Many times, though definitely not all, customer service is about handling problems. Customers may be unhappy with something or someone. Customers may want money back or have issues with their bill. In short, customers will turn to customer service to resolve problems. It stands to reason that it good customer service knows how to handle and RESOLVE problems.
Additionally, when customer service is able to handle problems and perhaps resolve them, customers will be happier, and this helps encourage their loyalty.
Inc. Magazine has a useful article entitled “How to Handle Customer Complaints.” In the article, author Tali Yahalom gives various tips. Among them:
- Listen first (and allow the customer to vent)
- Treat a customers as a person not a number
- Look for a fair solution
- Respond in writing when appropriate
This article is definitely worth reading, as are the resources Yahalomi provides.
Everyone can learn to better handle problems. The better your customer service is at handling problems, the less negativity will exist, even from unhappy customers. As we have written before on the blog, customers have the tools to share negativity far and wide through social media. One unhappy customer can turn into many people with a negative view of your company. Resolving a problem in a fair and quick way will help prevent customers’ unhappiness to spread.
How do you handle problems? What is the best advice you can offer?
Tags: handling customer problems, how to handle customer complaints