How to deal with unhappy customers

Dealing with unhappy customers is a tricky situation that every business has to deal with. In business it is impossible to please everybody no matter how hard you try or how good your product is. The positive aspect of unhappy customers is that they are more forthcoming in sharing their experiences than the happy customers. Unhappy customers if dealt with properly can become strong allies of your business. One needs to be careful in analyzing what caused disappointment to the customer in the first place. Once this factor is well understood their needs can be properly addressed.

The most important aspect of dealing with unhappy customers is to be a good listener. When a customer makes a complaint your first instinct is to be defensive and distribute blame. When you react in this manner it is very much possible that you misjudge the situation and may offer inappropriate resolutions to customers. Your customers may also get the impression that you are insensitive to their arguments. To avoid all this it is important to work hard and become patient listeners. Your focus should be on what is being said by the customer and not on how it is being said. Listening properly to your customers is the first step towards helping them more effectively.

The second important thing to be kept in mind while dealing with unhappy customers is to never let an unhappy customer slip away. You should do everything possible to retain the customer. Most of the time customers with complaints just want you to take their problems seriously and solve it as quickly as possible. Disgruntled customers want their problems to be solved in a respectful and professional manner. So the next time a customer walks out of your office unsatisfied with your service or product, you can still mend the relationship if you solve his/her problem quickly and effectively.

Another important aspect of dealing with unhappy customers is to resolve the problem to their satisfaction and not yours. When businesses resolve their problems they do so by only considering what is good in their own interest and not that of the customer. This doesn't always work. Most of the time customers have their own ideas on how a problem needs to be resolved. Some of them may want a particular employee to be fired or punished for their bad service, others may ask for financial restitution and some others may want an assurance that such things would never happen again. You can always ask unhappy customers on what needs to be done (within reason) to determine ways to satisfy them.

Lastly it is important to keep your head while dealing with angry customers. It can be an upsetting experience and it takes a lot of effort to cope effectively in such situations. Keep in mind that it is not about you, stop thinking "if only" or "what if", know you have done all you can and keep improving. Just remind yourself of these four steps to cope with your feelings.

Ajith Aravindakshan

Hi-Tech Editorial Division