by Lorriellah

Created on: May 08, 2011

When you run a business you are likely to come up against complaints from customers as there will be times when your customers are not happy with an aspect of your company. When complaints are made it can feel like a natural reaction to just feel defensive, however, it is important when running a business that you are attentive to what your customer is complaining about and that you solve their problem in as stress-free way as possible. 

It is important that your staff are well aware of your complaints' procedure and are trained in how to handle a complaining customer. It is all well and good having procedures in place but this will not be at all helpful if only a handful of your staff are aware and trained in this area. 

Calming the customer down is often the best place to start when a customer is complaining particularly if they are very angry, upset or generally very wound up. If you raise your voice and try to compete with the customer then this will not solve matters, instead you need to stay calm and bring your customer to a calmer place too. A wound up customer needs to know that they are being taken seriously and so a way to help to calm them down is to show them that you are listening to what they have to say and that you will do what you can to solve the problem.

Showing a customer that you are listening is very easy to do, you just have to let them explain what they are not happy about and not interrupt them or argue with anything that they are saying. Once your customer has finished explaining the situation you may want to ask some questions to show that you are interested and are taking them seriously. 

Solve the problem in as an efficient way as possible which may be by giving a refund, a credit note or offering a replacement. Explain to the customer why you are doing so which may be because you believe that they were unfairly sold something or that the product didn't live up to expectations and then also thank them for their business. This way the customer will leave feeling as though you listened to their complaint, resolved it in a way which was appropriate and also were pleased that they carried out their business with yourself. 

Complaints may actually work in favour for you and your business as they can provide feedback which reflects on how well you are performing. If a complaint is made regularly about a particular feature then you can establish that something isn't working and needs resolving. Learn from the complaint to make your business a better one. 

When people complain it can be an uncomfortable experience and if you don't handle a complaint in a professional manner then it can have a negative impact upon your business as customers leave unhappy and may not return. If you keep your customer calm, listen to what they have to say, solve the problem and thank them all in a calm and professional manner then you will be working towards protecting your business and future customers. Remember, a complaint can actually help open your eyes to potential flaws in your business so they can be a way to better the business you already have. 

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