by Robert Mcmartin

Created on: August 06, 2009

I have a friend who has a rubber Hand Grenade sitting on his desk with a Safety Pin in the Hand Grenade and a number on the Safety Pin. Above this reads a sign that reads For all Complaints, please take a Number

While this may seem a humorous anecdote, it reflects an attitude that all of us think at times. Customer Complaints are horrible things, we would rather blow up the problem, than deal with it.

I'm sure if we are the ones with the complaint, we would see the Rubber Hand Grenade is a different light.

Every one of us deal with complaints every day, we either make complaints (driving to work, dealing with the kids, hassles at work), these little things happen every day and we all do it.

Complaining is a part of life, but what do we do when the complaints become larger and take over what we should be thinking about.

The best thing to remember when dealing with a customer's complaint, is what if it was me. Think about the person and not about the complaint. While the subject of the complaint may be a minor thing to you, depending on the person your minor complaint may be a huge problem to them.

There will always be people, who go their whole lives complaining about everything and trying to get a better deal than they originally had. These sort of people are generally attention seekers and they can be handled very easy. As a matter of fact all complaints can be handled the same way.

Listen to the complaint, do not make a judgment until all the facts are known, and place yourself in the complainant' shoes. Imagine if the person making the complaint was a close relative, your parent, wife, child, or friend.

Every person who has a complaint really wants to tell their story and explain the problem. They want someone to hear them and tell them what can be done about the issue. Some people want their money back, some merely want to inform you of a problem with your product or service, some like the product, but it is unsuited to their needs, of course there are some people who just like to complain and complaining makes them feel important.

Always listen to the customer and try and come up with solutions based around what the customer wants. Sometimes providing the result the customer wants is impossible, sometimes it is very easy to resolve the problem, but one thing to always remember is the Asian concept of Saving Face. No matter what the complaint, no matter what the negotiations to resolve the problem make sure that both side walk away from the issue with Face Saved. Even if you have to give a little more than you were originally planning, letting a complainant Save Face will work wonders in the public relations, than any amount of advertising.

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