Module #5 : Handing Complaints & Dealing With Angry People

According to White House Office of Customer Affairs

"For every 1 customer complaint 26 customer remain silent" - Only 4% complain & 96% remaining you don't hear from them

Pay Attention to Complaining Customer Service

"When customer share their story, they're not just sharing pain points. They're actually teaching you how to make your product, service & business better." -Kristen Smaby - This is why service recovery matters unhappy customers don't have to stay unhappy. - According to Tarm Oil worldwide technical assistant research program 54% to 70% have complaining customers will do business again if the complaint is resolved - This number increase dramatically to 95% if the customer feels the complaint was resolved quickly - Same study revealed a satisfy customer tells 8 people compared to a dissatisfied customer tells 10 to 20 people

Why bother with difficult customers?

*1st difficult customers can be loyal, profitable, & longterm customers if we take action quickly & professionally *2nd if your not satisfying a difficult customer can cost us business & future customers - something goes wrong with customer they will feel many others that there is a problem with your company - any idea of how many people will hear? a disgranted customer will tell 10 to 20 people about their unpleasant experience - that means 10 unhappy customer are most likely to damage customers with telling 200 people

Bad Customer Service Experience Example #2 (Rental Car)

- A customer flight was delayed, who had to pick up her rental car - Rental Car representative gave the customer the wrong vehicle, who actually need a 6 passenger SUV to run around she couldn't help her at all & the customer should of rented on time - Customer ask for another SUV she seen outside to have & the Rental Car representative said they were taken - After the customer was angry and said it was unacceptable & the representative continue to agree that it was not her fault at all. *Rental Car Representative acted like it was the customer fault that business did not have to have the type of vehicle she insisted on having. The customer never went back to the business & told her friends about the business

Complementing Products & Services

- A sale is a one time transaction a customer is a lifetime asset - Customer service representative saved a $40 sale. But returned a company asset that potential worth thousands - Customer service professional always concentrates on saving the customer not the sale - Another professional & practical approach to customer delight is Listen, Apologize, & Fix

Crucial Skills of Listening Consist of 2 Components

- Attitude - Skills

How does a customer services display empathy?

- By showing deep and positive effects of the outcome of only potential negative encounter

Good Customer Service Experiences Example #2 (Rental Car pt2)

- Customer complains to the Rental Car Representative & explains the business gave her the wrong vehicle instead of the 6 seater SUV - Rental Car Representative apologizes to the customer about the mistake of the rental car. The representative searches the system for a 6 seater SUV for the customer - The Representative find a luxury 6 seater for the customer & says it is free of charge - Customer agrees to take the vehicle off the company hands - Rental car representative gets someone to transfer the customer luggage & apologizes again. Gives customer a dispatcher on her next rental for a free upgrade for her next visit. - Customer also apologizes for her anger towards the representatives & the worker understood.

Understanding The Meaning Behind Customer Complaint

- Finally set the goal of truly comprehended the meaning & feeling of subtext of every customer words

Bad Customer Service Experience Example #1 (Online Gift)

- Glen wanted to reward his grandson due to a good report card - He seen an ad online for a 15% discount on a toy car & ordered it. - Receives an email stating the purchase went through & than he notices the purchase does not include the 15% discount. - After he sends an email about the false advertisement to the company. Now he feels should bought it in the store instead. - Than he receives another email about his package not being available until another 2 weeks. So he sends another email making another complaint. - Last he receives another email about the purchase being sent in over night shipping. This was not a successful purchase from the company.

Defusing Anger & Aggression

- Requires a calm, thoughtful response, and specific learning technics - Technics are : LISTENING, EMPATHIZING, NOT RETURNING AGGRESSION, AGREEING WHEN THE COMPANY IS WRONG, ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY FOR ERROR, & TAKING IMMEDIATE ACTION TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM

Two Critical Concepts

- Save the Customer, not a sale - When a customer has a problem take the three steps to customer delight LISTEN, APOLOGIZE, & FIX

Avoid Returning Aggression

- Shown by a customer - Most damaging thing you can do as a customer service provider - Don't take any aggression by a customer personally let it vanish - Than respond EMPATHIC PHRASE & begin to solve the problem - ADMITTED her company made a mistake - Than ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY for fixing the problem that was not her fault

