Handling an Irate Customer

This article has been written from my experience as a Sales Manager handling customer complaints. The article also draws extracts from various research findings available on the internet.
This was published in the Business Standard - The Strategist dt 21st July 1998.

Everybody has faced him, CEO of the company to the junior-most employee in an organisation. Nobody wants him that way. But then no one can possibly wish him away. Meet him now- An irate Customer.

Well think of it, you as a part of an organisation, irrespective of your field of work must have had this experience of coming across an irate customer - A customer who is complaining - Complaining because he is dissatisfied with your product, program or service, delays in delivery, unfulfilled warranty obligations, poor repair work, incompetent or discourteous employees, billing errors, deceptive advertising , just about anything(or even nothing) . Your service delivery has failed to reach the expectation he had, when he decided to opt for it, thus causing dissonance. He is also calling you up to tell you about it and that he banks on you, the person whom he is speaking to, to set things right.

Consider the following findings from "Consumer Complaint Handling in America," a study by Technical Assistance Research Programs, Inc. (TARP):

¨ About 50 percent of the time, customers who have a problem with a product or service are not likely to tell the company about it.

¨ Nine out of ten of these "silent critics" will probably take their future business to a competitor.

¨ Even when a customer does complain, one out of every two will not be thoroughly satisfied with the company’s efforts to solve the problem.

¨ Dissatisfied customers typically tell between seven to nine other people when they have had an unsatisfactory experience with a company.

¨ Negative information has twice the impact of positive information on purchasing decisions.

¨ Word-of-mouth is one of the most important factors influencing a customer’s decision to buy from a company.

¨ Customers who have had a problem that got resolved satisfactorily tend to be more loyal and supportive than those who do not experience any problem at all.

Thus the fact that the customer is calling you up in anticipation is in itself a victory considering that he could have gone for the other two options open to him :

Private Response - Vowing not to deal again and discouraging others by word of mouth.

Third party response - Litigation or redressal through Consumer forums.

So all this just goes on tell us that complaints are one of the most important forms of communication between a business and its customers and constructive responses to complaints can help retain customers who would otherwise be lost.

Thus for every organisation the foundation of customer goodwill is the existence, promotion and practice of a sound customer relations policy. The policy should encourage customers to communicate their concerns and demonstrate the commitment to their satisfaction. The policy should spell out how, when, where and by whom complaints or questions are handled..

The complaint handling system is structured from the customer relations policy and must operate simply, effectively and quickly. The following procedures are essential:

Screening and Logging - The date the problem occurred, a description of the problem, and any other pertinent information should be formally recorded. It has been observed that the customers’ first call to your organisation to inform about his dis-satisfaction is the single most important factor in determining his response to your shortcoming. And again it is found that it is this very contact point in the organisation that’s lacking and needs to be well oiled.

Telephone call from an irate customer, when it is taken by anyone, whether it’s a top level CEO or a trainee, needs to be addressed using what is called the EAR method.

Empathize with the caller. Try to understand how the person is feeling. Listen uninterrupted. Let the caller get everything out of him. When you listen, don’t try to apply logic to the situation. Many people are beyond logic when they are angry. Avoid argument and criticism.

Apologize and acknowledge the problem. You don’t have to agree with the caller, but express regret that there is a problem. Let the customer know that his complaint is receiving attention. paraphrase the caller’s comments, and ask questions if you do not understand the information being presented to you. Restate the problem as you understand it.

Accept Responsibility. Make sure something is done. Take it upon yourself to DO something. Many times, that’s all that people want: the reassurance that something will be done. People want to be helped. They want to know that you care. Use these phrases to get that sentiment across: "How can I help you?" "What can I do for you?" "I’ll make sure this message/information gets to the right person."

The acceptance of responsibility may be as simple as forwarding the call to the appropriate individual or sending the caller more information.

Remember not to blame anyone — the caller, yourself, or someone on your staff — even if you know who is to blame for a problem. This information should not be shared with the caller.

And in your responses, avoid these forbidden phrases:

"I don’t know." It sounds as if you’re closing the door on the caller or that you’re not sure what’s going on in your own office.

Better to say: "That’s a good question. Let me check and find out."

"We can’t do that." This sentence is extremely negative. Be positive. Try this: "That’s a tough one. Let’s see what we can do."

" You’ll have to..." seems to put the pressure back on the caller. Try instead: "Here’s how we can help you."

"No," when it begins any sentence. It sounds as though you’re not willing to help.

"We aren’t able to do that, but we can...."(Because there’s always something you can do.)

Investigating - In addition to information from the customer, gather more facts by finding out about the problem. In all probability you are aware of the problem and are anticipating such calls. If you are then the answer to such calls are probably known to you and if not you could get back to the customer with your investigative results. In such a case DO GET BACK!!! Nothing is more frustrating than the customer having had to call you up again.

Formulating a Solution - Offer solutions and, if appropriate, offer alternatives. Providing alternatives empowers callers. It gives callers a feeling that the decision was not imposed on them but that they were part of the solution. Your solution should be consistent with your customer relations policy. Important criteria while offering a solution is to consider the customer’s expectations; the cost versus benefit of alternative solutions; the probability of your customer seeking redress; the fairness of your decision; and your ability to carry out the solution.

Finally, confirm the solution with the caller. Make sure the caller agrees with what has been decided.

Responding - After you have resolved the complaint with the customer to his satisfaction, write to him and if possible send him a small token bouquet or a gift. It a small way of telling him that though you cannot undo the inconvenience caused to him due to your lapses, you do care. Your letter should be clear, appropriate and specific to the individual’s complaint. Avoid form letters and technical jargon. Explaining your decision can preserve your customer’s goodwill, even if a different result was desired.

Abusers

There is one small group of irate callers that has to be addressed here: the abuser. You may not get abusers very often, but when you do they can disturb you terribly . You may call attention to the abuser’s language by saying, "Sir/ Madam, I can handle your problem, but I am not able to handle the swearing. I request you to stop swearing." In most instances, the caller is taken aback by your retort and being aware of what they are saying will halt the swearing. However, if it does not stop, I suggest you ask the person to stop abusing twice more and if the caller doesn’t, then hang up. Three tries and hang up. No one should have to listen to verbal abuse. This method has worked very well with me and invariably you will find the customer calling you back to apologize for his behaviour and seeking a fresh beginning.

Of course, not everyone will be happy, no matter what you do. These people will not be content; they just like being grumbly. These are testing times when the caller starts pressing the "trigger" or "hot-button" words or phrases, accusing you directly and you are tempted into respond ing by getting defensive or retaliatory . They are the people who want to talk to the person "above you." If that is what it takes to lessen their anger, then do so. By the time they have been transferred to a superior, they usually have become calmer and less demanding. It seems that they just needed to vent their anger at someone: you.

Remember, a positive attitude is the most important asset you can have. And if the customer is shouting at you, don’t take it to you personally, its pure business, you are a part of the organisation that has messed up. So own up.

Finally it is to be realised that you would rather hear from an agitated customer than not hearing from him again at all.