HOW TO WIN ANGRY AND DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS

HOW TO WIN ANGRY AND DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS

Transcripts from Radio Business School-20^th August 2012

                                    

 Good morning my Dear Listeners, you are welcome to yet another exciting edition of Radio Business School, a Business coaching session that is designed to help you start and manage your business successfully. My name is BASOLA VICTOR and your HOST.

Today is the continuing the series ON EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE I started 2weeks ago. We have successfully looked at an introduction to excellent customer service and last week, we looked at "The ten commandments of excellent customer service” I believe that teaching was exciting judging from the volume of calls I received. Today I will be teaching on “HOW TO WIN ANGRY AND DISSATIFIED CUSTOMERS”

We have been able to establish in the course of this teaching on EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE that the customer is the Real boss and our ultimate duty is to continually satisfy them. However, in our bid to satisfy them, some of them end up dissatisfied or even angry either by wrong attitude from us or from a little misunderstanding or misrepresentation of facts. Our approach at such moments would determine the customer’s perception of our business and also influence his buying decision in the future. As long as you are in business, you will always deal with angry customers. What I will be teaching you today would enable you manage such moments professionally and profitably both to you and the customer.

Whenever you encounter an angry or dissatisfied customer, you have a choice. You can either react defensively or helpfully or give the customer a silent treatment. As you would find out in the course of this teaching, being on the defensive or giving the customer a cold treatment doesn’t help the customer to feel one bit better neither does it solve the problem and it is a very unprofessional way to react to your hard earned customers. Reacting to angry customers in a defensive attitude is only asking for more abuse. Shifting blames from one department to the other would also not help. The most unprofessional of them all is shifting the blame to your workers; it is a sign of a fault in your leadership and managerial ability.

The problem of an angry customer is actually two problems in one. First, you have to deal with the customer’s feelings, then you have to try as best as you can to solve the problems that got him angry in the first place. If you simply solve the problem without making an effort to soothe his anger, he probably won’t come back and you and I know that we don’t want that to happen. We know that customers come back to buy when they feel good. The next time you encounter an angry customer, keep the following ideas in mind and put them to work.

The first thing to do when you are approached by an angry customer is to REMAIN CALM AND POLITE and if you are right, there is no reason to loose your temper, it’s only normal to want to defend yourself when a customer verbally assaults you, but it would only make things worse. As Abigail Van Buren noted, ‘PEOPLE WHO FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE USUALLY END UP WITH ASHES! One of the worst things to do is to argue with your customer at the moment when he/she is angry. Even if you win the argument, you will make him/her look foolish and you will end up loosing the customer.

Instead keep a comfortable distance and look him in the eyes with expression of someone who is genuinely concerned about his problem. Respond to his comments with something like “Sir am sincerely sorry for what went wrong, I will do something about it immediately to make things right for you”. Keep in mind that the angry customer is the one with the problem and not the other way round. Let him cool off his anger. If he is a very loud type, invite him/her to a private office to hear him out and don’t take his remarks personally. Angry people say all sorts of irrational things that they don’t mean, most likely customer is not angry with you as a person so there is absolutely no reason to take his/her words personally and ascribe it to yourself.

Also know this; an angry person who is venting his angry and did not quietly walk away is also giving you critical information. Concentrate on listening for tangible information that will help you solve the problem rather than taking the critic personally. “The solution to every problem is in the problem.”

LISTEN TO THEM (You have to patiently LISTEN TO THEM):

Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger. It is of primary importance when dealing with an angry or unsatisfied customer to listen attentively to his/her complaint, frustration or grievance. Be patient, attentively and friendly. An angry customer will usually respond well if he feels that you really care about his/her problem and you are trying to feel what he is feeling. Treating his problem unemotionally or asking him to fill a form without first listening to him is just asking for more trouble. Angry people demand to be heard and understood.

As you listen, do not argue and do not interrupt, this will only worsen the situation especially if the customer is really angry. Let him speak before you try to discuss with him what has happened; listen with full attention and without interruption. As you listen, look for areas of agreement and agree with the customer whenever you can, statements such as “I understand why you are angry”, “I agree that this quite an inconvenience for you” and “If I were you I would be mad too”. This will show the customer that you are empathizing and trying to understand him. Most customers will start to calm down after you listen sympathetically to their initial outburst. At this stage, if you still haven’t identified the problem or the cause of the problem, use your ears more than your mouth, that’s the major reason God gave us one mouth and two ears. Start asking the customer constructive question that will give you this information about the problem. While the customer is answering your questions, nod your head in agreement when you want the customer to keep talking. When you have fully understood the problem and the steam has cooled off, you can now proceed to the next stage.

