Disappointed customers are part of any business. Whether it is a faulty product or bad service, there is always a chance that one of your customers will experience a problem. Though they are a small part of the whole, you need to treat them right. An angry customer can easily ruin your reputation and cost you sales in the future.
There are ways to handle these angry customers and here are some of them:
Listen to Their Concerns
The real first step that you need to take is to listen to your customer’s concerns. This can be difficult if there is no channel for customers to use. Providing solid customer service is very important. When customers don’t have a way to reach out to you about product or service complaints, they will turn somewhere else. This is usually a public review site or forum. They can then ruin your reputation.
With strong customer service, customer concerns will first go to your team so that you can address them. There are several channels that you need to have right now. There is the traditional phone hotline for customer support which is still the most popular. But you can also open an e-mail and chat support for your operations. This allows you to receive as many complaints as possible.
Work Out Potential Solutions
While your customer service team receives the complaints, you should be working on a variety of responses to customer complaints. Having a proper response to customer complaints can be a big help in turning them into happy customers.
First, you should have an idea of how to troubleshoot your products. If you sell gadgets to your customers, your customer service team should have a script on how to solve the frequent problems that they face. This includes the basics like turning the device on and off again. This can usually solve a lot of issues since many customers are merely careless. Your team should also suggest nearby repair centers that work with your products.
Second, if your business offers a service, your customer service team will likely be fielding calls that involve complaints about bad service. You need to have a way to compensate these angry customers. Usually, doing something about the issue should be enough. But you can also sweeten the deal by throwing in discounts and coupons. Going the extra mile helps improve your customer’s mood and reflects positively on your business.
Finally, you should be willing to offer refunds and returns for the worst issues. This is the last resort and can usually help soothe an angry customer’s feelings. However, this is not going to be simple and you need to have a solid policy about them.
Ready a Returns Policy and Infrastructure
Returns and refunds are not going to be easy. For one, while refunds are simpler, they still present a solid challenge to your company. It is the easiest if the customer paid for the product online via credit card. You will simply have to reverse the charge and you are good to go. But you’ll need to be sure that the customer is not trying to defraud you. You’ll need to set up an entire process for this.
Besides that, returns are another big issue. Returning a product is not easy since it starts with the customer and ends with you. Your company will need a reliable reverse logistics system that ensures that you get the damaged or defective product properly. You can then send them a new product or repair their old one and send it off.
Do Some Damage Control
The great thing about making a disappointed customer happy is that they are more receptive to your business. Use this to your advantage and have them give a testimonial about their customer service experience. This can encourage potential customers to trust your products and services, knowing that you can provide solid customer support.
Use Data to Improve
Besides improving your reputation, your customer service team can provide you insights into what is wrong with your operations. Collect the data about complaints about your business and use them to improve it. For example, if customers often complain about slow deliveries, you should put some effort into making your deliveries faster. This reduces future customer complaints in the long run.
You can’t underestimate how important a disappointed customer can be. If you can address their issue quickly and, in their favor, they can become one of your brand’s fervent supporters. But it will not be simple to do. Implementing the processes above are only the beginning. You’ll also need to maintain them so that your customer service never suffers or degrades.
Comments are closed.