The Five Best Ways to Deal With An Upset Customer

Regardless of your business there will be the inevitable situation where a customer is dissatisfied with your product or service.  It is a situation we never want to deal with but know we must.  “There is a lady out front that is unhappy with her ____________” is a term that no manager wants to hear from their employee but it does happen.  So as any good manager we rush out to greet the upset guest and find out what the problem is. 

But do you know the simplest and most effective way to address the situation?  Are you prepared on the spot to make the situation “right” for the customer?  Are you able to alleviate all their fears and concerns and to do so quickly?  

Here are the 5 keys needed to make this happen:

• Learn the facts from all parties involved

Before we can make a decision as to what steps are needed in order to resolve the issue, we must seek out all the facts of the case.  In an impartial way, speak with the customer to determine what happened and their impressions of why they believe they were wronged.  Then do the same with your employee(s).  

Find out what steps may not have been taken behind the scenes that would have resulted in the customers’ dissatisfaction.

Were all standard procedures followed; are these procedures even appropriate, or must they be adjusted, in order for this situation to not happen again?

• Know your abilities and limitations in the steps available that you can take to fix the issue

You need to enter the conversation knowing what you can do right now to fix almost any issue.  If you don’t then you will look ineffective and low-ranking in the eyes of the customer.  They want to deal with someone that can make things right for them.

There must be a system in place for a company’s hourly employees, as well as mid-level managers, to be empowered to quickly offer a refund, an upgrade, to “WOW” the customer by going above and beyond, or any other appropriate resolution without needing to first get approval from a senior manager.  This only delays the process and may make the customer feel as if they are being shuffled from employee to employee just to fix what they may believe is a small and easily addressed problem.

• Inform the customer that YOU are the person that will assist them

Do not hand-off the customer to someone else, take care of it yourself.  Peace of mind comes easy to a customer when they know that the person to whom they addressed their concern will see the resolution to the end.

But this may not always be possible so this is where the next key comes in.

• Get direct assistance from others in your organization; if you are not able to resolve the issue yourself

  
There may be times when a resolution cannot be achieved at the moment the issue is brought to your attention by the customer.  Computer systems may “be down” so a refund cannot be given.  Another branch office or location may be closed so you are not able to contact the person(s) able to fix the issue.  
But most times this will not be the case.

There will usually be someone else that is reachable and in a position to make the final decision regarding the customer, if you can’t.  Explain your situation, and that you are with the customer, either in person or by telephone, and that you need assistance.  This person may be able to give you the final authorization or recommendation to take care of the customer’s needs.

The ultimate goal is to quickly resolve the issue at the moment it happens.

• Follow-up with the customer (after action contact)

As part of the initial conversation with the customer you should be able to get their name, phone number, email address, etc. or will be able to do so later on in the resolution process.  This gives you the information needed to finally put the issue at rest.

Once the issue is satisfactorily resolved, personally contact the customer again for an after action report.  Depending of the method used the length of time between resolution and contact will vary to take into account different scenarios:

*A refund check was mailed
*A new food item cooked and presented
*A room upgrade was given

Each of these has a different length of time needed between resolution and follow-up.

Contact the customer.  Confirm that the issue has been resolved to their satisfaction, or preferably above their expectations.  Let the customer know that you value their business and look forward to seeing them again in the future.

One method I like to use is to tell the customer that next time they planned to visit our business, call ahead and I will personally make arrangements to book their reservation, take care of them at the check-out counter or personally make any other preparations for them. Then when they arrive finish off the experience with a “gift” of some kind.

This has been the best way I found to turn a dissatisfied customer into a loyal repeat customer.  And one that is appreciative of your efforts and actions.

How The Tire Shop Lost a Customer, Me!

It was a busy day, yes it was, but isn’t this what every business longs for?

If not for the busy days, the doors would shut, windows would be boarded-up and the suppliers clamoring for payment.  So how can we complain for days like this?  We’ll see.

I had a flat tire on my snow blower that needed to be repaired.  The storm was coming, at least that’s what the television weather people said, so I made a few calls to see which of the local tire sales & repair shops would fix a small tire on my blower.  Yes, it’s not a big job but one that must be done.

One of the first shops I called at 9:30am told me “Sure, we can fix that, bring it right over”.  Great news to start my day, I rejoiced.

By 10:15am I was already in the shop with my machine.  Well, not actually IN the shop, more like waiting outside the door at the back of the line.  It was a busy day and it seemed like everyone in the neighborhood was looking to get new tires for their car.  Remember, the storm was coming?

But the line moved fast and I neared the counter.  “How can I help you?” said one counter man.  “I called a little while ago about repairing the flat tire on my snow blower”, I said.  “Sure we can fix that but it’s a busy day today” was his reply.  “That’s fine”, I said, I can leave it here and you can get to it whenever you want, as long as it’s done by the end of today”.  “Ok, we close at 6pm” he finished.  I parked the blower right outside the shop window, left my name and cell phone number and was on my way.

As the day wore on and doing my daily chores I lost track of time.  I glanced at my watch saw it was a little after 5pm and no phone call from the tire shop.  I guess they just forgot to call me; it must be fixed by now, so I headed over to the shop.

The snow blower was still in the same spot as when I left it over 6 hours ago.  This is not a good sign.

As I entered the now quiet shop, only a few customers took up the waiting room chairs, I said “I’m here to pick up my snow blower”.  “I don’t think we got to it yet”, said the counterman.  After looking around he said “You’re next”.  “I’m next”, I said, “You have had the machine for over 6 hours and never fixed it, but NOW I’m next”?  “We’ve been very busy today” was his reply.

Not wanting to make a bigger deal of this I patiently waited 25 minutes for the mechanic to repair the tire on my machine, paid my bill, and was on my way home.

Why do some businesses lose sight of the big picture when it comes to their customers? 

We all want the big sale and prioritize the customers as they come in our doors but shouldn’t they realize that a small customer, this time in my case, can lead to a larger customer, increased business and more customers down the road?

We all have a circle of family and friends and are more than willing to recommend the goods and services of a business we like and one that has taken care of our needs.  My sale was not a large one, especially compared to the replacement of 4 tires for many of the other customers, and I understand the shop not getting to the repair right away.  But to forget about it and not make the repair at all?  This is why I left the machine and gave them over 6 hours for the repair.  I am still a new customer for them with potential business for the future.  Apparently that was not important for them.

Some studies have shown that almost 80% of small business customers make their choice on trusted referrals from friends and family.

Do you think that I would refer this business to others based on my experience?  Probably not.  I would have more respect for the business and its management, if I was told earlier that they expected to be very busy and would not be able to fix my machine today.  That would have been fine since I would just go somewhere else for the repair.  But their short-sightedness came into play and they now lost the opportunity for my future business.

By the way, the snow storm never came…