The thing we all hate happens. We get a customer complaint. It is inevitable that we will all get an unhappy customer at times but it is how we deal with them that matters.
We have two choices. We can either go on the defensive and potentially make matters worse, or we can use the opportunity to learn and improve our business for the future.
Problems are pregnant with possibilities
Generally, unless there is a fundamental fault with the
product or service you are providing (and which you need to acknowledge and fix
immediately), complaints arise from a misunderstanding between parties.
It may something as simple as an order arriving on a date
that the customer believes is late but you believe is on time. This will
lead to you needing to set out your delivery policy in a more clear way.
It may be you supply a product such as a handbag and a customer complaint is the bag is not as large as shown in the picture. This leads to more details needed with your images. Put the bag against something for scale in pictures or quote measurements.
But whatever the complaint, most can be resolved if dealt
with in the right manner.
I met a client recently who had received a complaint and her reaction was to say ‘how dare he?’ and tell me how she was going to phone him and tell him in no uncertain terms how unhappy she was with him. I can just about guarantee 100% with this attitude that this customer will never do business with my client again and will more than likely tell friends and family never to deal with her again either.
I sat her down and asked her to put herself in the
customer’s shoes. Something had happened that caused him to be unhappy
and less than satisfied. Finding out what this was and how to avoid the
situation again in the future was imperative. She needed to look upon
this complaint as an opportunity to improve her business so that she did not
find herself in the same situation again in the future and to help her improve
customer satisfaction to retain other clients.
And again, very recently, I had someone who lost their key client. Why? Because he dared to complain about the standard of work and she took umbrage at this and had an argument with him over it. She is now left struggling to replace the income he took elsewhere.
How to deal with a customer complaint
Stay calm
The first thing to do is to stay calm and try not to take
the complaint personally. The complainant is usually dissatisfied with
the product or service and not you personally. Try to distance yourself
and your feelings and put things into perspective. Taking things
personally will only lead to an emotional response that is likely to make
matters worse.
Acknowledge the complaint
You then need to acknowledge the customer complaint and apologise for how the complainant is feeling. This is not accepting responsibility but is showing empathy for how the other person feels and letting them know you wish to help.
Get the complaint in writing
Wherever possible, ask for the complaint in writing. Or if the person is complaining to you verbally, let them know you are going to write everything down so you can ensure you have all the facts and do not forget anything. This can help as when someone starts to write, they can realise how unreasonable they may be or how they may have overreacted somewhat. Also, if they are in front of you and angry, they will see that you cannot write as fast as they speak and so will have to slow down, which in return will give them more time to breathe and calm down.
Take time to review
You do not need to give a solution immediately if you do not
want to. You can let them know that you are going to review the
complaint, look into what has happened and will get them back to them with a
response in a specified timescale.
This both gives the complainant the satisfaction that you
have listened and something is being done and also gives you the time to
consider what has happened and what you will do to resolve the situation.
Decide upon a solution or response
Now you need to get on and look into the situation and
decide what you are going to do. This will depend entirely upon your
business and what the complaint relates to. It could be a refund, a
product replacement or simply an apology and assurance it won’t happen again if
relevant.
If however, you find the complaint to be unfounded, be
careful with your response. Be clear that you have investigated the
matter, fully understand their frustration but then explain why you feel there
is not a complaint to answer.
Respond to the complainant
Do make sure you feedback to the customer within the timescale given or be prepared for the complaint to be escalated upon.
Always stay calm, speak slowly if talking to the customer,
and assure them you are taking the complaint seriously as you value their
custom.
Even if you cannot come to an amicable solution, they will
hopefully appreciate that you have taken the time and trouble to listen and try
to do something for them.
Document every customer complaint
Now document everything. Just in case this complaint
does not get resolved and is taken further, or resurrects its ugly head in the
future, make sure you have all conversations and facts documented with dates
and time.
The exception to the rule
There is always the exception to the rule of course and you may have the misfortune to come across someone who complains just for the fun of it. This person is just out to cause trouble and the best thing to do is to apologise for the way they are feeling and state that you are not a good fit for each other and therefore it will be best to not deal with each other again. Do not let these people bully you or get you to cave in to unreasonable demands.
Just remember, the customer will not so much remember what
you said, but more how you made them feel. Do your best to leave them
feeling you took the time to take them seriously and valued their custom.
You may not do business with them again, but it may a good case of damage
limitation as if they know you genuinely cared, they are less likely to bad
mouth you to future prospects.
