Anyone who has a business has had t

Anyone who has a business has had the experience of dealing with customer complaints.

While listening to a complaining customer is not something most people enjoy, a complaining customer can be an organization’s friend if they try to learn from the complaint.

There are lots of things customers can complain about – communication breakdowns, process failures, faulty products, rude employees and unclean facilities, just to name a few.

If taken seriously, these seemingly annoying encounters can shed revelation on areas in the organization that needs improvement.

For example, if a customer complains about an employee who is rude on the telephone, it might heighten the awareness for the need to do telephone training for those employees who answer the phone.

So what is the correct way to respond to a complaining customer?
1. Acknowledge Complaint

Complaining customers have a perception that somehow their needs and expectations were not met. Acknowledging their concern is the first step in diffusing the emotion of an upset customer.

For example: Mr. Jones, I understand that your food was not cooked to your expectations.
2. Don’t Take it Personal

One of the most difficult aspects of listening to complaints is having the ability to separate yourself from the issue. When someone is yelling at you, it is difficult to not take it personal. However, it is important to remember that the complaint is not about you; it is about a perception of a need that was not met.
3. Apologize

An apology is the next tool you can use to diffuse an upset customer. Apologizing with sincerity can do a lot to help ease the tension of high emotions. Look the customer in the eye, smile and sincerely apologize and communicate that their issue is important and that you want to make things right for them.

For example, Ms. Smith, I am sorry that you did not have a good experience.
4. Maintain Positive Communication

When listening to a complaining customer, keep your facial expressions and responses as positive as possible. Do not do anything that could cause more emotional response and make matters worse. Be as pleasant as possible as you try to resolve the issue for the customer.

For example, think about your facial expressions and don’t inadvertently add fuel to the fire by having an uncaring smirk on your face.
5. Work Toward a Solution

Allow the customer to vent and explain their issue. This is a good time to try and gather all the details of the situation and try to find out where the breakdown happened.

Sometimes there are minor misunderstandings or breakdowns in communication that can create an emotional response to a situation. Find out the facts and then try to find out what the customer wants.
6. Give the Customer Options

10 Tips for Dealing with Customer Complaints An upset customer is not interested in what you can’t do, so focus on what you can do.

You probably won’t always be able to do exactly what the customer wants but there is always something you can do.

Focus on what you can offer the customer.

Customers don’t necessarily want to hear the why behind an issue; they just want their problem solved.

Try to offer a couple options of things you can do to fix the situation for them.

For example, Mr. Smith I understand you did not like the salad you were served, what I can do is ask the Chef to remake it or is there something else on the menu you would like instead?
7. Document and Track Complaints

It is important to document and track complaints. There are formal complaint tracking systems that can help you keep track of complaints.

Document: Date, time, description of complaint, employees involved, what customer wanted, what was given to the customer, was the issue resolved, follow-up with the customer at a later time.

It is always important to check with a customer after the fact to ensure that their issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
8. Trend Complaints

Collecting complaint data can help provide the information needed to resolve systemic problems that may not be as evident without supporting data.

As an example, if you continually get the same complaint about the same employee, there may be an issue with the employee and the way they provide a service or respond to customer needs. This could be a training issue or a performance issue. This kind of information is also helpful to have during performance appraisal time.
9. Don’t Overreact to Outliers

Sometimes things happen and should be classified as outliers. As an example, if a storm hits and the power goes out and affects the electronic registers causing long wait times at the checkout, the long waits are an outlier and should not necessarily give cause for creating a new process.

