Typical customer complaints will involve
the customer calling the company and telling you about a product or
service which is not performing as per expected standard. Such a
customer complaint may be genuine or there may be some oversight from
company end due to which the customer is suffering.
The reactions of customers can vary if
their product is not performing up to mark. Some customers might show
more patience than others. In any case there needs to be a set protocol
to handle irate customer. Thus we are outlining a 7 step method for
handling customer complaints.
1 Have thorough knowledge of your own
products / services – Before handling customer complaints, you need to
know your own systems inside out. A customer who is calling for a
complaint will be even more enraged if you do not know your own products
or services.
2 Listen to the customer – Not listening
to the customer can create grave problems. Imagine if the customer has a
genuine problem but instead of listening to the problem completely, we
start giving the wrong solutions. This can only elevate the situation
further.
3 Confirm customer complaint – A company
generally has a service setup in place to take care of customer
complaints. Thus if you have received a complaint, first you need to
confirm with the service department whether they are already taking care
of the complaint. If they are, then the customer needs to get in touch
with the service department. If they aren’t, then you need to promote co
ordination between the customer and the service department. Proper co
ordination between departments is the strongest way of handling customer
complaints.
4A find a resolution if problem is
genuine – If the customer complaint is genuine, than you need to find
the resolution at the earliest. The resolution might include a refund, a
replacement, repairing or rectifying the error. In either case, there
needs to be a clear policy of how customer complaints have to be
resolved. In absence of such policies, your employees will not be
empowered to take decisions.
4B Handle customer properly if problem is
not genuine / not as per company policy – In some cases, the customer
might be unlucky and his product would not be under warranty or his
complaint might not match company policies. In such cases, customer
complaints needs to be handled politely but firmly and the company
policy needs to be communicated to customers such that there is no bad
blood later towards the brand / product.
5 Convey your commitments to the customer
– Once you know the resolution of the complaint, the same needs to be
communicated to the customer and a strong commitment needs to be given.
The commitment needs to be fulfilled to avoid customer dissatisfaction.
6 follow up with customer after complaint
resolution – A way to ensure customer satisfaction is when he receives a
call from your service department to confirm whether the complaint has
been resolved as per the expectation of the customer.
7 Feedback after 1 week – The customer
might still be agitated after a week or so. But a simple confirmation
call after a week or so can go a long way in creating customer delight.
Asking the customer whether or not he is happy with the services will
build confidence of the customer in the brand and will help in future
for word of mouth promotion.
Handling customer complaints properly is
an important aspects of building brands. Over a period of time, if word
of mouth spreads that your company is good in selling products but not
so good in providing the right service, then be rest assured that you
will find it very difficult to get new customers via word of mouth. On
the other hand, if the general public are happy with your after sales
service because of your handling of customer complaints, your brand can
reach a top level positioning in peoples mind while making a purchase.
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