Winning Customer Service Turns Complaints Into Customer Loyalty

How your customer service employees react to customer complaints can convert upset customers into loyal life-long customers.

When a customer has a complaint about the product or service they received from your company, it automatically sets them up as an opposition force. How employees react to this service challenge determines if you can win the customer back to the side of placing orders and bringing in profits

Complaints provide the perfect opportunity to impress the buying public and convince them to remain loyal to your company. Winning customer service battles results in higher long-term profit.

Three Customer Complaints and Simple Solutions

Customer complaints stem from three different things: mistakes, dissatisfaction with the actual product or a problem with the personal service they received during the buying and follow-up process. Mistakes happen in every company and, as long as they are not a chronic issue, they can be dealt with easily enough by apologizing and correcting them. Dissatisfaction with the product should be dealt with in a similar fashion: offer refunds or replacements. Problems with service practices, or any of your employees straying from them, require a more extensive make-up procedure.

How to Leverage Complaint Solutions for Customer Loyalty

When a customer has a complaint, the first thing they want to be sure of is that they will be heard by the company. The first step in turning “I’ll never do business with you again!” to “I’d like to place my next order.” is acknowledging and responding to the complaint within 24 hours. The sooner the better. Every current or future customer should be made to feel that they are the most important to your company.

The next step is to diffuse a tense situation, and there is a very simple way to do this. The customer service representative should begin the conversation by stating they are ready to solve whatever problem the customer has. No one can argue with that. Then listen to the customer without breaking in to utter scripted responses.

Customize the solution to create a loyal customer

Once the customer presents the issues, solutions must be tailored toward the individual. Most companies have set refund policies in place, but more lenient ones will help turn irate customers into repeat customers. The important thing is the illusion that you are giving this customer a personalized solution to his or her particular problem, even if it is the same solution used for every complaint.

After the refund or other solution is processed and done, following up contact becomes vital to a continuing business relationship. Send out an email or make a quick call to determine if they are still satisfied with the solution and if there is anything else you could help them with. The more personal the contact sounds, the greater chance to win the customer back to buying from your company once more.

Winning customer service

Winning customer service is, from a company’s point of view, a method to garner more sales and profits. Satisfying customer complaints on both a financial and personal level will do more to turn negatives into positives for your account books and reputation. Solving problems, even if your company created them to begin with, does more to win the customer as a repeat buyer than mere friendly service could.