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Dealing with Customer Complaints

ABN Latest News

Customer complaints aren’t usually something we at ABN Tax come across. However it is important to know how to deal with them when they do arise, so today we are going to give you some DO's and DON'Ts.

DO - Listen to the complaint in depth, DON’T talk back to your customer - listen hard and ask questions. Usually most complaints are built on emotion and your customer has let the issue build up over a period of time and needs to let it all out. So it is important that you DON’T get emotional no matter what the complaint is.

DO - Put yourself in the customer’s shoes, would you honestly be satisfied with the service or product they have received? Did the customer receive value for what they have paid for?

DO - Investigate. If necessary investigate the customer complaint, speak with your staff/inspect the product. DON’T take what your staff say for gospel, frame the discussion with your staff in a positive light, DON’T accuse your staff or abuse them just try to understand the facts.

If it is your fault, accept it. Be open/honest and admit the mistake and apologize. Then move on to fixing the problem. Don’t give away the world to your unhappy customer, however you do need to amend the mistake and make sure you provide the value they deserve as a customer of your business.

If however the customer’s complaint turns out to be invalid, give the opportunity for the customer to save face. Making your customer feel like an idiot is not going to achieve anything. Find out what the customer expected and review how the communication from your business to the customer could be improved. This is very important and can help you to avoid the same issues arising with other customers in the future.  

Category
ABN
Published
24 Feb 2015
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