Devoted to customer service and the principles of exceptional customer services

Do you find it annoying when customers call you to complain? Do you try to avoid customers who call you everyday wanting to know if a situation has been resolved?

First of all, when a customer calls you with an issue, you should immediately try to fix the problem during the first call. If you cannot fix it during that first conversation, let the customer know that you will do some research and give them a call back that same day. If the problem still cannot be fixed during the work day, call the customer back to communicate that it’s taking some time for whatever reason.

I’m reminded of a day when I went to visit a manager friend at her office. She received a phone call while I was there from a “crazy customer” (my friend’s words) who had been calling every day for a week to check on the status of her “problem”. When the customer asked to speak to the owner, my friend told her that the owner was out of the office and she could not give her (the customer) the owner’s cell phone number. Apparently the owner was avoiding the customer’s phone calls. Big No-No.  The owner should have communicated to my manager-friend what the situation was and had her try to help fix the problem because my friend was at odds at what to do. 

So when a customer calls you to complain, always let the customer know what steps you are going to take to help them. Let them know that it may take a few days or so but that you will definitely call them back. And commit to that promise to call them back. You could even call them back every day and say, “I’m still working on your issue, so don’t think that I’ve forgotten about you. Thanks for your patience!” Also, let the customer know that if you are not in the office if he/she happens to call, another person (give them a name) can help them.  Then communicate to that other person what the situation is. Most customers feel reassured that there is more than one person working on their problem.   

But whatever you do, call them back! And about complaints, take the advice of Jimmie Wilkins:

“So when a customer complains, shift your mind from it being a nuisance to it being an opportunity to change that customer's mind and retain his or her business. You can improve your operations for everyone. It's better that your customer complains than leaves quietly, later telling everyone they know not to do business with you.”