Dealing with Angry Customers
Try as you may, you cannot please all customers all of the time. There will be constraints in your ability to meet the customer’s demands which could be internal or they could be external.
There could be shortages from your supplier hampering your ability to produce the goods on time. There could be a routing error on your deliveries. There could be the weather causing transportation delays. Sometimes even customers will delay placing orders and set themselves up for failure. Any of these and many more situations can result in the customer getting angry.
Angry customers need special attention. You should be somewhat thankful to customers who are angry as they give you an idea of what the problem areas are in your business and once identified you can take corrective measures to improve your business.
However, if you ignore angry customers, your business will suffer. Not only because of the inherent defects which remain ignored, but the customer will spread the message of their discontent through word of mouth, online reviews and comments on your website.
The more you ignore this, the greater the chances that the anger of the customer will multiply and as the word gets around your business may be affected as people are put off from doing business with your company.
It is vitally important to have a Customer Service Policy that specifically addresses the actions and steps that are required to be taken to handle customers who are angry. First and foremost, give customers a platform to express their anger. This will give you a chance to face and handle the complaint personally.
Make sure that all complaints are logged and followed up. If you have anticipated the issue before hand, the policy should outline the steps to be taken to alleviate the customer’s complaint. If it is a new issue, there should be a policy to flag the issue with the relevant department(s) so people can review and come up with a solution.
Make sure that all complaints are logged and resolved as soon as possible to ensure that the customer’s frown is converted to a smile. It is vital for your business therefore it is vital for you.