Great customer service isn’t about being perfect.
Great customer service is not about being perfect. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t TRY to deliver great products and services. But the truth is, it really is impossible to get it right every time.
Most customers know this and expect an occasional problem to occur. It’s not so much the problem that is the issue, usually. It’s the way we (or our team) handle the situation.
Complaints Are An Opportunity To Build Customer Loyalty
I learned early in my career that problems (aka complaints) actually offered a great opportunity to build relationship and loyalty with a client. The catch? Owning up to and taking responsibility for the problem – sometimes even if it was on the client’s side and not ours. Often it was on our end, but not always. But we’ve all heard the saying ‘the customer is never wrong’.
Own The Problem
If you’re in business that pretty much needs to be your motto. It’s not so much that the customer IS always right. They’re not. But, they need to see us owning the problem when they believe they are in the right. Arguing to prove we are right and they are wrong may allow us to win the battle, but we’ll likely lose the client.
OK, we may not lose the client immediately. But there will likely be a crack in their loyalty. They may feel betrayed, resentful, wronged, embarrassed, whatever. They may even know they were mostly responsible. But that often won’t matter if we don’t handle the situation well.
Fix The Problem
Conversely, handle their concerns well – whether it was our fault or theirs – and we can deepen the relationship with the client. They’ll (usually) appreciate and respect our willingness to own the problem and will (likely) extend a certain amount of grace. Provided we fix the problem quickly and make things right. All with a caring and courteous attitude (also known as humility), of course!
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Actions speak louder than words. Addressing problems in a customer caring way can result in them being more committed to you AFTER the problem is addressed/resolved than they were before.
Why would that be? Just maybe, we’ve proved ourselves as trustworthy and deserving of their business. They have confirmation that we have their best interests at heart, that we really do value them as a client. And chances are, if we’ve handled the situation really well, they’ll become one of your biggest promoters or ambassadors – assuming the service and products we provide is truly deserving of this.
If you take a minute to think back on problem situations you’ve experienced as a client and how you’ve been taken care of, or not, you’ll get the picture.
Give The Benefit Of The Doubt To The Customer
Clients deserve the benefit of the doubt. Sure sometimes we’ll be taken advantage of. And sometimes we won’t be able to fix mistakes or won’t be able to take responsibility for something that is very clearly customer error and possibly not fixable.
But where we can own the problem. Where we can fix it, whether we’re at fault or not. Where we can give the client the benefit of the doubt, rather than arguing with them. Where we can, the long-term payoff can be huge.
Keeping the customers we have and building on that base is much more cost effective than gaining new customers while existing ones stream out the back door!