Archive for the ‘complaints handling’ Category

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 great tip to improve complaints handling, have you tried it yet?

It is tempting to dream of a time when you receive no complaints, a time when your service fits exactly what you customers want, a time when your business is thriving.

But hang on a moment. That moment will also be the time when one of your most valuable sources of feedback has dried up. That in turn may bring with it a loss of customer focus and so your business drifts away from satisfying customers almost by accident.

News this week of many thousands of complaints swamping the banking industry are a wakeup call. Banks have been trying to build up their complaints handling performance. That’s a good start, but have they missed the point? If they had been listening to their customers then they would already have had the feedback that they had problems. So they have in effect missed a key chance to solve some root causes and avoid complaints altogether. Those opportunities have been presenting themselves in complaints and feedback over many years. Now, the volumes are so high that even the Ombudsman is struggling to cope.

Imagine for a moment a world where staff seek out complaints or even minor dis-satisfaction from otherwise apparently satisfied customers. They will receive comments such as: “No complaints, your service is great.” Well that’s fantastic feedback. Your staff might also get comments such as: “I wasn’t going to mention it, but ….” as if by magic an opportunity to fine tune a product of service follows. That niggle if dealt with and acted upon will make sure that customer service improves.

Imaging if bank staff had asked what their customers thought of the CPI products? For some years they’d be hearing negative comments. In other words they could have solved this problem before it got out of control.

So our key tip is to set a day a week where your employees ask customers to complain. Ask them if there is anything that could be improved to make your customer service better. Get the feedback and act upon it. Best of all it is free! You may find the investment of some time here will save you money by reducing your complaints handling costs.

Alison