eKourier Jan 2017

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G reat feedback can be buried within the vitriol of an upset customer making a complaint. Good or bad, we should give weight to every message that our customers give us. Often, a negative experience can be saved and turned into an opportunity, creating a raving fan. Being able to assess and address customer complaints is the key and an area we can all continue learning from. Solving a customer complaint isn’t always about who is right and who is wrong, it’s about being willing to make it right. Here are a few principles for doing just that. LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND First, always listen to the customer. Don’t listen to respond, avoid the temptation to respond in any quick fashion. Take the time to listen and truly understand what is driving their concern. This is especially important when dealing with hostile customers. Don’t assume that because they are behaving aggressively that their argument has no merit. Regardless of the customer’s behaviour, the complaint contains insight. EMPATHISE This is the place where customers can be won over. Avoid defending your position, because doing so will only inflame the situation further. As an alternative, once you have listened to their concern immedi- ately empathise with their position to create a bond between you and the customer so that they know you have heard their concern and are going to work with them to resolve the issue. It is tempting to dismiss complainers as grouchy or overly sensitive, but by doing this we dismiss genuine feedback. Even if you believe the customer is 99% wrong, there will always be one small piece of the puzzle that will help us grow and improve our business or service. DON’T BE PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE If you are thinking “this customer is so wrong”, your tone and body language will give you away, no matter what you say. Before you know it, your attempt to express regret comes off as dismissive, all thanks to a misuse of tone. Just say you’re sorry. Even when the customer is being unreasonable, apologise outright

OFFER A SOLUTION Offer a solution to their problem. In this regard, always focus on what you can do as opposed to what you cannot. There is always a solution. It may not be exactly what they are asking for, but if you focus on what you can do versus denying them their requested remedy you have still offered a solution and often merely having another option is sufficient to remedy the situation. CARP DIEM TO RESOLVE COMPLAINTS
 C ontrol - Control the situation. Don’t let matters get out of hand. Showing control over a situation instills confidence in the customer A cknowledge - Acknowledge the customer’s problem, and assure them you will take every step possible to take care of the issue R efocus - Refocus the situation by staying on track, and keeping it about the compliant. You can also use this time to find out exactly what issue the customer is having P roblem solve - Problem solve, or troubleshoot, to solve the customer’s problem. There’s a good reason to handle customer complaints effectively, two actually. The first is, if a customer receives bad customer service and the matter isn’t handled effectively, then it can have devastating consequences to the business’ reputation. Secondly, if you turn the matter around and handle it well, then you just may have a customer for life. You have effectively turned a tricky situation into a raving fan! Lynda Walsh Operations Manager NSW/SA

and ask how you might help resolve the issue. If you come across a lost cause, keep it friendly, keep it professional, and ask your Operations Manager for further assistance. THE RULE OF 7-38-55 In communication, a speaker’s words are only a very small piece of the discus- sion. The pitch and tone of your voice, the speed and rhythm of the spoken word, and the pauses between those words may express more than what is being communicated by words alone. Further, your gestures, posture, pose and expres- sions usually convey a variety of subtle signals. These non-verbal elements can present a listener with important clues to the speaker’s thoughts and feelings and thus substantiate or contradict the speaker’s words. What’s this mean? Rolling your eyes, taking a deep breath, pursed lips, lifted eyebrows, shaking of the head, hands on hips, raised voices, the attitude felt in your tone… You know what I mean because we have all made a complaint in our life that we felt went nowhere. My experience was purchasing a glass of wine. After realising the wine was off I took it back to the bar to ask for a fresh bottle to be opened. The waitress smelt the wine and said “Smells ok to me”, we disagreed for a minute before she said “If you’re saying it’s off, I guess I’ll have to open another bottle”, all the while rolling her eyes. So whilst I got a fresh glass of wine, I walked away unhappy and never returned.

Next time you make a complaint, take special notice of how you are treated.

6 Kennards Kourier Jan 2017