Title:Why Do Your Customers Complain and What Can YouDo About It?Word Count:1341Summary:Having an effective complaint handling process isimportant but it 抯 more effective to know whatyour customers could complaint about and put itright before it happens. But what are the areasthat can go wrong?
Keywords: customer complaints,customer service,complaining customersArticle Body:As the Internet becomes an increasing part of ourlives there are a growing number of web siteswhich are run for dissatisfied customers topublicly air their complaints about bad service.See your name posted on these sites or getcontacted by them and you know you have a problem!How can you prevent your business from becoming慺 eature of the week? Of all the skills smallbusiness owners need these days, the one leastpracticed is the ability to step back and look atyour business from the customer 抯 perspective.Having an effective complaint handling process isimportant but that is the equivalent of closing
the stable door after the horse has bolted ?it抯 too late, your customer has already suffered.It 抯 more effective to know what your customerscould potentially complaint about and put itright before it happens.So what are the common reasons for customercomplaints? Mark Bradley of Customer ServiceNetwork (www.customernet.com), whichfacilitates in benchmarking, improving processesand implementing improvements to help reducecustomer complaints, says,揊 inancial loss is the obvious reason but therest can be split into operational and emotionalreasons.?In this article we will look at some of theoperational and emotional or human issues withinyour business which could give your customerscause to complain. Take a look at these andexamine each part of your business. How do youstand up?
<b>揧 ou didn 抰 do what you promised.?</b>When did you last review your advertisingmaterial or web site? Do they contain servicepromises which sounded great at the time but havesince been forgotten? For example, do you promiseto deliver within 24 hours but changes inprocesses have meant that is no longer possible?No one may have complained yet but sooner or latersomeone will.<b> 揧 our product didn 抰 do what it 抯 supposedto do.?</b>When did you last undertake a quality check ofyour product? Random checks can help weed out poorquality workmanship before a customer spots it.When buying your stock or finished item do youtest it?<b> 揧 ou 抮 e never open when I need you.?</b>
9 to 5, 5 days a week may have been acceptable whenyou first started out, but is this still what thecustomer wants? Check with your customers ?theymay want you to open later and close later.<b> 揑 t 抯 a long time before someone answers thephone.?</b>Hanging on the phone while it rings and rings isvery irritating. It conjures up images of staffsitting drinking coffee and chatting; not theimpression you want to portray and not the way toput customers in a buying mood! Do your staffunderstand the importance of the phone beinganswered promptly?<b> 揥 henever I ring in and get transferred toanother person I often get cut off.?</b>Have your staff been trained in getting the bestout of your phone system? Do all staff have a handy
list of extension numbers to avoid annoying 憇orry wrong department?answers? Ask a friend orbusiness colleague to ring in and take note ofwhat happens ?good and bad.Mark Bradley says, 揥 e usually encounter anumber of interesting correlations thatfundamentally prove that operational accuracyleads to customer satisfaction.?Take some time to look at your business from thecustomer 抯 perspective and you should be able tostop customer complaints before they hit yourdesk.It 抯 not only the operational side of thebusiness which can let you down; the human sideof business can also generate complaints ?yourstaff! No matter how good your product is oneloose cannon in your team can upset everything.What actions can your staff take that can lead toa customer picking up the phone or putting pen topaper?
<b>Bad Attitude</b>There 抯 no getting away from it ?some people havea bad hair day every day! The way they speak topeople is enough to turn the most mild manneredof customers against your company. They act as ifthe customer is an interference to their dailyroutine. A person with poor job skills can betaught the relevant knowledge or skills but aperson with a generally bad attitude, theproverbial chip on the shoulder, is harder tobring into line.These type of people are the ones who neveracknowledge your presence when you are standingin front of them, or still chat away on the phoneThe solution? Get them away from your customers.<b>Not Willing To Seek a Solution</b>These people are the ones who may acknowledge a
customer 抯 problem but just can 抰 be bothered tofind a solution; it 抯 too much hassle. The stockanswer is, 揑 can 抰 help. It 抯 companypolicy.?Their favourite words are 揑 can 抰? 揧es, but? 搘 on 抰? 搒 houldn 抰? They can findnothing positive to help the customer. If thishappens, your customers walk away thinking youare a 慶 an 抰 do?instead of a 慶 an do?business.<b>Not Giving Full Product Explanations</b>Your product may be the best in the world, but ifit doesn 抰 do what the customer wants then youhave one unhappy purchaser. Lack of understandingof how the product or service meets the customer抯 requirements could be down to your sales staffbeing too anxious for a sale ?persuading the buyerthat the product is just right when it clearlydoesn 抰 fit what the client needs. This is partlydown to sales training but also attitude. Do youwant staff that are happy to sell to yourcustomers on this basis?
<b>Not Willing To Admit a Mistake</b>Isn 抰 it refreshing to hear someone say, 揇 o youknow, you 抮 e right. We really messed this up.?Ifyou get this as an opening line when making acomplaint, you immediately know you 抮 e inbusiness. However, sometimes getting a businessto admit it has made a mistake is like pullingteeth. If you 抮 e in the wrong, get your staff toown up and say, 揧 es, we were wrong? it can takeaway the emotion which sometimes blockssuccessful resolution of complaints.<b>Not Keeping You Up To Date</b>In any effective complaint handling process,everything can be done according to the book, butit can all be thrown away if the client is not keptup to date. A complaint, followed by days ofsilence, allows doubt and anger to bubble up again.It may be that the person handling the complaint
had a bad time when taking the initial query; he抯 not motivated to pick up the phone and engagein another torrent of abuse! However, notspeaking to the client can only make matters worse,and so guaranteeing that the next call will beeven more interesting! Get 憇 trong?charactersto front your complaints, people who are notintimidated and are happy to solve problems.<b>Broken Promises</b>This is probably the most frequent reason forhuman cause of complaint; 慪 es, I 抣 l do that foryou. Leave it to me.?What happens? Nothing! Theimpression given is that your staff just don 抰care, or that the customer is not important.Impress upon your staff the importance offollowing through on their promises. Any brokenpromise will compound a complaint.So, in what areas are your staff letting you down?Are you doing everything to ensure your staff are
treating everyone as loyal customers? Listen towhat your staff are saying, and listen to whatyour customers are telling you. Get the human sideof your complaint process right and you have morechance of keeping your customers for life.The art of complaint handling is not onlyresolving it to the customer 抯 satisfaction; it抯 also about taking action on what you find outand being proactive in finding potential problemsbefore they become problems.
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