Turning Customer Problems Into Business Opportunities

The real test of your business is how effectively it deals with customer → problems when they arise. "The best time to do great customer service is when a customer is upset," advises Seth Godin.

Don't look at customer problems as a necessary burden of business. See customer problems as a great → opportunity instead. If you can → resolve the problem quickly to the customer's satisfaction, you will strengthen the bond of trust with that customer, who will spread the good word to others.

→ Selling Is Problem Solving

Dealing with customer problems in a → caring and concerned manner requires a commitment from → top management and involves training and → coaching every employee who may be confronted with customer complaints to resolve the issue in a dedicated, customer-focused manner.

"Let unhappy customers vent their feelings. Listen without interruption and maintain eye contact. Remain objective and avoid passing judgment. Apologize promptly and accept responsibility for the problem. Never assume anything; zero in on the customer's specific complaint. Pride yourself in → creative solutions for your troubled customers. Think of this as an effective means of low-cost advertising. When in doubt, always err to your customer's advantage, with one exception. When you have a rare occurrence of one customer who constantly complains, the problem may lie with the customer. In this case, resolve the problem but explain calmly the following policy to the grumpy customer: Your business has a policy that frequent complaints by the same customer must have details documented in a file with the customer's name in order to prevent or resolve future complaints. Complete the file entry in the customer's presence. The next time the customer complains, pull out the file and add the new complaint," advises Scott Clark, the author of Customer problems can create business opportunities.

→ Solving People Problems

Lessons from Konosuke Matsushita: Complaints Strengthen Ties

Far from being an attack, a complaint should be treated as a valuable opportunity to strengthen ties. "Naturally I'm delighted when a buyer expresses compliments," → Konosuke Matsushita would say, "but I'm just as pleased to get a letter of complaint." His reasoning was that if customers didn't bother to complain, that meant they had already decided not to buy any more products from your company. If, on the other hand, they expressed their dissatisfaction, even to the point of seriously considering going elsewhere for their needs, they were still interested. As long as you are sincere, treat their complaint with respect, and → root out the cause of the problem. The relationship will become stronger for it.

NLP Solutions: Dealing with Unfair Clients