Tips For Better Customer Service

It’s a fact of life that you cannot please everybody, and dealing with unhappy customers will be, at some point, in your plate as a small business owner. No matter if you are new to running your own business or an experienced entrepreneur, the way you deal with angry customers can make your company famous for the right or the wrong reasons. Good customer service is highly valued by clients on all industries, and even if your angry customer is actually wrong that won’t stop them from spreading the word about how uncaring and unprofessional your company is to an average of 25 people! Keep on reading, and make sure the rest of your staff also knows how to deal with unhappy customers.

Step 1: Calm Everybody Down

It’s important to always stay calm, and try to get your angry customer to calm down as well. If you have a customer complaining loudly in the middle of your showroom you may want to offer them a coffee or glass of water in your office, but most of the time just actually being willing to help will help ease a tense situation. Always keep a cool and polite demeanour and don’t raise your voice even if the person complaining is being rude or noisy. However, if a customer is being abusive ask them to be civil or leave, in a calm voice. While abusive customers may be a small minority, it’s important to make sure you and your staff are safe.

Step 2: Listen

Your customer is upset for a reason, even if that reason is, in your opinion, totally unjustified. There are some people who just seem to like to abuse customer service but in the majority of cases your angry customer has a reason to be so. Keep a cool head and ask your customer what exactly is wrong, and actually listen to it without interrupting or looking somewhere else. It’s important that your body language also reflects the fact that your attention is 100% focused on your customer’s complaints. So no fiddling, looking elsewhere and by all means do not choose that moment to take a phone call. If something isn’t clear ask for clarification, but do not interrupt and be polite, and try not to look defensive or ask questions the customer already answered.

Step 3: Identify the Problem

Once the client has had his chance to complain it’s time to find a solution. If you are honestly trying to work with your customer to find a suitable solution, even if there’s nothing you can do, it will be noticed and appreciated. Sometimes the problem is easy to fix, for example an item that needs to be replaced because it’s not working. However, be prepared to deal with clients who just bought the wrong thing and are now complaining it doesn’t work as expected. Look for the unexpected: Sometimes a client who purchases a website doesn’t really understand that his hosting is the one to blame when the website suddenly goes online.

Step 3: Fix The Problem (Or At Least Try)

The most obvious solution to an angry customer problem is to fix whatever is making them angry. Often is a combination of something not working and frustration to get it fixed, so once you are talking with him or her things should have improved already. Provided it wasn’t a misunderstanding and there’s actually a problem, do your best to fix it as soon as possible, by allowing your customer to return the offending item or exchange it for something else.

If you are unable to provide a solution on the spot, explain your client what you are going to do, for example “My manager isn’t around, but I’ll ask him this afternoon about returning your purchase so you can buy the right one instead”. Even if it’s not your fault directly, it’s worth being helpful: “I will contact your IT provider and see why they haven’t come to install the satellite disk yet” or give your customer the contact details of whoever is responsible for their problem, but make sure it doesn’t look like you are just trying to get them away from your shop. Remember the golden rule “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.

Step 4: Say Thanks and Remember To Follow Up

Even if it sounds quite surprising, saying thank you to an angry customer for bringing the problem to your attention can greatly improve your relationship with them and show that you actually care. Think of an angry customer as an opportunity to improve your customer service. If you have the time and want to be known for amazing customer service, it’s worth asking your angry customer for his or her contact details, and calling them after a few days to see if their problem was fixed. This can go a long way towards an unhappy customer becoming a loyal defender of your business instead. Dealing with unhappy customers the right way guarantees that you’ll be known for your good customer service, and recommended to others, which is something no advertising budget can buy.