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.