No matter how good you are as an individual, or how well prepared your company is, there will come a time (quite regularly) where you have to face customer complaints or queries about your product and/or service. Dealing with customer complaints successfully and effectively is one of the key components of a great customer service agent.
Learning how to effectively deal with a complaining customer gives you the opportunity to turn a dissatisfied customer into a happy one, and here are a few short tips on how you can approach each situation.
Listen Carefully – Everyone wants to be listened to and from an irate customer this is first and foremost what he or she is looking for from you. Stay calm and remember they are not attacking you personally.
Repeat and be Inquisitive – Once the customer has told you the problem, repeat it back to them to show you have listened, speak their name so they know they are important and ask for more information to help you deal with the situation.
Place Yourself in Their Role – Be on the customer’s side and empathise with them. Apologise in a simple manner, without placing any blame, and tell them that you will look for a resolution immediately.
Look for Solutions – One way to keep the customer happy is to ask what they would see as an acceptable solution, whilst offering options. Working together shows the customer that you are on their side and even if you can’t help them right away, they need to feel like their problem is being resolved ASAP by someone who can.
Dealing with customer complaints is part and parcel of being in a customer service role. Having the stock answers ready, and being able to deliver them in a human and genuine way, whilst looking for the correct resolution in a fast timeframe is a skill. We have a wide range of training courses available for you to browse on our website. Take a look and see how Welcome to Excellence can help you raise your customer service standards.
