How to deal with customer complaints and provide good customer service

"Make resolving problems quick, efficient and at the heart of your customer service process"
 

Customer service is the key to long-term business relationships and your clients may go elsewhere if they’re not treated well. When things go awry (and they will), you’ll want to keep disruption to a minimum...

Providing a good customer service

A good reputation for customer service will give your organisation the following benefits:

Customer loyalty – customers will keep coming back and tell their friends or associates that they’ve been treated well

Feedback – customers will be more inclined to tell you where you can improve and where you’re doing well

Market research – a happy customer will be happy to tell you about what your competitors are doing and save you money on expensive research.

Levels of customer service
The level of customer service you provide will be determined by various factors:

Competition – if prices are very similar throughout your industry, customer service will be a key differentiator
 

Customer expectation – it’s up to you to manage what your customers expect from your business. Aim to exceed their expectations, but don’t go to a level you’re unable to satisfy. Saying “no” is sometimes necessary if you can’t meet their needs
 

Profitability – don’t put so much emphasis on customer service that it starts to eat into your margins
 

The product – as a general rule, expensive products require high levels of customer service. Conversely, much cheaper products require less.

Dealing with a customer complaint
 

When a customer complains it’s an ideal opportunity to restore goodwill, build stronger relationships and improve your procedures. There’s no set way to deal with them, but there are some logical stages in a complaints procedure. 

 

1. Receive, acknowledge and log the complaint
Tell the customer this has been done. If there is no immediate resolution, explain that you’ll investigate the issue and you’ll update them at a specified time.

2. Investigate
Identify the source of the error and remedy the fault.

3. Respond
Report your findings to the customer and how it has been remedied. Making amends through a refund or a gift voucher is often wise.

4. Follow up
Go back at a later date and find out if the customer was satisfied with the way the complaint was handled.

Principles of your complaints policy
 

Your complaints policy should not only be procedural, but should also have some common-held principles behind it. For example:
 

Openness and honesty – customers appreciate candour, but you shouldn’t admit fault until you know the full facts of the matter
 

Fairness – you should approach complaints with even-handedness towards both your customers and your staff
 

Efficiency – make resolving problems quick, efficient and at the heart of your customer service process
 

Accountability – give the customer a named contact.

In conclusion
Whatever your industry, providing a service that meets the requirements of your customers is key to the success of your business. By ensuring there is a procedure for dealing with complaints effectively and managing customers’ expectations you will ensure that they come back regularly, and tell others about your great service.