Customer complaints and how to handle them

The customer is always right. Is he?

If you’re engaged in some sort of business activities, you know customer complaints are something you’ll never be able to avoid. No product or service is able to meet the standards of every consumer and no service, provided by people, can be perfect all the time.

Thus, while constantly striving to improve the quality of the goods or services businessmen deliver to their customers, they shouldn’t concentrate on avoiding consumer complaints or satisfying every single requirement of a disappointed client so that he doesn’t turn the issue into a massive scandal, damaging the image of the provider. That would be destructive to the whole business, as well as cause unreasonable losses.

However, it’s rather crucial to address those complaints, make sure to look into the situation and try your best to resolve the conflict by finding a compromise among the customer’s and the business’s interests. And, as the top priority of a business owner is to make his services more and more useful and enjoyable for a wider range of clients and thus receive stable growing revenue, remaining open to constructive criticism and willing to find the way to correct your mistakes or clear up the misunderstandings will only help you reach your ultimate business goal. It will prove the quality of your product/service, keep the client true to you as a provider, help you avoid unnecessary resonance and the loss of current and potential clients. That’s especially vital for smaller locally based businesses who live off their relationship with customers.

Remember even the short-term costs of meeting the requirements of the complaining party are not comparable with the potential damage your business will undergo if the client whose voice wasn’t heard takes the protection of his consumer rights to the next level.

So, don’t be super defensive when you face another consumer complaint and use these tips to address them the right way, learn from the experience and treat the situation as the chance for improvement.

Tips to deal with customer complaints

1. Open your business to customer complaints

   Consider them to be the free gifts from generous customers, who, despite their experience with your services, spent his time to let you know what you’re doing wrong and gave you a second chance to fix the problem and improve your operation. If you have your profiles on contractor referral websites like HireRush.com (which you totally should in order to develop your business), monitor the customer reviews and treat the negative ones just as the ‘official’ complaints. Create your business profile

2. Approach the complaining customer with a positive and understanding attitude

   Remember, that no matter what happened, it’s the negative experience with your business that caused his disappointment. Thus, apologize even before your start getting to the unpleasant discussion and determine who’s right and who’s wrong.

3. Make the process of leaving a complaint easy for your client

   Work on the complaint resolution system to make it effective and easy going. Your customers should be able to settle the problem without bringing it out from the provider-consumer level and taking more serious steps (like enlisting the help of consumer rights protection authorities or court) to satisfy his legitimate interests.

4. Bring the tone down

   If the air gets too tense, don’t deteriorate the situation. Stay calm, reassure your client that you’re going to do your best to solve the problem and ask him to explain the situation without excessive emotions.

5. Be patient and let the complaining party speak out

   Listen to the customer to hear his version of the events to understand what was the reason behind the issue and what the client needs you to do to essentially make him happy. Sometimes a small talk with a customer will help you come to the conclusion that it was a simple misunderstanding that made him disappointed at your performance. But, if you find out that the complaint is your/your employer’s fault, you need to acknowledge it, get to the root of the issue and make up for it.

6. Prioritize the interests of your customer

   Make your employees (if you have any) aware of the fact that it’s exactly what they have to do. At the same time, don’t underestimate the importance of hearing the voice of both sides. Apart from getting to the bare truth and developing the solution, sometimes that helps businessman to deal with dishonest workers and customers.

7. Protect your grounds

   Don’t confront even the most aggressive clients, but make sure that the matter they complain about really violates their rights and constitutes the improper conduct of your side. In other words, check if there’s any mistake to be corrected.

8. Offer a few choices that equally satisfy customer complaints

   Maybe, they won’t coincide with the clients’ requirements. But they’ll show that you’re not refusing to fix your mistakes, as well as provide a few options of a sufficient compromise. For instance, if you’re a flooring contractor and you didn’t manage to install hardwood floors before the required deadline, offer a discount or a bonus cleaning. If a worker from your housekeeping company didn’t show up, make sure your client gets a free cleaning.

9. Execute what’s promised

   No complaints should be left without a fully executed solution. The remedy should be provided in the shortest time possible. As an owner, you need to monitor how the solutions to the complaints are executed to avoid further problems.

10. Don’t forget to follow up

    Reach out to the clients (via e-mail, who left the complaints to figure out if they received the proper remedy you’ve settled on. Ask if they have any proposals regarding the ways of improving your service. Offer a few bonuses to make up for the negative experience and make the client confident that his case was just a rare accident rather than the rule. Let him feel like a valuable client and ensure that he’s very welcomed to return and use your services/buy your goods once again.

Finally, you need to learn from your mistakes. Thus, take immediate actions to prevent the repetition of the unpleasant situation and keep track of customer complaints to determine the areas of your operation you need to improve ASAP.