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Here are some tips to help with complaints handling

Handling complaints can be difficult and sometimes it can be easy.  But when handling complaints don’t despair but try and keep you motivation up by focussing on putting things right for the customer.  This might sound easy but navigating your way through a complaint can often be tricky.  We thought we’d help by sharing some of our tips for complaints handling.

So if you get a complaint do keep in mind these tips and it may well help you:

1. Listen. Let the complainant explain what is wrong. Often when they first approach you or make that call they are filled with emotion and stress.  it can sometimes take some courange to make a complaint so you may have to let them vent their emotions to get it off their chest before you start trying to resolve it. The best complaints handlers listen carefully before trying to resolve the complaint because to put it right you need to understand what went wrong and why. So let the customer have their say, that may be for some people a big part of why they are complaining.  They simply want to vent their frustration.
2. Always acknowledge that you have a complaint. Be clear about what they are complaining about and if you can empathise, summarise what they have told you.  Make sure you let the customer know you understand their viewpoint and that you are going to do your best to resolve the complaint.
3. Say sorry! It is amazing how many people complain simply because they want an apology.  I really can work wonders. I’ve heard it said that apologising is sometimes avoided in case liability is admitted but saying sorry is not an acknowledgement of liability. It is simply an apology. Often saying sorry and meaning it is all that the customer wants to hear. It may even resolve the complaint there and then.
4. If the complaint is not resolved at this point. Tactfully ask what would put this right. If you don’t know what the customer wants you can’t put it right for them.  Most customers are reasonable and won’t over egg their demands.  Do this carefully and once they have explained the problem.  To handle complaints well you want the dialogue to turn onto what can be done rather than what was done.
5. If you cannot resolve the complaint straight away, then explain what you are going to do. There is nothing worse than the customer not knowing when they are to hear back, so make sure you give them your contact details and promise when you will be able to respond.  Explain why it may take some time to sort out.
6. Do what you say you will do. That means getting back in touch when you say you will as well as making sure the solution you have agreed is actually delivered.

So there you have it six of my best tips to help you handle complaints better.

Good luck with those customers.

Alison

Here is a blog from Tania Ashton Jones has great skills in coaching for success and she is one of our great team of trainers. It is designed for leaders and managers as a thought-provoking piece and a way of checking that employee motivation momentum is being maintained. We are one month into the year already!  Over to Tania:

As 2011 drew to a close, Alison highlighted the secret to making sure New Year Resolutions are powerful and work.  I don’t know how you are feeling, but for me the first few weeks of 2012 have flown by.  If we’re not careful good intentions, to improve aspects of daily life, that transpired as the New Year dawned, can quickly fade away, just as the weeks do.

So how are you fairing with those New Year Resolutions?

Have you been viewing areas you want to change from New Dimensions and taking the necessary action to implement them?  Have you started keen, kept up the momentum and now find you are benefitting from your new actions?  If this is you, take time out to reflect and celebrate these achievements however large or small.  Write down what’s worked and the feelings it generated.  Capture the detail, the achievement and success in order to build progressively and take new behaviours to new levels or develop further areas as the year unfolds.

Or have you found …

Some or all of your New Year’s Resolutions have simply faded along with the old year?  Were some of them on your ‘to do’ list at the beginning of 2011 and then transferred to your 2012 list?  If so what is the likelihood they will reappear on your ‘to do’ list as we enter 2013?  If this is the case it is not too late to take stock and work out what you can do and how you are going to do it?  A good starting point is to identify if the resolutions were right in the first place.  Don’t waste time and energy on the ones which were never right, rework those which may need to be expressed in a slightly different direction to enable them to work better for you and establish any quick wins which will get you on the right track.  Try to reinvigorate that initial drive you had, by reminding yourself what it would mean to you when your goals are realized.

What is your Reality?

Whichever areas from above you can relate to, take time out to recognize your own reality and focus on where you want to take it to next.  Sharing our resolutions, reviewing progress regularly and having support to achieve our goals, instigate change and instill new behaviours, can be paramount to ensuring actions are implemented.

The Workplace

People in an organisation are often referred to as “the greatest asset.”  This is a term, which can be easily dismissed, but I believe it really is an underrated term.  Believing in people is the key to empowering them to dig a little deeper and provides the platform to seek out and unveil people’s hidden talents and strengths. Taking decisive, positive steps to implement resolutions across the whole scope of an organization and instill new behaviours and habits requires a focused effort but the outcome can be immensely rewarding.  Now more than ever is the time to invest in your people.  To make them feel special, give them a sense of belonging and fulfillment and ensure you and the organisation reap the benefits of the investment as the year progresses.

How about providing the framework for people to be able to share, review and have support to achieve their work-based resolutions?  Corporate and Executive Coaching may provide your senior managers and leaders with the support they require to keep on track throughout the year with their personal business and organizational resolutions.  Coaching and Mentoring Skills for Managers and Trainers may be the answer to setting up, following and achieving action plans for your team members.  Personal Performance Coaching at Work can be great at tackling those challenges and breaking down the barriers which often prevent us from achieving our resolutions.

Whatever your reality is with your New Dimensions on your New Year’s Resolutions, we wish you continued good luck and success in taking them forward in 2012.

Tania Ashton Jones
Associate Trainer & Coach
Training To Achieve

I’m writing this as 2011 draws to a close.  What a year it has been!  The economic news is not good but I firmly believe there’s nothing like a challenge or two to bring out our best! If I look back over our last 21 years as a business I can honestly say that our greatest triumphs have resulted from rising to meet a challenge. Does that sound familiar to you too when you reflect back?  