Hopefully, by using this method, any customer complaint you have will be dealt with amicably and gain you a reputation for excellent customer care.
When was the last time you had a date with your significant other?
Too often we get so wrapped up in our work we forget what we are doing it for. In most cases, it is to build a stable future for ourselves and our loved ones, so why do we lose the importance of spending quality time with our loved ones whilst building our businesses?
I know I was guilty of this in years gone by. My husband would suggest going out for a drink but I always had something to finish. He would come into my office to have a coffee and a chat but I shunned him telling him he was interrupting me. He would say “let’s do something this weekend” but I was either buried in work or too tired to want to do anything but hide under a duvet.
Where was the sense in that?
I was directly sabotaging the very thing I was trying to achieve with my business! I wanted to build a successful business that would give us both the income and time freedom to do what we wanted when we wanted. It was right there, right then under my nose already but I couldn’t see it.
Does this sound familiar?
If it does, then stop. Go book a date with your significant other. If you live alone this may be a close friend or family member. Give them the time they deserve. Life is short. We need to remember to enjoy the moments we have here and now and not be blinded by the bright lights of the future.
There is a powerful book called the Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle which is worth a read. It changed my outlook completely.
Mr T and I now regularly have dates. We book them ahead in the diary and don’t let anything get in the way. These dates vary from a couple of nights away in a cottage somewhere to a simple afternoon walk with a picnic. The important thing is that we spend quality time together with no interruptions.
And we must be doing something right as yesterday was our 31st wedding anniversary (yes, I was a child bride – not really). And we celebrated with a tiny bbq and a bottle of fizz on the beach with family. Just perfect.
In an online forum that I’m in, the questions was asked ‘What’s
the best piece of advice you would give to a new entrepreneur today?’
There were some great answers, so I picked out a few to share with
you.
Don’t work without a contract, especially if you know them.
Yes! This was a hot
topic in a recent event that I hosted.
We can tend to work on trust with people we know such as family and friends
but this is invariably where things go wrong.
We never know what is around the corner and without a contract, long
standing relationships can be torn apart.
Invest in your business. Do not rely on free ANYTHING to grow your business
Now, I wouldn’t go so far as to say not rely on free anything,
but yes, if you are serious about your business, you are going to need to
invest. If you rely on free everything,
it is going to take forever to get where you want to be.
Stay consistent and remember to always take a break when you are feeling overwhelmed
Yep! Couldn’t agree
more. Consistency and persistency are
key. Too many give up too early after
trying a new tactic for a week or so without results. It takes time to build your visibility and
gain relationships.
And, yes, it is so important to take a break to rest, reflect
and recharge, particularly when we are feeling overwhelmed.
Take action sooner. Do not get stuck in a learning loop
How many courses and books have you studied but never fully
actioned? Far too many I suspect. Don’t fool yourself you are learning
more. There is no point learning
anything if you don’t take what you have learned and put it into action. I’ve read a book how to get a six pack but
still don’t have one because I don’t do the exercises!!
Have set time to work your business. It cannot be a hobby.
If you work ad hoc as and when you feel like it, don’t be
surprised when you get ad hoc results. Schedule
work time, get disciplined and work!
Never give up. And don’t take anything on board from people who want to
steal your dream. Associate with people who have drive and are positive in
their attitudes.
Oh, those dream stealers! They all want to quash your dream because they don’t have the courage to do what you are doing. They say you will act and become like the 5 people you spend the most time with. Choose people wisely.
Schedule your free time first and always be firm about it. — Work will take
up as much time as you give it. So, schedule your free time first and then make
the space for work around that.
When you’re on your death bed, (sorry to bring morbidity
into this) I doubt you will say you wish you had spent more time at work. Get your priorities right. Block out time for friends and family and be
present with them 100%. You can always
make more money. You can’t get more
time.
Do your accounting and get everything setup correctly from the start!
Cash is king and is the one deciding factor on your business
success or failure. You must get a grip
on the finances. Very simply, you need
to know what money is coming in, what is going out and what is left. Profit determines success.
Be authentically you, don’t fall for the fake stats and trust your gut. You
got it…even when you doubt your ability…Keep on Pushing!
Yes, be you. You are
your business. There is no point trying
to be something you’re not as people will see through you as being fake.
You don’t need your website, business cards or a perfect branding strategy
before you start. You need to get started and keep showing up.
