Six Top Tips: Turn Complaints into Sales!
1 Get in first…!
Ask your customers…get regular feedback…Just because customers are not complaining, it doesn’t mean to say that they are happy! Ask your customers what they think….you may be surprised!
2 Apologise immediately.
Make it heartfelt. Apologise sincerely. Even if it’s not your fault, or you think its the customers fault, there’s nothing to lose from saying “I am really sorry about this, let me see what I can do to help you”.
3 Thank them for their feedback
(face to face, in writing, or by telephone ..) and tell them that you take their complaint seriously and will look into it. Give them a deadline by which time you will get back.
4 Get back to them quickly.
Do not leave them ages, and if possible (and it invariably is) get back earlier than you said you will. Don’t let it fester…The quicker you get back the subliminal message is that you really do take the complaint seriously. Leave it for weeks and they will have told their friends and neighbours and colleagues, the ombudsman, Watchdog, and their councillor/MP. The true acid test of an organisation customer care is how it and its staff reacts with customers when things go wrong…!
5 Offer some sort of compensation if you can…
It can go a long way…they will remember it for a long time.
6 Lead from the top
and make sure that staff know that complaints give you valuable feedback which enable you to improve e tour business. Make sure that you have a complaints procedure and that everyone knows about it..
Remember
“A complaining customer is still engaged with your business and can become a loyal customer. The challenge is to create a positive culture towards complaints by training staff to embrace complaints, handle them well and then ensure they never reoccur. By doing this we empower our people, delight our customers and drive the growth of the company.”
Ian S Dunning – Customer Service Director, Europe – Johnson Controls FMS UK