TAKE ACTION TO SOLVE THE CUSTOMER’S PROBLEM: Once the anger subsides, there would certainly be a short interval when the customer pauses for breath and that is when you have an opportunity to express your sympathy and understanding. You have to show that you care and that you will do everything within your power to try and resolve the situation. This exhibition of concern will win the customer over and half of the battle is won already, there will be a significant change in their behavior and you will be able to turn the situation around. Once you fully understand the customer’s problem, do what you can to help the customer resolve it as fast as you, if possible, offer the customer several options and let him choose. If you can’t solve the problem for him, refer him to someone who can and do what you can to put him in contact with the problem solver. If your company is at fault, apologize profusely.

One more important point must be stressed, when you offer the customer solution to his problem, state them positively. Tell him what you can do rather than what you cannot do. Don’t say “I can’t give you a refund today”, rather say I will have your refund ready first thing tomorrow morning, instead of saying, we don’t open on Saturday, rather say “we are open till 5pm on Friday to serve you.

Let me share an example, last week one of our clients whom we supplied a driver to, the driver couldn’t resume work and when my client called that he was stranded and needed to go to work, we had no spare driver on ground and we had to detail one of our staff a female for that matter to drive him to work until the situation was normalized.

BRING THE SITUATION TO A POLITE CLOSE: Once you have solved the customer’s problem or done what you can to resolve it, ask him, “IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY I CAN BE OF HELP TO YOU TODAY? Assuming the answer is no, thank the customer for telling you about his dissatisfaction, while you may find it strange to thank someone who just gave you a hard time, keep in mind that he may have provided you with information that will prevent the occurrence of his problem in the future and keep you from loosing customers. A customer with the passion to get angry also has the ability to be loyal.

Remember that it’s the customers who don’t complain and quietly walk away and don’t come back are the ones who do the most damage. When appropriate, make a follow-up call to the customer to make sure that the problem was properly solved.

This important finishing touch tells the customer that his problems are your utmost concern. Dealing with angry upset customers takes a great deal of humility and self control and it is a tough job for most of us but you can learn it if you really want to ensure the continued success of your business. Angry and dissatisfied customers who complain to you are beneficial to you. This is because they point out areas in your business that needs improvement. Complaints also give you a second chance to provide service and satisfaction to dissatisfied customers.

A complaining customer is being honest with you; complaints are also a wonderful opportunity to build customer loyalty. A rapidly settled complaint can actually create more customer loyalty. Customers are much more likely to remember the “extra touch” and genuine concern that you exhibited when they felt dissatisfied.

Till we meet again, I wish you a fruitful and productive week ahead.

Basola Victor is the Principal Consultant/CEO of Business Skills Africa Limited, an Enterprise consulting firm based in Benin, Nigeria. He is the Author of “The Keys to Starting a Successful Business” and The HOST of RADIO BUSINESS SCHOOL on Radio Nigeria Bronze 101.5FM.

INTRODUCTION TO EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE

INTRODUCTION TO EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE

Transcripts from Radio Business School-6^th  August 2012

                                   

Good morning Dear listeners, you are welcome to yet another exciting edition of RADIO BUSINESS SCHOOL, a business coaching and enterprise development session that is designed to enable you start and manage your business  successfully. My name is BASOLA VICTOR your regular host .

Today I will be starting a New series titled “EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE”. This is a very important topic and I want you to pay very special attention because lack of an excellent customer service approach is the major reason most young Entrepreneurs struggle and fold up.

A typical business hears from only 4% of its dissatisfaction customers. The other 98% just quietly go away and 91% will never come back. That represents a serious financial loss for companies who don’t know how to treat customers. A typical dissatisfied customer will tell 8 to 10 people about his problem and you know that in Nigeria when news is related, people tend to add their own ingredients to make it worse.

CUSTOMER SERVICE IS EVERYONE’S JOB- everyone in an organization serves the customer. He is the reason we come to work daily. Even those employers who do not deal directly with customers serve the customer. Every member of your organization must have a sense for serving the customer. Customer service is not a department, it is every body’s responsibility from the security man to the waiter, supervisor and even the Janitor. Excellent customer service results from an understanding that it is every one’s job and you must train them, all of them on how you want your customers to be treated. Every one of your staff must be trained to become a customer professional (CSP).