However, looking into back-up power issues and working toward a proactive plan to ensure the operation is sustainable in the absence of power can be a way to eliminate future issues.
10 Service Recovery

There is a theory that if there is an effort to recover from a

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Siapapun yang memiliki bisnis yang telah memiliki pengalaman menangani keluhan pelanggan.Sementara mendengarkan keluhan pelanggan bukanlah sesuatu yang kebanyakan orang menikmati, keluhan pelanggan dapat menjadi organisasi teman jika mereka mencoba untuk belajar dari keluhan.Ada banyak hal-hal pelanggan bisa mengeluh tentang-kegagalan komunikasi, kegagalan proses, produk rusak, kasar karyawan dan fasilitas najis, hanya untuk beberapa nama.Jika dianggap serius, ini tampaknya mengganggu pertemuan dapat melepaskan Wahyu di daerah dalam organisasi yang perlu perbaikan.Sebagai contoh, jika seorang pelanggan mengeluh tentang seorang karyawan yang kasar di telepon, itu mungkin meningkatkan kesadaran tentang perlunya telepon pelatihan bagi para karyawan yang menjawab telepon.Jadi apa adalah cara yang benar untuk menanggapi keluhan pelanggan?1. mengakui keluhanMengeluh pelanggan memiliki persepsi yang entah bagaimana kebutuhan dan harapan mereka tidak bertemu. Mengakui kekhawatiran mereka adalah langkah pertama dalam menyebarkan emosi pelanggan yang marah.Sebagai contoh: Mr Jones, saya memahami bahwa makanan tidak dimasak dengan harapan Anda.2. Jangan mengambil pribadiSalah satu aspek yang paling sulit mendengarkan keluhan adalah memiliki kemampuan untuk memisahkan diri dari masalah. Ketika seseorang berteriak pada Anda, sangat sulit untuk tidak mengambil pribadi. Namun, sangat penting untuk diingat bahwa keluhan ini bukan tentang Anda; ini adalah tentang persepsi suatu kebutuhan yang tidak terpenuhi.3. ApologizeAn apology is the next tool you can use to diffuse an upset customer. Apologizing with sincerity can do a lot to help ease the tension of high emotions. Look the customer in the eye, smile and sincerely apologize and communicate that their issue is important and that you want to make things right for them.For example, Ms. Smith, I am sorry that you did not have a good experience.4. Maintain Positive CommunicationWhen listening to a complaining customer, keep your facial expressions and responses as positive as possible. Do not do anything that could cause more emotional response and make matters worse. Be as pleasant as possible as you try to resolve the issue for the customer.For example, think about your facial expressions and don’t inadvertently add fuel to the fire by having an uncaring smirk on your face.5. Work Toward a SolutionAllow the customer to vent and explain their issue. This is a good time to try and gather all the details of the situation and try to find out where the breakdown happened.Sometimes there are minor misunderstandings or breakdowns in communication that can create an emotional response to a situation. Find out the facts and then try to find out what the customer wants.6. Give the Customer Options10 Tips for Dealing with Customer Complaints An upset customer is not interested in what you can’t do, so focus on what you can do.You probably won’t always be able to do exactly what the customer wants but there is always something you can do.Focus on what you can offer the customer.Customers don’t necessarily want to hear the why behind an issue; they just want their problem solved.Try to offer a couple options of things you can do to fix the situation for them.For example, Mr. Smith I understand you did not like the salad you were served, what I can do is ask the Chef to remake it or is there something else on the menu you would like instead?7. Document and Track ComplaintsIt is important to document and track complaints. There are formal complaint tracking systems that can help you keep track of complaints.Document: Date, time, description of complaint, employees involved, what customer wanted, what was given to the customer, was the issue resolved, follow-up with the customer at a later time.It is always important to check with a customer after the fact to ensure that their issue was resolved to their satisfaction.8. Trend ComplaintsCollecting complaint data can help provide the information needed to resolve systemic problems that may not be as evident without supporting data.As an example, if you continually get the same complaint about the same employee, there may be an issue with the employee and the way they provide a service or respond to customer needs. This could be a training issue or a performance issue. This kind of information is also helpful to have during performance appraisal time.9. Don’t Overreact to OutliersSometimes things happen and should be classified as outliers. As an example, if a storm hits and the power goes out and affects the electronic registers causing long wait times at the checkout, the long waits are an outlier and should not necessarily give cause for creating a new process.However, looking into back-up power issues and working toward a proactive plan to ensure the operation is sustainable in the absence of power can be a way to eliminate future issues.10 Service RecoveryThere is a theory that if there is an effort to recover from a