Every early stage startup employee needs to learn how startups should handle complaints. Here is a list of points to help you quickly resolve or at least mitigate complaints.
If you can really impress the upset one quickly; you can gain good publicity within his/her sphere of influence. Otherwise you will get bad publicity told to more people.
Your objective is to regain or achieve customer goodwill as a result of addressing the complaint.
At a summary level you wish to:
- Listen carefully
- Resolve a situation as quickly as possible. Resolution during the first contact is best.
- Give some free something to the upset one
- Train all employees who have customer contact as to how to resolve complaints. Only allow those with the best attitude to interact with an upset customer
- Train these employees to be totally customer focused when interacting with an upset one.
Here is some detail concerning how startups should handle complaints:
- Information gathering
- Listen carefully
- Collect name contact information and concern/problem information
- Let the upset one vent
- Repeat his/her major points back to them
- Look past the anger to see what you can learn. There is almost certainly a way to improve; and now you can learn what needs fixing. But the furious customer will not be good at telling you how to fix the problem
- Clarify what the problem is
- If you are going to transfer the call – have a good explanation – and transfer quickly not after a 20 minute conversation
- Resolution
- Apologizing once is a very good idea
- Think through the intended and actual customer experiences
- Do not agree to all customer demands. Be reasonable. If the customer was at fault let him/her figure that out. Be gracious.
- Avoid being Passive-Aggressive
- Empathize. Be very careful with your tone – Do not point the blame to others
- State that you want a mutually acceptable solution
- Your respect for your customer must come across as authentic
- Do not ask leading negative questions
- A quick response and resolution is essential. Deliver it on the agreed date.
- Get the information and answers right the first time
- Verify that you have achieved resolution in a friendly way
- Thank the customer
- If a customer wants to terminate his account; make it a prompt easy experienced
- After the interaction
- Have those interacting with an upset one prepare a written report; immediately. Organize it to include:
- Who was upset – name and category
- What Complaint Persona Group does he/she fit into
- Reasonable person
- Timid
- Aggressive
- VIP customer
- Perpetual complainer
- Never pleased – nothing is good enough
- Look through the above written reports on a monthly basis. Note patterns
- Have those interacting with an upset one prepare a written report; immediately. Organize it to include:
Conclusion
A calm prompt respectful resolution is required. Resolution must be verified. Written records must be made and reviewed.
References
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