| |
| |
|
WebsiteAlways |
|
Committed To Your Customer? Prove It When They Complain!
Businesses like to brag in their advertising about quality of work, commitment to their customers, and excellent service. These statements are also proudly advanced in Mission, Vision, and Values Statements. They are foundational to success. But, let's face it we all occasionally make misteaks (misspelling intentional) and, even in the best of companies, anger a loyal customer. If we are lucky, we have built up enough "satisfaction-equity" with miffed customers that they will take the time and effort to complain, giving us the opportunity to correct the situation instead of them just silently defecting to the competition. It makes no difference if the complaint is justified or not (customers make misteaks also!), but when a customer complains, realize they are offering the company a chance to continue the relationship and save a customer by backing up all those claims of commitment with an immediate, polite, and satisfactory response. Let's assume the complaint is unjustified and the customer is dead wrong. You are in a position of potentially losing a customer without having done anything wrong so better respond fast. Respond by thanking the customer for bringing the matter to your attention and politely explain the customer's incorrect perception of error. Offer, a "thank you for your loyalty" extra service, coupon, or partial refund just to help induce the customer to return. After all, the complaining customer is giving you the opportunity to woo them back. On the other hand, if the complaint is justified and you are in error, think of this as a real opportunity to prove your mettle. If the error is systemic, change the system to insure this error will not happen again and notify the customer about the new procedure. If the error is just a dumb mistake, apologize profusely. In either case, offer inducements to right the wrong, and follow-up. If you sincerely work to apologize and explain the situation that caused the problem, reasonable people who have been satisfied in the past, will give you a second chance when you prove your commitment. Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com Questions??? Send an email to larry@larrygaller.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Customer-Service - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
One of the Secrets of a Great Customer Experience A few weeks ago we conducted our annual "Customer Experience Study Tour" in London England. This is where we take delegates to visit a number of leading Customer Experience companies for a behind-the-scenes look at how they approach the task of building a great Customer Experience. Managing Your Business When One Client Takes Alot of Your Time How often has your schedule been thrown out of whack because of a client's needs?I try to live by the 80/20 rule: working from my home office 80% of the time and working onsite with clients 20% of the time. But, the past week has been the exact opposite. Committed To Your Customer? Prove It When They Complain! Businesses like to brag in their advertising about quality of work, commitment to their customers, and excellent service. These statements are also proudly advanced in Mission, Vision, and Values Statements. How to Easily Increase Your Profits Do you remember the last time you went into a shop and the person 'serving' raced over to you, greeted you with a lovely smile, heaps of enthusiasm and said, "Welcome to our store, what can I help you with today?" And then listened attentively to what you had to say?Doesn't happen very often does it? In fact, while I was writing this, I couldn't recall when I had experienced it. I'm sure I must have yet it would have been so long ago, I can't remember. The Death of the Loyal Customer One of my classes in management focused on the repeat customer. The course stressed the importance of the repeat customer to the financial welfare of the business. Establishing Yourself as an Expert in the Eyes of Your Customers The most important aspect of a successful business is developing the correct mindset toward your customers. And this is not the over used phrase The customer is always right. First Contact: The Source of Customer Loyalty With customers being smarter, more cost conscious, more product knowledgeable and more demanding, improving customer service has become a major focus within many businesses. In Customer Satisfaction is Worthless; Customer Loyalty is Priceless, author Jeffrey Gitomer contends the real solution is shifting the paradigm away from customer service to customer loyalty. Can Three Words In Websters Dictionary Be The Key To Customer Loyalty? Are you concerned about customer loyalty? Are your customers so loyal that they will stick with you through hell and high water? And if not, you really need to question how you can create a customer relationship that's so gluey, that you never go bluey in the face. Funnily you don't have to go far. If Everyone Thinks They Give Good Service, Why Do We As Customers Think Its Poor! First of all let's look at what customer service is all about.If you go into a shop and talk to anyone who works there you expect to be treated with respect, not sold to and to have en enjoyable experience. Do You Want More Profits? - Follow The Golden Rules Of Providing Good Customer Service Last night I was at my computer and a Skype chat window opened up with a link in it from a stranger. I clicked the link and was taken to one of those "You would have to be crazy to pass up this business opportunity" sites. Stand Out in Business the Write Way When was the last time you received a handwritten note from a business associate? It may be that it was too long ago for you to remember. On the other hand, if you have gotten one lately, you know exactly who sent it and when. Is your Online Business Customer-Friendly? Customer service is increasingly seen as one of the most valuable uses for a commercial World Wide Web site. Your Web site is available on a 24 hour, seven days a week basis. Hit The Jackpot With Customer Complaints Our most powerful instinct is to avoid customer complaints, but they may be the best thing that happens to your business. Here's why. Making the Connection: Customer Relationships That Build Your Business Have you ever wondered why you often find a coupon tucked inside your cereal box, or get invited to a customer preview sale at your favorite department store? Those companies know that their existing customers are the best - and most profitable - customers they'll ever have. So it's not surprising that they'll do whatever they can to keep these customers happy and coming back again and again. 4 Customer Service Mistakes Companies Should Avoid Making 1) Being placed on hold endlessly. Don't you just love it when you call a company and they place you on hold, leaving you to listen to their latest on-hold, recorded sales pitch, over and over again. It's Customer Service Stupid: Delivering Customer Service Training That Sticks "Society is always taken by surprise at any new example of common sense."This Ralph Waldo Emerson quote opens one of the most impressive works on customer service: Michael LeBoeuf's book How To Win Customers and Keep Them For Life. Small Business Customer Service Can Work Against You Is the special treatment you designed specifically to keep customers coming back working against you?A local jeweler offers free lifetime battery replacement for any watch he sells. It's a good hook to keep customers walking back in the store on a regular basis and increases his sales volume. Customers - What They Really Want - 6 Secrets of Customer Service What customers really want can be divided into two areas.Firstly - they want the core service of your business to meet their needs. Find Out Where Your Firm Stands in Today's Customer Looking For Ways to Improve Sales and Customer Relationships?Find Out Where Your Firm Stands in Today's Customer Touchpoint Management (CTM) Revolution by Taking the CTM Quiz(San Rafael, CA) What could be more important than improving sales and your customer relationships? Today, there is a fast growing movement, a revolution, among organizations interested in improving their customer-centricity through a better understanding of customer interactions, or "touchpoints." Called "Customer Touchpoint Management" (CTM), the goal of this new movement is to improve customer experiences, and as a result, improve customer relationships. Attitude of Service When conducting a training session about customer service, I always spend a fair amount of time talking about attitudes. After all, to be of service, you must develop an attitude of service.
|
| Interesting articles | Home | site map | Link |
| © 2006 |