Customer Complaints: Welcome!
Most people would consider me mad for suggesting that customer complaints were a good thing. We all strive to AVOID them, after all. Personally, I see a complaint as an opportunity for a number of reasons:
·
It shows where your business or organisation
could perform better;
·
It indicates that there may be serious problems
(e.g. fraud) of which you’re not aware;
·
You’re getting feedback from someone prepared to
give it;
·
Many customers will just switch to a competitor
without telling you what’s wrong. If
they’re telling you what’s wrong, they’re giving you a chance to put it right.
No one likes to receive complaints. However, a well thought out and implemented
complaints framework will not only pacify customers but also act as a tool to improve
performance and increase customer loyalty.
In my experience, these are the key actions that you can take:
1.
Ensure
that customers feel comfortable complaining:
None of us like to
complain/criticise. After all, it means
we’re pointing out that someone else isn’t performing up to standard. Equally, there are organisations (and I’ve
experienced plenty) which take offense at even the most minor observation. Train staff to listen before either making excuses or denying there’s a
problem. If a customer’s complaining,
there is.
2.
Make
it easy to complain:
Customers may complain face to
face, by telephone or in writing. If
they complain face to face, don’t make things difficult by saying that they
have to put things in writing to such-and-such an address. Have a mechanism for taking the complaint
down in writing (preferably without the customer having to do the work).
3.
Apologise
that the customer is upset and take responsibility:
By this, I don’t mean that you
immediately admit it was your mistake (unless it is obvious that it was), but
that you will investigate the complaint and revert with an explanation.
4.
Give
a deadline for your response:
Some organisations’ “Complaints”
or “Customer Care” departments seem to be empty rooms, for all the response
they give. Assure the customer that you
will respond within a set timeframe, whether you have completed your
investigations or not. This shows that
you’re serious. Nominate a suitably
experienced team member to investigate all complaints.
5.
Provide
a full and frank explanation:
However embarrassing, be
honest. Some organisations try to cover
things up – don’t try to deceive customers.
State where your organisation was at fault and what will be done to fix
this. Apologise at this point if you
were at fault.
6.
Fix
the problem:
Change processes, re-train staff,
compensate the customer. Check that the
new processes, systems and training work and that the customer is satisfied
with the outcome.
7.
Train
your staff:
No matter how good your
processes, training staff in complaint handling is critical. Being on the receiving end of a complaint can
be just as stressful as what caused it. Staff
need to know what the customer is feeling, how they themselves are likely to
react, how to get the essential facts in a possible high-tension situation, how
to defuse the situation and how to move on.
Don’t just throw them into work with a manual.
8.
Review:
Make sure you understand what
went wrong and why. Have there been
previous instances of the same complaint connected to the same customer,
product, person or department? Is there
a pattern? Review complaints regularly, keep a register.
I’ve tailored frameworks for a number of organisations and
customers and have found that everyone is different. How could you use this framework?
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Productivity, Selling, Strategy
posted by William Martin @ 09:44
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