Get it right when it has gone wrong.
A few weeks ago I completed a business transaction that involved three suppliers and a deadline. Each
supplier dropped the ball at least once, which resulted in me spending an afternoon frantically emailing
people back and forth trying to sort it all out so the deadline could be met. Of course, that is not
how I had planned to spend the afternoon.
After the deal had gone through, I sent an email jointly to all three of my suppliers. Choosing my
words carefully and trying to sound matter of fact, I said there were some aspects of the way the transaction
had been handled that disappointed me and I thought there were learning opportunities for each of them.
I then listed ten very specific points, some of which applied to each supplier. I closed the email by
saying I had spent the entire afternoon fixing problems I was paying them to get right in the first
instance.
Within two hours I had my first response. My supplier referred to my email as a ‘gripe letter’ and
then criticised me. We no longer work together. Later that afternoon, I received an email from the second
supplier. He thanked me for the feedback, saying it was good that I always challenge their “accepted
way of doing things.” He then refuted the points I made that related to his actions. In other
words, he said, “Thanks for the feedback, mate, but you are wrong and we are right.” I am
continuing to use this supplier but I am ripe for the picking by a competitor. I have yet to hear from
the third supplier, who is also never going to work for me again.
Interestingly, not one person replied saying, “ I am so sorry you had to spend an unscheduled
afternoon fixing mistakes that should not have happened.” Not one person said, “Thank you
for bringing these points to our attention. We will think about what you said.” Not one person
asked if there was anything they could do to put things right. In short, not one person attempted to
change me from being an unhappy customer who might defect and tell people about my bad experience, into
a contented customer who might stay loyal and tell everyone about how well the company handled my complaint.
Now before you get dizzy shaking your heads in amazement that the employees in any of these companies
could react that way, let me say that I blame the business owners and senior managers more than the
employees. Firstly, one of the three people I was dealing with was the business owner. Secondly, how
can anyone expect staff to respond professionally if they have not been trained to do so? When faced
with an angry or disappointed customer, the natural human reaction is to feel threatened and flee or
fight. That is why people become defensive and justify their actions or aggressive and launch a counter
attack. Neither of these are what the customer wants to hear, however.
Responding professionally to a customer complaint is not that difficult. Here are the five key steps
:
1. Listen and empathise.
2. Acknowledge the wrong and apologise.
3. Understand and take ownership.
4. Fix the problem and do something extra.
5. Follow up and learn from the mistake.
The first two steps are the most critical and, as my own experience shows, are rarely taken. Listening
to the customer tell their story and putting yourself in their shoes is the best way to defuse the situation.
Then apologise. When something has gone wrong, what customers want to hear most is, “I am so sorry.” Not
excuses. Not justifications. Not why it is really all their fault. Not that nobody else has ever complained
about that happening. Just some words that show you understand how this has not been a good experience
for them and the magical words, “I’m sorry.”
The next two steps are the meat and potatoes of your response. Words are nice but rarely enough. Let
the customer know you understand the problem they now have and that you will personally take responsibility
for seeing it is fixed. When you have fixed the problem, throw in something extra to compensate for
the trouble your customer has endured. These two steps will retain your customer because they will no
longer have a problem and they will be grateful that you did more than you had to do to help them.
Finally, the follow up is the icing on the cake that turns the complaining customer into a raving
fan. By following up, you make sure your customer’s problem really is fixed in their eyes, not
just yours and you demonstrate you care. By learning from the incident, you reduce the chances future
customers will be unhappy with your performance.
Sound like hard work? It is. But in a small market of four million people, how many unhappy former
customers, who spend their time telling anyone who will listen about their bad experience with your
company, can you afford to have?
|