GIVE YOUR CUSTOMER FULL ATTENTION: A customer is not an interruption. He is the sole reason for a firm’s existence. A customer can go down the street and around the corner to your competitor, so he has a choice. When dealing with a customer your undivided attention, show the customer that he is your number one priority at that moment and give your customer full attention. Take time to identify his needs by asking him questions and concentrating on what the customer is really saying. Listen to their words, tone of voice, body language and most importantly, how they feel. Beware of making assumptions thinking you intuitively know what the customer wants. Effective listening and undivided attention are important I creating an Excellent customer service experience.

EXCEED YOUR CUSTOMER’S EXPECTATION: Give more than expected, promise less, deliver more. Customers keep coming back to firms that provide them with benefits greater than they expected. A business owner can never go wrong by giving customer’s more than their expectation assures repeat business. You have to give more than expected.

Consider the following:

What can you give customers that they cannot get elsewhere?

What can you do to follow up and thank people even when they do not buy?

What can you give customers that is totally unexpected?

BE TRUTHFUL TO YOUR CUSTOMER: Honesty is still the best policy in today’s world. Do not lie to your customers, do not exaggerate the benefits of your products and services. Do not engage in hyperbolic communication. Dishonesty drives customers away and keeps them from returning. “the temporary benefit of a lie is not comparable to the embarrassment and shame that comes when the truth is discovered. If you say the truth always, you do not have to remember the last thing you said. This is very common amongst property agents, when you tell them the kind of property they will always tell you that they have it and after collecting your money they would then start acting strangely and show you properties different from what you seek for.

Do not ever compromise on service, do not cut corners, only partially fulfill or even forget commitments? Excellent customer service means keeping every commitment you make to customers, period. Even if something is wrong, be truthful about it and apologize.

GIVE YOUR CUSTOMER WHAT HE WANTS, WHEN HE WANTS IT AND HOW HE WANTS IT.

This is a simple gesture that makes the difference. Every product or service must satisfy a customer need. Every product or service must provide consistent value to the customer service begins with creating products and services that customers want and they are willing to pay for. All organizations are in the business of satisfying customer needs.

Products and services that satisfy customer needs sell themselves. Be sure you know customer needs. Do not assume, you cannot be the judge of what your customer wants. To be certain that you provide what the customer needs, go ask the customer and then give your customer what he wants, it (speed) and how he wants it(specifies)

RESPECT YOUR CUSTOMER AT ALL TIMES: A customer is not an account number, a sales statistics or a specified amount of money in your pocket. A customer is a living breathing human being who deserves respect at all times. Be courteous to your customer. Treat your customer the way your customers want to be treated. Value your customer’s individuality and differences. It is never a mistake to assume the customer is right.

Someone once said, YOU CAN NEVER WIN A FIGHT WITH YOUR CUSTOMER. Demonstrate to your customer you want to do business with them by respecting your customers at all times. Someone once said  “Marketing creates transactions and services (respectful) service creates customers. And according to Arthur Fredrick Sheldon “He profits most who serves best. The Holy Scriptures sums it all”; he who wants to be the greatest must be the chief servant. Customers have the GOLD and they determine the rules.

APPRECIATE YOUR CUSTOMER: Thank your customer after each successful patronage and mean it. Customers are the only reasons for a firm’s existence; say thanks to them as often as possible. Always be sincere in giving thanks.  Demonstrate to your customer how much you appreciate doing business with them. Service is not about building relationship with customers. Learn their name and use it.

Find sincere and inexpensive ways to say thank you, customers need to know you care. Send them Birthday cards and text messages on important dates, give them gifts, souvenirs and promotional items and the secret is “THIS ACT CREATES A LASTING IMPRESSION IN THE MINDS OF YOUR CUSTOMERS”. You can also pick a specific date of the year and call it “Customer appreciation Day”(CAP) where you gather your customers together in a special mood, Entertain them and say a BIG thank you. Let me tell you; if you can do this, you will keep them GLUED to you FOR LIFE. Every customer wants to feel important, appreciated and valued.

GET REGULAR FEEDBACK FROM THEM; Offer your customers a way to give you feedback. Offer them a means for them to provide you with suggestions, criticism, comments, etc. the customer is absolutely in the best position to tell you how best he wants to be served. To find out what your customers think about  your service, ask them. You cannot be objectively assess the level or quality of your service, only the customers can do that for you.