An Average Company

- Technical Assistant Research Program at any given moment 25% of customers are upset enough to stop doing business - All these unhappy people only 5% will ever voice their complaints - If you have 1000 customers & 250 of 1000 are upset enough to leave your company. But you 12 will ever voice their dissatisfaction. - Out of 250 only 214 will leave & you'll never know why - A customer service representative is sensitive even to suggest implication of a customer dissatisfaction

Good Customer Service Experience Example #1 (Online Gift pt2)

- The customer purchased a toy car online for a 15% discount for his grandson good progress report. - But noticed when he purchased the toy car the 15% was not included in the purchase so the bill was $54.95 - He shot the company a email about the price issue & later that day he received a call from the company about the issue. - The company apologize about the mistake of not discounting the price & promise he will receive it. Also they explain the item was out of purchase but can retrieve it from another store w. a discounted price - Customer ask how long will it take for him to retrieve the item? & the company gave him a 2 day shipping overnight. (no extra charge) - Company apologizes again & offers to specially wrap up the gift for his grandson with the free shipping. The customer was pleased with service.

The Five Concepts of This Chapter

- The reason you should "bother" with different customers - Focus on saving the customer - not the sale - Three steps to customer delight - Techniques for defusing anger & aggression - How to stay calm in a stressful situations

3rd Observe Your Customer Body Language (Great Depths On Listening Skills)

- What does their positive say?, what is their tone of voice?

Avoid The Tendency of Allowing A Customer to Control Your Emotions

- You feel low about a situation so the key is to fix the problem - By admitting you or your company is wrong & then accepting responsibility for fixing a problem

Focus on saving customer - not the sale

- a sale is one time transaction - a customer is a lifetime asset

How to stay calm in stressful situations

- conflict can cause harmful stress - you'll discuss how to reduce harmful stress

Techniques for Defusing Anger & Aggression

- more productive at work - more effective at all your personalize relationships

Three steps to customer delight

- sincerity & grace are foundation of customer delight - explore three critical laws of listen, apologize, and fixed

2nd It Is Important to Understand (Great Depths On Listening Skills)

- that 90% of what is communicate is nonverbal - 1st observe your own body language are you attending your customer?, did you establish goal eye contact? , are you focus single mind on item?

LISTENING Involves More Than HEARING!

- whether you are listening online, on the phone, or in person.

1st Starts w. Attitude (Great Depths On Listening Skills)

- you must have an attitude of wanting to help, truly understand, your customer problem.

Why bother with difficult people?

- you'll discover the dollar cents value of dealing with difficult people

4 Principles & Techniques to Dealing With Angry Customers & Complaints

1st - Focus on saving customer, not sale 2nd - 3 steps to customer delight Listen, Apologize, & Fix 3rd - Tools for defusing Anger & Aggression 4th - How to stay calm in stressful situations

3 Ways To Stay Calm During Stressful Situations

1st Adopt the triage attitude - In an emergency medical professions sort these needed assistants according to who needs assistants most. Processing called TRIAGE Ex. Think of complaining customers as if their in pain & your job is to provide emergency services 2nd Depersonalize the interaction - Often a customer service provider will receive a customer hostility simply because customer service providers a easy target. - Don't take it personally - Focus on problem & situation (Not on personality of customer) 3rd Focus on the care & the appropriate solution - Rental car agent found the problem of car serving to small & found a luxury SUV that was big enough.

Learned from Erica (Customer Service from Online Purchase)

1st Listened- Customer service listened to email she seen & understand the customer was angry 2nd Apologized- Even though customers was acting hostile she respond with an apology 3rd Fix- After you listened & apologized you must fix the problem - End result she fixed the problem

The Components of Listening

1st Service Attitude - If you truly want to help & see your customer as a person not as a transaction you'll be in position of what the customer wants you to know 2nd Component is Skills - Part art & service. Focus on discerning your customers true needs and desires. Always requires serving effort. 3rd step to customer delight is FIX the problem. - Customer would never use that company again (it took a month to receive purchase )

Learned from Rental Car Agent

1st rental car agent LISTEN & APOLOGIZES 2nd demonstrated that she know what customer was talking about by RE-PHASING & REFLECTING 3rd rental car agent emphasize (when you show an understanding of other person situation)

What is the best way to express empathy to a customer?

Use empathic phrases such as: - I understand how frustrating this can be - I know what you mean this must be very upsetting - I hear what we you are going saying - I understand why you feel this way