You are working hard. Things are moving along. Then all of a sudden you hit a road block; a complaint. Someone does not like what you are doing or planning to do. Someone may feel he was unfairly treated or he may feel that he has been forgotten in the process. You must stop in your tracks and deal with this complaint but how can you minimize its impact and keep the momentum going?
Don't Take Complaints Personally
The first thing to remember is that feedback – be it positive or negative – is an integral part to any process. It helps to make sure that all the angles have been thought of and that the process is fair and equitable. If you see the complaint as a personal attack, it will create drama and demonstrate a lack of emotional intelligence on your part. Even if there is malice intent in the complaint, ignore that aspect of it and look for the truth in the complaint. Take a deep breath and focus your energy on finding a resolution.
Show Appreciation for Customer Feedback
The first step in a resolution process is to thank customers or clients for offering their feedback. Allowing a customer to have a voice is one of the most powerful marketing techniques. After all, customers buy your product or service and advertise your product or service by word of mouth.
Listen, Agree and Respond
Listen carefully to the complaint and resist the urge to react emotionally. Stick to the facts of the complaint that you can agree to and respond to with an action plan.
Keep Resolutions Simple
Find a simple solution to resolve the situation, but be sure that your supervisor is consulted. Supervisors will not respond well to learning about the situation by surprise. Keep supervisors well informed throughout the resolution process. Make sure the solution works within company policies and procedures but doesn’t cause unnecessary complications or stress to the customer.
Let the customer know the steps you plan to take and if appropriate, keep customers updated on the progress of your action plan. Once the problem is resolved, let your supervisor know. Review the lessons learned throughout the process and implement preventative measures to ensure the problem does not reoccur.
Steps to Handling a Customer Complaint
- Give customers a voice
- Thank customers for their feedback
- Listen carefully to the problem
- Agree with the truth in the complaint
- Stick to the facts when responding
- Make solutions (action plan) simple for both your company and the customer
- Get sign off from your supervisor on the action plan
- Explain your action plan to the customer
- Implement your action plan
- If applicable, report back to the customer on the progress of the action plan
- Report back to your supervisor on the outcome of the action plan
- Learn from the feedback and prevent a repeat
Satisfying a customer who has made a complaint not only improves client relations it improves business processes overall. Solving client or customer problems with emotional intelligence is the professional way to ensure repeat business.
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