Solicit their feedback and be open and responsive to the answers you receive, you could pass them a little questionnaire or even a TOLL FREE Customer service line. Their feedback will help you improve your service and serve them better

TREAT YOUR WORKERS WELL; Herb Kelleher, CEO of southwest Airlines, said “if you do not treat your own people well, they will not treat other people well. Most times a dissatisfied customer is a sign of an unhappy staff. The way you treat your employees is exactly how they treat your customers. And how they will treat your customers determine if they will come back. Your employees are your best service guarantee. Hire and train good people and also PAY THEM WELL. If pay peanuts, you will have monkeys. Appreciate your employees, make sure they are aware of how valuable they are to the company and thank them for their efforts. The more respectfully you treat them the more likely employees are to pass the respect to your customers.

FOLLOW UP YOUR CUSTOMER: The customer encounter does not end with the sale, follow up is necessary to determine the degree of customer satisfaction with the product or service and the experience of doing business with your firm. Follow up indicates continued interest and concern for the customer. Show care; remember vital dates in their lives. Sometimes even a little happy new month text could do.

In conclusion according to Tom Peters an American management guru, He said “it is not enough to be close to your customer you have got to be glued to your customer. Without these commandments, your business would soon go extinct, apply them and customers will continually bring their gold to you.

I believe today’s broadcast has been a blessing to you, tune in same time next week Monday at exactly 10;15am for another impactful edition of RADIO BUSINESS SCHOOL. Till we meet again, I wish you a fruitful and productive week ahead.

Basola Victor is the Principal Consultant/CEO of Business Skills Africa Limited, an Enterprise consulting firm based in Benin, Nigeria. He is the Author of “The Keys to Starting a Successful Business” and The HOST of RADIO BUSINESS SCHOOL on Radio Nigeria Bronze 101.5FM.

5 KINDS OF PEOPLE YOU MUST NEVER EMPLOY

5 KINDS OF PEOPLE YOU MUST NEVER EMPLOY

Today we would be learning a topic that will set you thinking about the composition of your workforce especially if yours is a small business or a growing company. Finding the right team members is critical to the success of any business. A company is as good as its employees.

The problem of most young businesses is how to hire and retain the right employees. If you make the mistake of employing the wrong set of people, your business will be positioned for failure. Employees add value to the company by increasing productivity. Without employees, your company is a sole proprietorship which is limited to your personal productivity.

The right employees would multiply your efforts and help you achieve more. The reason most entrepreneurs are afraid to employ employees other than themselves is because of the fear of the source of their salary. If you fall in that category, my advice remains the same. One shall chase a thousand and two shall chase ten thousand. The task of two people cannot be effectively done by one person. The reward for two persons is related to the job done. If your employees enable you to double your effort and increase your output, they will also increase your profit base. And if your profit base is increased, then there would be salary to pay them. If you don’t get other people involved in your business, you will never be able to translate from an individual entrepreneur to an institution.

In my years of recruiting employees for different organizations and also as an employer of labour myself, I have come to identify certain types of people you must never hire. I don’t care if they are the last ones available on the face of the earth. If you do, you are preparing your young business for an untimely death. Hiring these set of people I am about to talk to you about is like chewing with a bad tooth. It would be better if you were alone.

Someone once said; “it is better to be alone than to be in bad company”. Employing them is a waste of time, money and every other resource.

The first kind of persons are:

                                                                                

THE OVER QUALIFIED:

These set of people know it all. They have enough working experience and they may have even started a business like yours which folded up and they want to impose their faulted ideas on you. They know what you should do and they hardly take corrections, they keep comparing your company with so and so company they worked with 28years ago and they always want to let you know that they have superior skills and knowledge. They are over confident. Confidence is good but arrogance is dangerous. Hire someone with confidence but make sure they are humble enough to learn new things.

These kind of people are UNTRAINABLE and the most annoying part is that they make you feel like they are helping your life by working for you. You don’t need these kinds of people on your team. You can never satisfy them when you meet these

kind of staff and you ask them; where do you work; you will hear answers like “Am just teaching in one small school for now”. This is my candid advice, if you have such people on your team, LET THEM GO.

The second set of people are:

FRIENDS YOU CANNOT DISCIPLINE:  

The best your friend can be is your business associate or business partner. Do not make the mistake I made some time ago where I had to employ a friend of mine. The resumption time in my office is 7am irrespective of your residential address. You are told that from the interview and there are no two ways about it. But this friend will always come at least 1hour later. If I complain, his countenance will change. Our dress code is corporate from Monday-Thursday, but my friend will never put on a tie. If I complain, his countenance will change. I couldn’t discipline him. If I tried to, he would give me a look that told me, “Is it because I am working for you!

