4 Tips to Deal with Customer Complaints

Businesses should consider customer complaints as an important asset that can be used to improve their products and service. Whenever a complaint comes in, the best way to deal with it is to accept, take responsibility and take steps to fix the matter. Ensure a support strategy is in place to take care of customer needs and to effectively deal with the situation. This will help improve your business and keep your clients coming back. At times, businesses have to think out-of-the-box and change their strategy by being more accommodating in order to retain customers. Here are some tips for businesses to deal with complaints.

Remain Calm

When it comes to customer complaints, put your personal feelings on the back seat. Staying calm is the first step followed by the next step which is listening and pacifying the angry customer. In a scenario like this, strength lies in controlling your emotions and listening to your clients without interrupting them. When handling a complaint, support representatives should have a genuine conversation with customers as opposed to following a script. This will help develop an unpretentious human connection making the customer feel understood and cared about.

make them realize you actually care, help build trust and strengthen your connection with them.

Thank them for Reaching Out

If your customers feel they are cared for, they will always come back to you. Thank them for making an effort to bring the issue to your attention. Moreover, try to get back to them immediately with the best possible solution. Before ending the conversation thank your customers again and tell them they can call if they need further help. So, what started off as something negative could be turned into a positive experience by the business. It is also essential that organizations conduct extensive customer service training for staffso that they are prepared to efficiently handle all kinds of complaints.

Acknowledge Mistakes and Empathize

Always admit your mistake when it is your fault. Empathy is an essential skill that all support representatives should have. Use phrases like “I understand how you feel”, “I apologize” or “I see where your frustration is coming from” to calm the customer and take control of the situation. At the end of the day it should be a win-win situation; the CSRs should successfully play their part and put their customer service skills to use while the customer walks away with a solution.

Offer a Solution and Follow up

The solution could be provided in two ways. You can either propose one or give a few options to choose from. For example, if a customer complains about a damaged product you can offer two choices; they can either get the product replaced without any charges or return it and get their money back. However, while doing so, you should know what your limitations are and how far you can go with the solutions or alternatives.  After a solution has been provided, always remember to follow up with a customer and see how they are doing. Getting feedback from them is important to know if they are satisfied and what else you can do to earn their trust.