You probably won't have been in business too long before you get your
first complaint. It just can't help but happen: low-end customers pay
nothing and expect the Earth, while high-end ones pay a lot but expect
an inhuman effort in return. You just can't please all of the people
all of the time, even if you run yourself ragged trying -- there will
always be someone who's not happy with what you've done. So what can
you do about it?
Don't Be Rude or Dismissive.
The customer's complaint might seem stupid to you, or even insulting --
but that doesn't mean that you can respond in kind. You must treat
every customer complaint seriously, and always act as if it is 100%
your fault that things weren't to their satisfaction.
Remember that every unhappy customer will talk about their experience
to your potential customers (research varies, but some say that they
might tell as many as 20). Those potential customers won't get to hear
your side of the story. Going the extra mile to keep unreasonable
customers happy is, above all else, a defensive technique to prevent
them from damaging your business. Don't be scared of complaints: you
should, instead, be actively soliciting them, to give you a chance to
put things right before they tell anyone.
Write a Letter of Apology.
People will really appreciate the effort you've gone to if you take the
time to write them a formal letter of apology, and say that you're
sorry things weren't to their satisfaction and you appreciate them
taking the time to tell you so that you can improve. For example:
'Dear Sir,
It has come to my attention that you weren't happy with the service you
received from my company in respect of the delivery of items to your
home. We have now contacted our delivery service and fixed the issue,
although I understand that this came too late to avoid inconveniencing
you.
I would like to sincerely apologise to you for the bad experience you
have had with my company, and hope that this will not harm our chances
of doing business together again in the future.'
Make sure you sign the letter yourself, in pen. People hate seeing letters with printed signatures on.
Offer a Partial Refund.
The closing part of your letter should offer a refund of as much as you
can afford to give -- in this scenario, for example, where there was a
problem with delivery, you should offer to refund the full cost of
delivery, plus a little extra to cover the inconvenience.
In this way, you can turn your dissatisfied customers into some of your
most satisfied ones. They will tell everyone they know that there was a
small problem that wasn't your fault, and they probably complained too
harshly, but you handled it courteously and sent them a refund.
Having people know that you respond well to complaints is some of the
best word-of-mouth marketing you can get. What's more, that customer
you treated well is surprisingly likely to come back and do business
with you again -- although, of course, they'll be very annoyed if
things don't go well the second time either.
Do Some Complaining Yourself.
A large amount of the time, when a customer complains about something,
it wasn't caused by you -- it was some kind of problem with your
supplier, or someone else you rely on. Of course the customer didn't
know this, but you do, and you need to do something about them. Write
them a letter of complaint, like the following:
'Dear Sir or Madam,
Due to your service being unavailable this week, I have received the
attached customer complaints. I hope you will understand that I am very
displeased, and I am currently considering alternative suppliers.'
With this letter, enclose a copy of every customer complaint you got
thanks to them. Your supplier will often be eager enough to keep you on
as a customer that they will offer some kind of compensation package --
which you can then pass on to your customers, or use to cover the cost
of refunds you have already given them.
