Dealing with customer complaints can be a daunting task, but doing it well will be beneficial for everyone involved.
Handling consumer complaints should involve both good customer service skills and the right technology to get to the bottom of your customer’s problem and ensure repeat issues are avoided.
At Causia™, we understand the importance of a good complaints process. Here are our top ten tips to handling them well...
1. Respond Quickly
It’s going to work against you if you take your time in responding to your customer. The time it takes you to respond will give insight into your business’s attitude toward complaints.
If you're prompt about it, this will demonstrate to the customer that you are receptive to their feedback and actually care about their experience.
2. Listen to What They Have to Say
It can be easy to pass off customer complaints as trivial issues but they can also indicate root issues within your company.
This is why it’s important to understand their concern and truly listen to what they have to say when dealing with the complainant. By doing this, your customer will also feel acknowledged which will reflect better on you and your business.
3. Thank Your Customer
Regardless of their temperament, it is good practice to thank the complainant for bringing their concern to your attention. It is important that you do this genuinely and with the right tone to ensure that the customer feels that their complaint has been heard and that their input is valued.
4. Log the Complaint
Recording and documenting customer issues and concerns is essential to identify any common problems that your customer may be facing, as some may not be coming forward. This will come in handy when you want to look into the root causes of these issues...
5. Integrate Your Communication
If your customer has to repeat themselves three times to get to the right place in your organisation, it is likely they won’t be too happy about it.
Integrated and company wide software, like Complaints Pro™, will ensure all the relevant information is filed and organised in the same place and can be accessed by anyone in your company, making handling the complaint that much easier.
6. Ensure Your Complaint Process is Easily Accessible
If your complaints process is confusing or hard to find, this will only aggravate your customer. Make sure your complaints process is clearly set out on your website and offer multiple channels in which to lodge their concern.
7. Identify Root Causes
A customer complaint can sometimes be a symptom of a deeper issue. Finding and fixing root causes should be an integral part of your complaints process and doesn’t have to be complex.
Industry specific complaints handling and quality assurance software makes finding the root causes of your customer’s problem significantly easier, and turns complaints into an opportunity to improve your business.
8. Set Expectations
Of course, not all problems can be solved on the spot. Communicating well with your customer to ensure they are realistic with how the issue is going to be solved will save them disappointment in the long run.
Keep them updated and be transparent in your response to their complaint so they know exactly when they should expect their issue to be resolved.
9. Apologise
When a customer complains, sometimes all they want is a genuine apology. Sincerity is key here so make sure you have the right attitude when going into handling the complaint.
10. Follow Up
Following up can be the best way to completely ensure customer satisfaction. A phone call or follow up email can show your customer that you took the time to see if their issue was resolved, and increases the chances that they will return to your business.
If you want to improve your complaints handling process, Causia’s™ Complaints Pro™ software has you covered.
Request a free trial or book a demo today, or get in contact for more information!
