Only 1 in 10 customers will take the time to tell you when something is wrong; this means that the other 9 leave angry and may never return to shop with you again. They may even tell their friends about their lousy experience or, worse, blast you online. If they use a hashtag, their complaint can take on a life of its own.
The good news is that when you attempt to fix the problem, studies show that the majority of people will give you another chance. That’s where having a good customer service recovery policy is crucial—a formal action plan of moving a customer from angry to satisfied. When you commit that policy to paper, you can share it with your staff, and use role play to train them so that everyone knows the drill.
If you don’t have a customer service recovery plan in place already, here’s what one might look like.
- If you don’t know the customer, offer your hand and introduce yourself. If you do, address them by name.
- Always assume that people are honest and are telling the truth about what happened to them. If you automatically discount every customer complaint (unfortunately, we’ve seen retailers who do this), you are setting yourself up to lose customers. Take every customer complaint seriously: No matter how small you think the complaint might be, it’s a big deal to the customer. If it weren’t, the customer wouldn’t bother to bring it to your attention. Remember, the customer’s perception is their reality, and that’s all that matters.
- Listen carefully and ask questions until you are certain that you completely understand the customer’s complaint. Open-ended questions that require the customer to respond with more than a simple “yes” or “no” are the best way to quickly get to the root of the problem.
- Repeat what the customer tells you, and then ask if you’ve gotten it right. Asking the customer questions puts you in control of the conversation. It keeps the customer talking too, which helps to calm them down. Using the customer’s name also helps to defuse the situation.
- Apologize, even when it’s not your fault. This shows the customer that you are on their side. If you say, “These are wonderful leotards, no one has ever complained about them before,” the customer hears “What’s wrong with you? A kid could figure this out.” Instead say, “I am sorry that you are upset. Let’s see what we can do to solve this problem.” Or “I am really sorry that this happened to you. I can understand why you are frustrated.”
- Ask the customer what they would like you to do for them. It’s easy to get defensive when someone criticizes your store, and it’s easy to think that the customer expects you to hand them the moon. But that’s not always the case. Most customers just want you to fix the problem, so ask, “What would you like me to do for you today?”
- Understand that your role is as a “customer advocate.” The buck stops with you. If the problem can be fixed on the spot, fix it. Empower your sales staff by encouraging them to try and resolve the problem by themselves, but when they can’t, to get help fast. Either way, “advocates” stick with the customer until the complaint is resolved.
- If you have to get in touch with a supplier for more information, explain to the customer what you need to do, and explain your plan to resolve the issue. This good-faith gesture lets the customer know you are on their side and are personally working to fix the situation.
- Do one more thing. For example, merchants in New Orleans offer a lagniappe (pronounced “lan-YAP”), a small gift you give to customers as a token of appreciation. In customer service recovery mode, a lagniappe might be a small gift card or one-time discount.
- Follow up. Call or e-mail the customer to ensure that the situation was handled to their satisfaction. A plus to being a “customer advocate” is that it generates positive word of mouth when people tell their friends what you did for them. Word of mouth is the number-one thing that brings new customers to your store. A customer testimonial is 10 to 20 times more believable than what you say about yourself. And it’s free!
- Keep an eye on your Facebook page and other social media to see if the customer has posted their complaint. Check consumer review platforms like Yelp and Google Maps as well. Chances are you are being reviewed on these sites even if you have not set up a business profile. Do it. It’s free, and it gives you control over the details posted about your business.
- If you find a negative comment, respond immediately. Say something like, “I am sorry that this happened to you; it is not a normal occurrence in my store. Please call or send me a private message so we can work together to resolve this issue.”
- Keep a record of customer complaints, noting the issue and how each one was resolved. Review your log each week to see where you need improvement. Go over the list at every store meeting, noting the common occurrences. Ask your team for their input. How would they have handled the situation? This will help your associates understand how to handle similar complaints in the future.
Customer service recovery lets customers know that they, and not just their money, matter to you. Maya Angelou said it best: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender of Kizer & Bender are retail strategy consultants and speakers. Find them at retailadventuresblog.com.