Handling Customer Complaints

Once you've defused a customer's frustration, you can move to the second step in the complaint-handling process and investigate the problem itself.

nce you've defused a customer's frustration, you can move to the second step in the complaint-handling process and investigate the problem itself. This involves gathering the information you need to understand the complaint fully and to identify appropriate ways to resolve it.

Here are some tips on how to investigate a customer's problem.

MARIO

"I'm the manager of a busy call center, so I have to talk with lots of customers during the course of the day. When I'm investigating a problem that's been brought to my attention, I always ask questions about what is relevant. I try to ask enough specific questions to get a clear understanding of exactly what the problem is. If I need more clarification, I get the information from my team.

Getting sidetracked by irrelevant discussions wastes time and makes it hard to focus on the real issues. So I don't merely ask questions – I ask the right ones and get directly to the point."

CATHERINE

"Sometimes when a customer phones me with a request, I need to gather more information before I can assist. When this happens, I always apologize to the customer and explain that I need some time to investigate the problem. Then, instead of putting the customer on hold while I confer with my colleagues or do some further research, I offer to call the customer back.

This gives me time to investigate properly and I can control the timing of my next conversation. Another plus is that customers appreciate my taking the effort to call back and really feel like I'm taking responsibility in dealing with their problems."

MELANIE

"I find it's good to remember that there's often more than one way to deal with any problem. So don't just grab hold of the first solution you can think of – aim to figure out a set of alternatives.

Not only can you present your customer with a choice, but you can respond more intelligently to new information and the specifics of each situation. You have more options.

Never say to a customer 'It's not my problem,' 'It's not my responsibility,' or 'There's nothing I can do.' This is upsetting and makes it sound like you're refusing to help."

So when investigating a problem, you should ask specific questions to keep the conversation focused. If you really need more time – for example to find out about a problem – you should offer to call the customer back. Finally, you should take responsibility for helping the customer by working to identify possible solutions.

The next step in the process is coming to an agreement with the customer about the best way forward. Can you think of guidelines for ensuring this process goes smoothly and leaves the customer satisfied?

It's always best to involve the customer in deciding on an appropriate solution. You should offer multiple alternatives when possible and check which the customer prefers. You can also ask the customer to propose a solution, although it's important you retain control of the conversation. Finally, it's important you set reasonable, realistic expectations about what can and what can't be done.

Here is some more information about how it helps you find agreement on a solution.

OFFER ALTERNATIVES

Offering alternatives and allowing a choice empowers customers and shows you're taking their preferences into account. Even when you can't give customers exactly what they want, you should offer alternatives where possible.

Try to come up with alternatives that are based on a sound understanding of the nature of the problem and on what your customers want. You can say things such as "What we can do is..." or "Which way would suit you best?"

At all times, avoid saying there's nothing that can be done or you can't help.

ASK THE CUSTOMER

You should welcome your customers' suggestions for ways to solve problems and collaborate with them in finding mutually satisfying solutions.

However, it's important you retain control of the conversation. You need to ensure the agreed solution is feasible and will suit your company, as well as the customer. You also shouldn't leave customers feeling they've had to resolve their problems themselves.

SET REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS

You should make certain your customers know what to expect from you and your company, and explain any relevant limitations.

It's always better to promise less and then deliver more than to promise more and deliver less. This strategy builds in a margin for error and ensures you can always meet or surpass customers' expectations.

Lucy wasn't able to help Darren earlier in the day. Darren tries the help line again later, and this time Catherine takes his call. She allows him to vent his frustrations with the poor service until he's calmed down. Follow along as she investigates the problem and resolves it.

CATHERINE: Can you tell me what happened when you installed the update Darren?

Catherine is attentive.

DARREN: All our company's inventory categories were disabled. I installed it this morning and now I don't know what to do.

Darren sounds puzzled.

CATHERINE: Did you install the free trial version from our web site?

DARREN: Yes. That's the one.

CATHERINE: Alright. That's where the problem is. The free download is a demo version and doesn't support inventory categories. If you uninstall it, your system will revert without any data loss. But if you want the latest version with all the functionality, you need to purchase it.

DARREN: Well, I'm glad nothing's lost. But now I'm not sure whether I should install the full version or just go back to the old one. Why don't you explain to me the benefits of both options, so I can make a decision?

CATHERINE: With pleasure. I think you'll be able to make a good decision based on the benefits.

Catherine speaks with a smile.

Catherine effectively identified Darren's problem and began to explore potential solutions with him. She asked specific questions without losing focus. Once she had identified the problem, she offered Darren a choice of feasible solutions, and welcomed suggestions from him without losing control of the conversation.

I have been teaching and training agents, team leaders, supervisors, managers and admins of call centers and other businesses in BPO related fields. This series, comes as a result of that experience. I have more than 4,000 modules that I plan on sharing here. This is # 002-07

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