Turn Complaints Into Compliments

When it comes to dealing with dissatisfied customers, most managers believe that money-back guarantees and make-goods will fix the problem. These may be short-term fixes, but giveaways do little to actually repair the damaged relationship with the customer.

It’s important to remember that policies don’t fix relationships, people do. Yet managers pay little attention to how employees can help customers who have been let down feel better.

They should, because the consequences are staggering. Inadequately trained frontline employees chase away repeat business and referrals. They become frustrated because they’re constantly dealing with upset customers. On the other hand, frontline employees can create such positive feelings that an upset customer will become even more loyal. Here are five key strategies:

1. Focus on “concerns” versus complaints. Employees need to be trained to treat customer complaints as concerns. It’s not just semantics. Complaints put employees in a defensive mindset. Customers who express concerns are helping you stay sharp, competitive, and successful. Focusing on customer concerns versus complaints will shift a potentially negative situation into one that is positive, helpful, and productive.

2. Empower your frontline employees. For their 43rd wedding anniversary, my father called a florist to order 43 roses for my mother. When Dad asked for the price, the clerk quoted the single rose price times 43. She offered no quantity discount despite the fact that they’re usually cheaper by the dozen. She admitted that this didn’t make sense, but her boss wasn’t in and the policy was to issue no discounts without the manager’s approval. Result: a competitor got the order and Dad will never go back to the first florist.

The lesson is that you can often prevent customers from becoming upset if you empower your frontline employees to make reasonable on-the-spot decisions. This type of delegation requires two important factors: training and trust. The irony is that a lot of managers say they can’t afford to train employees, when in fact they can’t afford not to. You don’t get customers for free. You earn customers by investing in frontline training.

3. Prove that you’re listening. When a customer is voicing their dissatisfaction, stop whatever you’re doing, turn towards them, and give them an expression of total concern. Listen without interrupting. Then prove that you’ve heard them. That means repeating and paraphrasing.

And this is critical: make sure you tell them why you’re repeating what they’ve said. For example, you might say, “I want to make sure I’ve got this straight…” (then you paraphrase and repeat). That ensures that the customer knows that you truly understand the problem.

4. Express sincere empathy. Virtually every upset customer feels frustrated because he didn’t get what he expected. It’s that simple. Whether or not he has a valid reason for feeling frustrated is completely irrelevant. Upset customers need to know that you care not just about their problem, but about their frustration. So empathize. That’s something no refund or exchange will ever do. Use phrases like, “Gosh, that sounds frustrating,” or, “I’d feel the same way if I were you.” Empathizing will diffuse an angry customer faster than any thing else you can do.

5. Apologize. Tell the customer, “I’m sorry.” Even if it wasn’t your fault. You represent your organization to that customer, so apologize on behalf of the entire company. Even when you suspect the customer may have erred, it’s better to give the customer the benefit of the doubt than to be “right” and lose repeat business.

If you really did fall short of the mark, don’t think that a refund is enough. Give the customer something for the inconvenience. Any small gesture or token of appreciation (that doesn’t force them to spend more money) will be appreciated and will transform that upset customer into one of your greatest advocates. Every business has occasions where things go wrong and customers are disappointed.

When that happens, your customer base won’t be preserved by money-back guarantees. Rather, your business will be saved by properly trained frontline employees.