10 Tips For Dealing Customer Complaints

10 tips for dealing customer complaints
#1: Put Your Emotions Aside

Whether it’s a friendly lady trying to simply tell you how to do your job
better – with the best of intentions – or a disgruntled customer ready to
erupt in rage, the best way you can handle any customer sharing a
complaint is without your personal emotions getting in the way. Calmly
listen to what they are saying, then just as calmly reply and react to them
with the following tips in mind…
#2: Avoid Challenging Their Complaint

It’s easy and – quite frankly – natural to want to tell a customer they are
wrong in what they are saying. However, this won’t help you in your
efforts to diffuse a customer from getting more upset while sharing a
complaint. Instead of challenging their complaint, listen to what they are
saying. And – dare I say – even thank them. Here me out…
#3: Thank Your Customer

The old saying “kill them with kindness” could not be more true in a
situation with a customer complaining. But rather than smile and pretend
to care, genuinely let them know you are thankful they are sharing with
you their complaint or concern. For example, you can tell them right off
the bat that you appreciate them taking the time to talk to you about their
concern and you want to make sure you understand exactly what they are
saying. This opens up the opportunity for you to further listen to them,
while hopefully giving them the understanding that you want to actually
hear what they have to say.
#4: Acknowledge What They Say
Listening to your customer complain may not be your ideal scenario, but
try your best to really hear what they are saying. Are they upset that
something took too long? Or possibly a product they purchased isn’t what
they had in mind? Maybe – but hopefully not – they are upset about a
specific employee they encountered while working with your business.
Whatever the “real reason” it is they are complaining, acknowledge it and
ensure you heard what they said.
#5: Offer Support
Support comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s simply

listening to them even more, other times it means exchanging a defective
item for a new one. Support should not be black and white, though. If you
really listened to what they had to say, you should be able to suggest a
handful of ways to support them – or even better, one firm and perfectly
ideal way to support them. You have to be the judge here on what works
best here – but keep in mind that support means giving the customer
something in response to their complaint. One thing to note?If what you
offer isn’t satisfying their expectations, don’t give up… which leads me to
tip number six.
#6: Be Flexible
If no resolution is available to make your customer happy or at the very

least, content, then consider how else you can help them. Possibly you
make it a company policy to have $10 gift cards to a local coffee shop on
hand to give to upset customers (or even customers who you may see are
having a bad day, did something nice for another customer, etc.).Bonus
tip? Ask your local coffee shop to give these to you for free or at a reduced
price as a gesture to get more people in their door. B2B marketing in local
economies is always a great way to help each other out. And in a case like
this, getting creative and being flexible is key.
7: Make Sure Your Customers Hear What You Are Saying
After offering a resolution or identifying what you can – or cannot do – to

accommodate any requests they may have or simply to respond to the
complaint they stated, ask the customer if they have understood what you
said. Make sure you do this in a non-demeaning way, but rather state your
intent. Very simply, after all has been discussed, ask your customer if they
have understood how you can help them or for that matter, how you are
unable to do anything else to accommodate them.
#8: Offer an Apology – With Gratitude Attached
The thing about saying “I’m sorry” is that a lot of people won’t believe you
– and even more importantly, you may not even mean it. Your goal is to
genuinely want to end your conversation with a sincere apology and yet
appreciation for your customer. Let them know you’re sorry they were
inconvenienced or disappointed or upset, then also thank them for giving
you the chance to work it out with them. For many customers, this sincere
effort goes a long way. And for the customers who are still not satisfied, it
still leaves an impression on them – but only if you really mean it.
#9: Follow Up
After you’ve said you’re sorry, showed your appreciation and overall gave
them the support they were hopefully looking for, consider how else you
can help support customers who complain. One way to do this is to have
upper management follow up with these customers 24 to 48 hours after
they have expressed their complaint. This is simply another way to show
them you care, as well as it suggests you still have their complaint and
concerns top of mind. You can do this in a handwritten note sent to their
home address – if you have this information – or pick up the phone and call
them personally. If this is part of your protocol, be sure to ask for these
contact details from them so you can use them later.
#10: Move On
When all is said and done, you can’t dwell on customer complaints in
order to move on and forward with your next tasks on hand. Most
businesses are bound to get them every now and again since very simply,
you can’t please everyone. This said, if customer complaints are a normal
routine for your business, you need to dwell on them. All businesses,
however, should have a plan of attack – no pun intended – to help navigate
how to handle customer complaints as seamlessly, professionally and
graciously as possible. In return Customers who give you another chance
and tell their friends, family, co-workers and more about the strong
customer care they received from your team. This old-fashioned type of
marketing never goes out of style, after all.

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10 tips for dealing customer complaints

#1: Put Your Emotions Aside

#2: Avoid Challenging Their Complaint

#3: Thank Your Customer

#4: Acknowledge What They Say

Support comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s simply

If no resolution is available to make your customer happy or at the very

7: Make Sure Your Customers Hear What You Are Saying

After offering a resolution or identifying what you can – or cannot do – to

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