Welcome Your Customer Complaints: Guest Post by Terry Schott
Posted by Jody Pellerin on Wed, Aug 24, 2011 @ 04:01 PM
Terry Schott, author of The Golden Apples
Successfully handling a customer complaint is the absolute best way to dramatically grow your business.
Word of mouth advertising (friends recommending to friends) is the cheapest and most effective way to market your company, and customers who complain are extremely effective at doing this for you. When I think about Nordstrom’s, The Ritz-Carlton, or Zappos it’s the stories from happy customers that come to mind.
Here’s what we know...
1. A happy customer tells a friend
2. An unhappy customer tells everyone.
But consider this...
3. An unhappy customer who complains also tells everyone...both the good and the bad!
The unhappy customer who complains is the most verbal of all customers. These are the individuals who tell stories at parties, on the golf course, or around the office. They often complain because they want to be happy and they’re willing to ask for it. Whether they realize it or not, they’re also getting new stories to tell their friends. If their complaint has either bad or good results...it’s a story to share with others, and share it they will.
Check these examples out;
Example 1
Sam decides to use a major shipping company to send a very expensive package overseas. When he goes online to track the package, the information is unclear and he’s afraid the package has been lost. Sam quickly calls the 1-800 # and speaks to a representative to complain that the website isn’t easy to navigate and also to get specific details about the location of his shipment. A customer service nightmare ensues and three weeks later, Sam’s package is finally found and delivered...late.
Example 2
Tiffany has an expensive package to ship. She uses a different company than Sam, and also experiences difficulties with the website and tracking her package. When Tiffany calls the live representative to complain and find out where her package is, the results are quite different. Tiffany has an excellent customer service experience and her shipment is found and delivered on time, thanks to the help of one exceptional employee at the shipping company.
Both Sam and Tiffany have found a new story to tell their friends. Because they are the third type of customer (the story teller who complained), many people hear about their shipping experience. Sam’s story is negative, Tiffany’s is positive, and both shipping companies will be affected.
A friend of mine visited three locations of the same restaurant chain. The first two locations resulted in terrible experiences for him, and he was determined not to try them a third time. A client heard his stories of bad service and insisted he try a third location. At this location, they delivered extraordinary customer service and he quickly became a regular there. Soon it was the only restaurant he took clients to. Ask my friend for a restaurant recommendation, and he’ll tell you about this one, along with the entertaining story of how he ‘stumbled’ upon it.
Get excited when a customer complains...they are providing an opportunity to show them how you are superior to the competition. Give complainers good stories to tell...and they’ll go to work for you!
Terry's Bio:
Relationship Sales Builder, Trainer, and Author
Terry's highly engaging and enthusiastic style permeates all of his business relationships. His positive energy is contagious, but it is his knowledge, understanding and successful utilization of the sales process that makes him a leader in the sales and customer service training arena.
Terry is the author of The Gold Apples, a fable that illustrates his understanding of the needs of every client or customer. Terry answers our primary question, "Do you care about me?" He understands that we value action over words and realizes that questions are the key to understanding and problem solving.
Read the first two chapters of The Gold Apples
Download Our Brand-New eBook:
Customer Support Metrics 101: First Call Resolution
Our series of blog posts on first call resolution has been extremely popular, so we pulled them all together into a single eBook!
Learn:
- What is it
- Why you need to do it
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Enjoy!
Customer Support Metrics 101: First Call Resolution
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