
have a job
 Every time Isolve a
problem I will feel better
 “I like the job, not
because it’s easy, not
because there are no
difficult people, not
because there are no
frustrations but because
people are part of any job
and I can make things
easier by taking things
professionally
 Summary

 Be positive
 Take things professionally and notpersonally
 Aim for customer satisfaction, not just service
 Solve problems without blaming yourself or others
 Remember attitudes are caught, not taught