subject: Is the Customer Really King? [print this page] Memory explains, "Yes the customer is king even if the complaint is wrong or unjustified."
There are two types of complaints justified and unjustified. An unjustified complaint is one in which a customer feels hard done but in fact is not right. Right or wrong organizations must take every complaint seriously, because the consequences of losing one customer cost money. Even take the blame no matter how it hurts!
Complaints are healthy and should be seen as opportunities the customer gives you a second chance to correct the way you do things. In an era of network marketing, spoiling one's customer has a ripple effect. Emails, blogs and social network sites have a massive influence on the health of a brand. If an unsatisfied customer simply vents their frustration on any of these platforms, the brand is negatively affected. The damage caused is hard to reverse as the social media stuff stays up until the Internet decides to remove it. Think about it before you wish away a "complaining" customer.
For the "unjustified" complaints, calmly explain why your company is not at fault but don't pass the blame back to them. Be as diplomatic as possible and give the customer as much time to talk while you listen. After all, their perspective matters the most despite it being wrong. Perception is in the eyes of the beholder! A number of times consumers may blame a gadget as faulty when it is a user-problem. Try and get to the bottom of the matter as much as you can.
Try and be proactive and check that your organization has a clear complaints handling mechanism. This should be displayed either on the company's website, notice boards or even the reception area. The receiver of all complaints must be someone in authority who can make decisions. It is vital that you keep a log of all complaints and how they were resolved. This will also help you gauge your service delivery.
Have a customer service charter in place that is known by every employee of the organization. For example within TPG we have what we call "Standards of Excellence which we have developed to minimise the occurrence of customer complaints.This document is on our server and is updated regularly as we learn new lessons.
Memory summarized the radio interview with this call to action, "Everyone in the organization who deals with clients in any way, no matter what their position, must be trained in how to handle customer complaints.