These kind of people will never obey your company rules and regulation. Their attitude will gradually affect the loyalty and morale of your remaining staff. If you don’t remove them early, they will pollute the rest of your staff members. It is better you don’t employ them and you retain the friendship than to employ them and destroy your friendship. Don’t employ out of pity. Your company is not a charity organization. The fastest way to frustration is to employ someone you cannot control or discipline!

The third kind of people you must never hire are:

FAMILY MEMBERS WHO DON’T HAVE THE NECESSARY SKILLS AND EXPERTISE:

Don’t get me wrong, it is good to help our family members but not at the detriment of your growing business. If they have the necessary skills and expertise needed to get the job done. Beautiful, but if they do not please and please. DO NOT EMPLOY OUT OF PITY, your business is not a family meeting; you must never employ people who see your business as an Avenue for FREE MONEY they would not labour for. And the dangerous part of it is, if you fire them, they would go back to the village or wherever it is that they came from and say so many strange things that would shock you.

Sometimes, it is good to help such people from a distance. They misbehave because they felt it is their brother’s business and they can get away with it. Their superior or line manager can’t give them instructions because he is MD’s brother. Even your wife cannot tell them what to do because they feel they jointly own the business because it is their brother’s own. You must never employ out of sentiment.

If employing them will later cause a friction in your family relationship, it is better you do not employ them in the first place. Am sorry to say this, like most wives will tell you most times, it is better to employ a house maid commercially than to pick one extended family member to assist you. The outcome has never been good, the bottom line is, do not employ people you cannot discipline.

When I started business some few years ago, on of my mentors called me into his office and he said BASOLA, BASOLA, BASOLA, how many times did I call you; I replied “three times sir” and he shook his head and made a profound statement that has helped me a lot. He said “YOU MUST NEVER DATE YOUR FEMALE STAFF”. It is the fastest way to close the Heavens over your business and to introduce disloyalty. The day you try it, the next day she wouldn’t come to work early and there is nothing you can do about it. And woe betide you if she is your cashier; just know that half of your life is gone. Your cash book will never balance again and your money is soon gone. Your other female staff will loose their respect and confidence in your leadership.

The atmosphere in your office would be polluted and would no longer be conducive for miracles. Please listen to the advice my mentor gave me years ago. It would help you and save your business from eventual collapse. Help your unskilled family members from a distance and do not employ out of pity.

The fourth kind of people you must never employ are the;

UNSTABLE PEOPLE:                       

These set of people have worked 3jobs or more in the last one year. They cannot keep a job for a long time. They keep changing jobs. They are not dependable; training them is a waste of resource and time. If you build your business around them, they would disappoint you when you need them most. They would leave when you least expect. They are immature and nothing grows in heir hands. There is something pursuing them. As a young business, you do need people who will grow with you, not people who will leave you when you need them. Unstable people cannot prosper.

Let me quickly say this, MOVEMENT DOES NOT NECESSARY MEAN PROGRESS! Think about it!

A tree does not need to move from one place to the other for it to grow; changing jobs often can be likened to a NOMADIC SPIRIT. Nomads do not build houses, they don’t acquire properties and they don’t change clothes. Nomads do not make personal progress even though you can see much movement and activity in their lives.

The painful part is they make you believe them so much that you hand over certain important responsibilities into their hands and before you know it, they are gone! While working for you, all they do is edit their CV. They keep sending their CV to every nook and crummy yet they do not take time to develop themselves. They don’t have a steady address; they are currently living with a friend on the other side of town. They are irresponsible.

I have a problem employing anyone who does not pay house rent; I see them as irresponsible people who have nothing at stake so they do not value the source of income as they have one uncle they would fall back to. Then there are theses other people who don’t need the money, they just need something to make them leave the house, they don’t attach much seriousness to your job and they can leave at the slightest provocation. It is better you employ people who will help you move your business to the next level. By so doing, you have less worry about.

Till we meet again, I wish you a productive day!

                                                                                    

Basola Victor is the Principal Consultant/CEO of Business Skills Africa Limited, an Enterprise consulting firm based in Benin, Nigeria. He is the Author of “The Keys to Starting a Successful Business” and The HOST of RADIO BUSINESS SCHOOL on Radio Nigeria Bronze 101.5FM.