True! Yes, a website
and branding can help grow your business but to start with, just get out there
and start selling. There is the danger
of trying to get everything perfect before launching but this can take far too
long and cause you to miss valuable sales.
Every day do a little something to get you closer to your goal.
This is one of my favourites. If you take just one step each day, you will eventually be guaranteed to complete a marathon. Trying to do everything can seem overwhelming and so we end up doing nothing. Focus on one small thing each day and don’t give up.
Do you have something to add? Leave your comment below.
Full of ideas but have to
finish other things first
You know what you need to do
but just can’t do it.
And the list goes on ………………….
Sound familiar?
A lot of you have contacted me recently to say it does, and I include
myself in that list.
Feeling like this can be attributed to many factors and for women of a similar
age to me, Peri-menopause has a lot to answer for!
All too often we suffer in silence as we don’t want to be seen as weak when
everyone else around us seems to have it all going perfectly for them. But the reality is that others are feeling
the same also.
If you feel like this, start to keep a diary of how you are
feeling at what times. Try to see if
there is a particular time when you have more energy and focus. Block out these times to do your core work
with clients. Where you see a pattern of
times that your energy is particularly low, block this out to rest. You must take care of your health first and
foremost.
With the problem of knowing what you need to do but not
doing it, this is a common phenomenon and I found a great article on this very
subject by Jon
Covey.
Sometimes when our business feels like it is about to take
off, we can self-sabotage. It’s the fear
of the next step and the fear of the unknown.
We have been in our safe place building slowly and then we realise if we
do this or that, we can take it to the next level. And this is where the paralysis comes
in. We get afraid that if we go to the
next level we will open ourselves to a wider audience that may have people who
will oust us as a fraud.
We get scared and so use distraction techniques by over
planning and getting distracted by yet another new idea (anyone else suffer
from Bright Shiny Object syndrome?)
You need to take the leap. You need to take the next step out of your comfort zone. But with a little planning, it needn’t seem so scary. Map out what you need to do. Break it down into small steps. Give yourself a deadline for each. And then go do it.
If you are struggling and need help, come join my Facebook group to share your feelings with other women building their business and going through the same struggles.
Do you get confused when posting on social media. Are you unsure where, when and what to post. Follow these simple tips to make it all a lot easier.
Where to post
Before blindly following the crowd and using the same social media channels as everyone else, stop and think. Which channels are going to work best for YOUR business?
Who is your ideal client and where do they hang out?
Firstly, you need to be clear on who is your ideal client. You need to know who they are, what their
interests are and where they go online to ask questions and find answers to their
problems. When you know this, you will
have a better understanding of where they hang out online.
Facebook is still currently the biggest social media platform
but that doesn’t mean it is the best for your business. If you have a B2B business you could be
better placed using LinkedIn.
If your business is highly visual Pinterest or Instagram could
be the place to hang out.
Instagram has rapidly gained popularity particularly with a
younger audience, but still has to catch on with the older generation. Therefore, if you are looking to gain elderly
clients for arthritic massage sessions, Instagram may not be the best place to
spend your time.
One or two channels can be better than the whole caboodle
To avoid overwhelm, don’t go trying to post on every social
media channel going. It will simply
become too time consuming and confusing.
Choose two channels and become really good at these rather than spreading
yourself too thinly.
When to post
When planning when to post take into consideration what time
zone your ideal client is in and when are they most likely to be active online.
If your target audience is young mums,
they are unlikely to be online when it’s the early morning school run or pick
up. You may be better posting when they
have put the kids to be and are settling down in the evening.
What to post
You want to create a mix of posts both in type and content,
but to attract your ideal client you need to posting what they want to hear
about.
Get social yourself.
Join groups where your ideal client hangs out. What questions are they asking? What are the hot topics? What frustrations are they talking
about? Use this information to create
posts that help solve their problems or give tips to help them towards gaining
solutions for their problems.
Listen to the words and phrases that your ideal clients are
using. Replicate these words in your
posts. If you hear people complaining
and asking for tips on how to get their child to sleep through nightmares,
start your post off with ‘top tip to help your child sleep through a nightmare’. Keep it simple and don’t get so creative with
your words that you lose your target audience.
Look at the interaction within these groups and also watch your competitors. What type of posts get the most response? Is it quotes, pictures, questions or top tips? Replicate these types of posts on your own chosen channel.
P.S. Would you like help planning your social media to help increase your reach to gain more clients and make more money? Join my member’s club for a step-by-step guide. You’ll love it and start to get the results you want. Find out more here.
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