Dealing with unhappy, frustrated, and angry customers is way down on the list of things most people enjoy doing, probably somewhere in the same vicinity as getting a root canal.
Something we often fail to recognize, though, is what a fantastic – even priceless resource those angry customers actually are.
Think about it: who is ever going to be more honest with you than an angry customer?
Every complaint actually represents a golden opportunity to gain information, to improve your customer service, and – perhaps most of all – to convert one dissatisfied person into a brand evangelist, a loyal and devoted customer for life.
On the other hand, if we don’t seize this chance to make things better, we risk that customer spreading their story around and damaging our brand’s reputation.
How can we ensure that those unhappy customers benefit us instead of tearing us down?
Three Steps to Making the Most of Unhappy Customers
People generally become upset for one reason: their expectations weren’t met. Whether it’s a product issue, a delivery problem, a communication failure, or a simple mistake, the customer expected something to happen that didn’t happen. When they call you, they are looking for a solution – but perhaps even more than that, they are looking for someone to listen to them and understand why they are upset.
Your job is to listen and to empathize with their issue. It’s not difficult to help a customer feel like someone understands and cares – just say, “Wow, that must have been so frustrating for you! I’m sorry you had this experience… thank you for letting us know. Let’s see what we can do to make it right.”
Regardless of whose fault it is, the customer is unhappy and the primary goal of customer service is to make them happy again. There’s no benefit to pointing fingers, passing the buck, or deflecting blame – just work to meet and exceed their expectations.
This is what converts an upset customer into a customer who feels valued, important, and respected – and that is a customer who is not only going to buy from your company again, he is also going to recommend it to several friends (or possibly hundreds of blog readers). When customers know that you will make it right when something goes wrong, they will come back again and again.
However, the customer’s complaint was probably not unique, even if it’s the first time you’ve heard about the issue. Unhappy customers are your best source of feedback about the customer experience- they let you know when something isn’t working the way it should.
This data needs to be collected, analyzed, and acted on. Individual complaints can form patterns that reveal systemic problems or shortfalls. The more attentive your company is to these valuable sources of information and the more proactive it is about making improvements, the greater advantage you have over the competition.
When a customer tells you about a problem, listen – and after you fix that customer’s problem, you can fix it for all of your other customers, too!
A Relationship of Trust
Customers understand that not everything is always going to go smoothly. When something goes wrong, that’s life. From the customer’s perspective, what’s more important is how your company responds.
If you show customers that they can trust you to make it right when their expectations aren’t met, you rebuild trust and forge a relationship with customers that will last over time.
This is the kind of service that produces not just loyal customers, but raving fans – brand evangelists who will spread the word about your company and its amazing customer service.
Baker Communications offers leading-edge customer service training solutions that will help you address the goals and achieve the outcomes addressed in this article. For more information about how your organization can achieve immediate and lasting behavior change that will uncover new opportunities, drive revenue, and boost your bottom line, click here.
