Handling the Unhappy Customer

Carol Smalley
Managing Editor, CRMGuru
Member

Posted 16-Sep-2003 08:02 AM
This posting is an edited/merged version of two questions submitted by Peng Herng Soon [soon@hotpop.com] by Carol Smalley (Editor)

We recently had an encounter with a customer whose demands/requests could not be met by the current abilities of our company. Some misinformation was communicated between the company and the customer. We now have an angry customer, who we don't want to lose. What would you recommend?

Carol Parenzan Smalley
Managing Editor
www.CRMGuru.com
carol@CRMGuru.com

Michael Hill
Member

Posted 18-Sep-2003 02:13 PM
You customer has actually given you an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with them. The act of making a complaint is often an indicator that the customer has some trust in your company otherwise they would have simply walked.

You need to embrace the opportunity and let them know that you are taking their concerns seriously. Show them how you are going to learn from the experience and impress them with what you can do to put things right. Make sure that you are pulling out all the stops to have personal communication with them—accept that you have misinformed them and let them know this. Ask them what they would like you do to resolve the situation but make sure you are clear about what you can and cant do.

Pavel Lenshin
Member
Picture of Pavel Lenshin

Posted 19-Sep-2003 03:36 AM
The wisest advice you can get is to become the best advocate for this customer interests he/she can ever have.

If it is in his best interests to stop dealing with your company than leave this customer, saying "it is the best we can do for you". Doing otherwise will damage your reputation only.

If it is in his best interests to continue doing business with your company, then it won't be hard for you to provide him with plain and simple facts and let him to make this decision for himself. If he doesn't wish himself any harm, he will remain being your customer without any persuasions and, what is even more important; become your #1 word-of-mouth marketing promoter.

Other advises are useless, given that I don't know your business or your customer.

Pavel Lenshin
info@asbone.com
info business marketer,
author and publisher of NET Business Magazine
web-developer, CEO
http://asbone.com

Graham Hill
Guru
Member

Posted 19-Sep-2003 11:28 AM
Handling difficult customers is always a tricky one. It is made much more difficult if, as you say "some misinformation was communicated between the company and the customer"! I assume by this that you promised something to the customer and then didn't deliver against your promise.

If that is the case, then you have to ask yourself whether you are able and willing to over-deliver against the customer's original request (and your unkept promise). And unfortunately for you, research on 'zones of tolerance' in service encounters suggests that the customer will probably expect more from you now that you haven't delivered the first time.

If you can deliver, then be prepared to really go out of your way to meet the customer's needs whatever the cost. The decision should be driven by a solid understanding of the customer's value as a revenue source, as an influencer of other buyers and as a learning experience for your company if serving the customer helps you develop valuable new service capabilities. This is not just about being nice to customers, it is also about customer economics.

But that is not enough by itself. If you decide to try and retain the customer, you will have to tackle the reasons why the first service encounter failed. If it failed because you didn't deliver the outcome you promised, then you will have to deliver that excellently the second time round. Or if the encounter failed because the process you forced the customer to go through was unreasonable, you will have to fix that the second time round. Or if it failed because the interaction with staff was not right for the situation, then you will have to make sure that staff act in an emotionally intelligent way the seond time round. If as it sounds, all three were serially at fault, then your initial response will have to acknowledge and tackle all three failures appropriately, before you even get round to dealing with the customer's underlying needs and wants, and their raised expectations.

The customer may have given you "an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with them" as Michael suggests, but you will certainly have to earn the right to do so.

Above all, be honest with the customer this time round. Good luck.

Graham Hill
Independent CRM Consultant

VSS
Member
Picture of VSS

Posted 22-Sep-2003 07:38 AM
The situation described clearly indicates that you have tried all that you could do to satisfy the customer but if he still is disatisfied or angry check what was the commitment made to him and if someone in the organisation has given him a wrong commitment then better do something for him or if no commitment has been made then be prepared to lose him and accept the fact that he is a demanding customer who will further do the same after you satisfy him this time.

JoAnna Brandi
Member

Posted 23-Sep-2003 01:16 PM
You certainly do have a great opportunity there. In addition to the fine advice already posted, I would add two things. Make sure someone has apologized and make sure the customer's emotion has been acknowledged and validated. In my experience those two elements are often neglected, leaving the customer feeling frustrated and angry. Customers have emotional as well as business needs and it's our job to tend to both.

I love the term "misinformation." It's right up there with "miscommunication." Often the customer prefers language that is more in line with what they are feeling. "We screwed up" might be closer to their perception of the situation. Take a look at the impact of the misinformation—that's what counts! How did what you did, or didn't do effect their life?

If you really don't have the ability to serve the customer—find someone who does and offer to connect them. If you want to keep the customer because they do other business with you, you might consider making sure that apology comes from someone up top. And you might consider doing it with a little drama and flair. Send a note on a silver platter delivered by a uniformed butler. Sounds corny but it could break the ice and diffuse the situation. Smilejoanna@customercarecoach.com

JoAnna Brandi
The Customer Care Coach Publisher

JoAnna Brandi, Publisher, Customer Care Coach. Author, Public Speaker, Consultant in Customer Retention and Loyalty

Edwin Setzpfand
Member Council
Member

Posted 13-Jul-2005 03:20 AM
In addition to JoAnnas' remarks: It may be preferred if the apology could come from the same employee who was involved in that initial "failing encounter", but I acknowledge that there may be a dozen of reasons why that is no longer possible/ adequate. Added to that you may have some gesture from a more senior person up top to demonstrate that the company really has given attention to the issue and has learned from it.

Having involved that "initial" employee not only serves as a "training" for that employee, it also helps that employee to close the issue and be better prepared for new situations.

About the language: Instead of standard corporate statements the language of the message towards this customer should match the language of the customer and of the incident situation (but don't forget the OK from corporate counsel).

Edwin