by James Dreamer

Created on: April 26, 2008   Last Updated: June 13, 2009

How to Handle the Unhappy Customer

Since the year 1980, a large part of my job description has been interacting with consumers, both by telephone and in person. From 1984 on, I have owned my business and therefore have had more than an average amount of leeway when dealing with unhappy customers. Over the years, I have developed guidelines which I follow when negotiating with someone who is upset. Let me share my philosophy on this subject with you.

GREET AND TREAT THEM KINDLY. Always greet a customer with a smile and a kind hello. This alone, much of the time, will dissipate a large amount of the built up anger and disappointment. He or she will feel that you seem more willing to help with the problem than someone who is flippant.

SET YOUR EMOTIONS ASIDE. People show disappointment in many ways. Some will be logical and get to the point. Some will show anger, not necessarily toward you but toward the business or product. Some will get down right nasty and may insult the product, your business, and you. Regardless of how they act, don't take it personally. People are not at their best during these situations. Treat them with respect and gently guide them back toward explaining the problem instead of lashing out in anger. I have had customers who afterward, apologized for the way they acted and others who have thanked me just for listening.

LISTEN AND LEARN THE EXACT DETAILS OF THE COMPLAINT. You cannot solve a problem unless you know what it is. Help the customer stay on track by asking questions such as: "What happened exactly?", "How did the product fail?", or "How exactly did this product disappoint you?" Keep asking questions until the customer explains the problem in detail.

ASK WHAT YOUR COMPANY CAN DO TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT. Most people are used to canned responses like: "There's nothing I can do." or "It can't be returned now." We've all heard them before. Few people are prepared for the question: "What can we do to make things right for you?" This will totally disarm most angry customers. They will be astonished that you are asking for their opinion. Some will offer a very reasonable solution to the problem and the entire ordeal will be solved immediately. Others may offer an unreasonable solution or one your company will not allow. If they do, follow the next step.

NEGOTIATE A SOLUTION. This is the step that will test your sales ability. If the customer wants something unreasonable you must calmly describe your side of the situation. Explain that any transaction should be fair for both parties and how their solution would not be fair to the business. Try to find an answer to the problem that is acceptable to both sides and present it to them. Come as close to what they want as possible.

By using these techniques, you should put to rest ninety nine percent of complaints made by customers. However, even if you follow the above steps to the letter you will at times find a customer who cannot be satisfied no matter what. This will rarely happen, but come away from those experiences with the knowledge that you did all you could to remedy the situation.

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