Many customer complaints are caused by a gap between what they expected and what you delivered. The gap is sometimes caused by customer expectations that are unreasonable or incorrect assumptions. In some cases, it results from your company's incorrect actions, such as marketing copy that misleads potential customers about your products. Take time to assess customer complaints so that you can determine if they contain helpful feedback. We have compiled 5-step to help you uncover and resolve customer complaints.
Step 1: Ask the right questions
Look for the point of friction in complaints, even angry ones. Use Socratic questions to get to the root of the problem.
Socratic Questioning Tips:
- Prepare meaningful questions that provide direction to the discussion
- Wait for customers: Give them at least 30 seconds to respond
- Provide probing questions to your customers and let them discover knowledge on their own
- Periodically summarize the critical points of the discussion
It is essential to ask the right questions to get to the heart of the complaint, determine if it can be resolved, and decide whether it contains genuinely helpful feedback.
Step 2: Figure out who the customer is
According to research from the University of Florida, there are four types of customers that you may encounter when processing customer complaints:
- Customers who don't hesitate to let you know they're unhappy. Avoid reflecting on their confrontational behaviour; instead, behave politely but firmly.
- Customers who pay well and expect top-notch service. Avoid excuses when responding and solve the problem.
- Customers who contact you regularly. Avoid coming across as frustrated when they contact you.
- Uncomplaining customers who might just take their business elsewhere without telling you. If you don't actively seek out these customers and address their complaints, you will never hear from them.
Understanding the customer's motivations and behaviour will enable you to assist them more effectively.
Step 3: Respond promptly to the customer
While a customer who has made a feature request will not mind if it takes you a day to reply, a customer in a dire situation will expect a resolution as soon as possible. Prioritize responding to those customers.
It's good to place less than ecstatic messages in a separate folder from those with urgent support requests. This allows the team to see which emails come from customers who need immediate assistance.
Step 4: Present a solution that has been verified
It is crucial to verify whether the solution you proposed to the customer resolved the issue. Verify that the solution works, and then reply: "Please find attached the screenshot of the solution. I have done my verification, and it has worked. If you have any further concerns, please let me know". Follow up with the customer after a few days to ensure everything has been resolved.
Step 5: Log the complaint so you can track trends
You need to monitor your customer satisfaction. Complaints from the same customer may indicate unresolved issues. It could also mean a significant problem if multiple customers have the same complaint. It is crucial to automate and simplify processes to identify valid complaints.
With DSM Suite 2.0+ Omnichannel Support & Helpdesk, you can log, track, and analyze customer complaints. With our omnichannel feature, your customer service representative can reply to your customer with a prompt and convenient communication method (live chat, emails, messaging apps).
Final Thoughts
The hardest customers are the most valuable.
Don't take it personally, even when your customers get angry at you. You can help your customers feel seen and heard by actively listening to them and recognizing their frustrations. Before responding to an issue, investigate thoroughly not to complicate matters further. Ask for clarification if you're unsure what they're upset about.
Customers who are hardest to please are the most valuable. Changing their experience might make them more enthusiastic about your product than neuronal customers.
Grow better with Zooloo, we are happy to help you get started with digital transformation, please contact us at sales@zooloo.asia.
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