But looking forwards,  how do we make the changes that will bring us success?  It’s not the making of New Year Resolutions that’s going to help. The secret is in the implementation of what, where and how we want to change.  To quote the old adage “if we always do what we’ve always done we’ll always get what we’ve always got”.

So that’s the difficult bit.  Resolutions are simple, but reality is a different ball game entirely. Changing personal or work habits requires sustained effort – some research tells us we need to embed a new behaviour 21 times before we  go on autopilot.  I call it the kitchen bin syndrome.  Imagine for example changing the location of your kitchen bin.  It will take you 21 visits to the bin in the new place before you really feel at ease with it and use it without thinking!

The New Year is also renowned for being the time to ‘Throw out the old and bring in the new”.  Getting a fresh perspective and  seeing new dimensions can help us decide what we want to change and how we are going to change it.

So to maximise your chances of success with your New Year’s Resolutions here are the three stages to follow:

1. Make sure you look at what you want to change from some new perspectives/dimensions

2. Once you are sure you need to make some changes, write these down using action-centred words, with deadlines attached

3.  Devote time and energy to a plan to implement these changes.  Note ideas on how you will sustain the new actions.  Identify indicators and rewards en-route.  Have a clear vision of the new and sustained change and what it will mean to your personal and/or work life.

And just in case you need more support then…

Here are some more suggestions for making resolutions that work:

Don’t pick too many. It is easy to develop a long list but to stand a chance of achieving your resolutions it is best to be selective. Try to think about relative priorities in terms of urgency and importance.

Choose resolutions that you have had on your mind for some time. If you have been mulling them over you are more likely to stick to them.

If you are thinking about changing a behaviour pick ways of making things better rather than ways of stopping doing something.

As with any project do start with the end in mind. Imagine what it will be like when you have achieved your goal. That will help it be real and keep you focussed on progress.

Ideas for resolutions to help you at work

If you are thinking about ideas to apply in the office, here are some of my suggestions:

Consider checking that your performance management system is working. With the need to keep staff performing through challenging economic times a real attention to effective performance management will help.

How about developing those employees who you are relying on with an investment in increasing their personal effectiveness?

I know that recruitment generally is reduced due to these challenging times.  It is very important to make sure that when you do recruit you get the right results.  So have you reviewed your recruitment process recently? What about your recruiters: are your managers on top of their game when it comes to sifting, interviewing and selecting the right candidates? Stop waste on poor recruitment decisions by getting in some effective advice and training.

Do your management team work cohesively together towards a common goal? Have they all the skills they need to support and drive the organisation forwards? Is now the time to be thinking about Management and Leadership Development programmes ?

Has your customer service slipped in recent times? What about the employees delivering customer service are they up to speed with their customer care training? Have their training needs been reviewed? Is now a good time to be thinking of undertaking this?

The consumer is now even more value conscious because of the economic conditions so you may be getting more complaints. How is your complaints handling? Do your people feel comfortable handling complaints? Are they looking forward to turning that complaint into a compliment? If not you might want to look at developing the complaints handling skills of your team.

Whatever you decide, good luck with seeing the resolutions through.

Happy New Year from us all at Training To Achieve UK.

Alison Miles-Jenkins

Managing Director

This guest blog from Lois Grant one of our team is designed to help develop the presentation skills of those new to making presentations.

To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail

That old adage is very true when it comes to presenting, and to prepare effectively, you need to ask yourself a lot of questions.

Most people start their planning with “What shall I include?” and then have trouble either fitting it all in or knowing what to edit out.  It is crucial to first ask yourself: “WHY am I giving this presentation?  What is my aim/goal/purpose?  Is it to sell a product, introduce a change, influence opinion or provide information?  And, if so why?  If you are not sure, clarify with the person who invited you.  In fact, question if you should be doing this at all?!

Your next question should be “WHO am I delivering this presentation to?” 

The quickest way to turn a business audience off is to deliver your presentation to suit you; conversely, the quickest way to turn them on is to deliver it to suit them! 

Get inside the mind of your audience.  Find out how many people are attending, their level, background and experience, what they expect, want and need from you, their age etc.  The approach and content of your presentation will vary depending on who you are talking to.

Analysing your audience will give you your ‘start position’.  Your next step is to establish your ‘finish position’.  What do you want your audience to do as a result of your presentation?  It is then about guiding them from ‘Start’ to ‘Finish’?

The next step is to consider WHAT to include in your presentation.  Let the ideas flow and note down (or perhaps mind-map) all the ‘possible’ content.  You will probably have far more information than you can possibly incorporate in the time allowed, so next steps are to prioritise by identifying the items that:

• Must be included (key topics)
• Should be included (key information to include under each topic)
• Could (information to include time-permitting)

All the time you are doing this, stay focused on your finish position!

You then need to consider WHERE you will be delivering your presentation, how you will lay out the room and what equipment is available.

And WHEN will you be delivering your presentation?  If you have a choice, go for mid-morning when people tend to be at their most alert.  Mid-afternoon can also work well.

Also ask yourself HOW you are going to deliver it?  How will you keep your audience engaged?   Rather than just talking, can you get the audience involved in any way?  When will you invite questions – throughout or at the end?  Are you going to give handouts?  What props and visuals will you use?

What next:

•  Use this simple ‘Why, Who, What, Where, When and How’ approach to preparing your next presentation and notice how much more confident and organised you feel.
• Join me next month for some tips on how to arrange your presentation content into a natural flow.

Hope you enjoyed this blog designed to help those new to presenting who wish to develop their presentation skills.

Lois Grant
Training To Achieve