If you have worked in the customer service field for any amount of time, the odds are you have experienced some type of customer complaint. While we have been socialized to cringe at complaints and even become defensive at times, customer complaints can actually be very valuable for your business. Join us for this week’s episode as we discuss ways to approach customer complaints that will leave everyone involved, including you, feeling more satisfied.

This episode, we discuss:

[2:54] How to focus on the fix instead of the blame

Customer complaints immediately dredge up some of our ugliest emotions, and it’s no wonder: We have been socialized to become defensive at the slightest mention of them. Instead of trying to place the blame after receiving a complaint, what if we decided that the blame didn’t matter? When we decide to place our defensiveness and desire to find fault to the side, we can begin to focus on fixing the situation instead. If you engage with a client at the beginning of a complaint without defensiveness, you can go deep into conversation and let them know it’s important to you that they are heard so a solution can be found. When you do this, you are taking the time to understand the entire situation and how things can be better handled in the future. When you understand how things can be better, that’s how you truly grow.

[4:45] Using empathy and accountability when approaching a complaint

Have you ever wondered how someone could get so worked up over something that may not feel incredibly important to you? I used to work in restaurants on the roadside, and for a while some of our biggest complaints concerned the order in which we served food. Even if a specific order took longer to cook, and we were to take a simple, smaller order out to someone who had ordered after that particular customer, you could guarantee they would complain. As a training manager, I began to analyze the complaints and empathize with customers to get to the root of the problem. Guests were coming into our restaurant that had been on the road for 6 or more hours, and they were stressed, tired, and hungry. They didn’t care how long it took to make food, they just cared that they were served in the right order. Understanding this point of view allowed us to create a time-stamped approach to ordering that cut down on a majority of our complaints.

There was also a specific scenario I remember about using accountability to diffuse a situation. Working again in the roadside restaurant, on a very busy bank holiday, someone was complaining to me about a particular pasta dish we were serving. They went on about how terrible it was and how stupid someone must have been to put it on the menu. Understanding that they had just come off the road from their journey and were probably stressed about more things than just the pasta, I said that it was my fault, that I had worked in the head office and had put the pasta on the menu. It was a little white lie, but having someone to hold accountable immediately changed the scenario. They ended up being a little embarrassed. I think people are so angry and frustrated while in the middle of a complaint that they just want someone to be held accountable, and so instead of deflecting (which may have exacerbated the situation), I opted for accountability. And then together, we were able to work toward a solution.

[8:22] The importance of follow-up

After a complaint is “resolved,” what thoughts go through your head? I think we’re so socialized to be uncomfortable regarding complaints that a majority of us have thoughts like ‘Oh, thank God that was solved” and “Please, let’s just move on.” When you remove the negative feelings, like fault, from a complaint, and get closer to the situation through conversation with the customer, you reach a new level of customer service and satisfaction. After someone complains, take the time to listen to their problem and receive the feedback. Thank them for the feedback, let them know it’s valuable to you and your business, and then do something for them to make them feel like the situation has been addressed or ‘fixed.’ Then, especially if you want your business to continue to grow, take their information so you can follow-up at a later date. When you’ve taken time to listen to the customer and solve the issue, the follow-up can leave them with a more positive impression of your business. Instead of remembering the pasta dish that they thought was terrible, they now remember that they felt heard and that you cared enough to follow up with them afterward. When I would call someone a few days after a complaint had been handled, often they were thankful and able to have a less stressful conversation about the scenario.

Thank you for listening! In a future episode, we would like to use real-life customer complaint scenarios and discuss together the best ways to approach them. If you have a customer complaint story you would like to share, whether you were the customer or you were on the receiving end of the complaint, please contact us on Instagram. We will make sure we change names to keep everyone protected, but it will give us a great opportunity to discuss the difference between successful and not-so-successful approaches to complaints.

As always, I’d love you to join me for a new episode every other Tuesday and hear from our guests and their perspective on fabulous customer service. If you’re interested in more information, check out Bond and Des Voeux on Instagram!