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I'm terribly sorry, but…
I'm terribly sorry, but…
February 19, 2010
It's every business–owner's nightmare: a furious customer on the end of a phone demanding to know why their purchase hasn't been delivered, why it's broken, or even to complain about a member of your staff. Even if the problem isn't actually your fault, it is crucial to have a proper complaints policy in place.
Recently I made a complaint for the first time and was gratified when I received a full and genuine–sounding letter of apology in return. I was less pleased a couple of weeks later when I received a call from the same company wanting feedback. Although I had been satisfied by the initial apology, being asked by a bored–sounding woman whether I was 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with the apology instantly grated. It was clear that the apology was merely part of a process; my answers were probably being tapped into a database as I spoke. For me, this meant that the sentiment of the original letter was lost.
Business Link advises business owners to deal with complaints 'courteously, sympathetically and – above all – swiftly'. Obviously it is important to find out whether your policy works – but is it a good idea to call up the recently–irate customer and take up more of their time only to fill out a brief questionnaire? How useful is a questionnaire anyway? I would suggest that the best feedback is whether the customer returns to you after having made a complaint.
Word–of–mouth recommendation is arguably the best PR for small businesses, but similarly a bad experience can damage your firm's reputation. It is vital to handle a customer's complaint sensitively and promptly, but at the same time ensure that you are motivated by the customer's needs, not just by the desire to prevent bad publicity.
It seems that many people I know have had bad experiences at the hands of larger companies, and this is an area where small businesses can excel. By its nature, a small business is much more likely to offer a personal touch when it comes to dealing with complaints. Rather than having to wait in endless queues, being passed from one customer service manager to another, your customers can connect with you directly to get the answers and, if necessary, the apologies they want.
What do you think? Have you ever had any complaints, and how did you handle them? Did you ask for feedback, and how did you implement it? Are you a customer whose complaints were handled well? If not, how could it have been improved?
Clare Bullock, BHP Information Solutions
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Comments
The whole concept of "automated" customer service undermines they very reason for having customer service in the first place - it's about long-term relationship building with clients and customers: past, present and potential.
I was recently on the end of such automatic service, and logged the details here:
http://www.trainingreality.co.uk/blog/how-to-lose-a-customer.php
I have recently had an incredibly frustrating experience regarding my phone contract. As I'm sure everyone is aware, it is nigh on impossible to reclaim money from a telephone company and literally months were spent being passed from one person to another, all trying to absorb my complaint into the system from where they can nullify it.
The only solution I found (or rather, was advised on) was a Statutory Declaration and sending it directly to the top man, by passing every switchboard that could possibly redirect me to Customer Services.
If a company, especially a larger one, specifically caters for Customer Care, there are bound to be rules they have to follow (which they outlined at some meeting some time) that will undoubtedly fall short of accounting for every complaint received. If you are one of those unlucky souls whose complaint is not entirely uniform, then the company will try to fit it into their dictated system, and you can guarantee that there will be no satisfactory response.
Customer Services need to have a certain structure, but when there is a difficult complaint (not necessarily from a difficult customer, I prided myself on staying very calm the entire time!) then that should be passed on to a member of staff who has the AUTHORITY to act independently of a system in an intelligent and understanding manner.
I always try and remember that it's not the staff's fault, just the systems they have been given to follow.
I had a similar experience with an online purchase. The item I received was not the one I ordered - the size was different. I actually preferred the product I received, so didn't want to return the item. But, the one I received was a lower price. I emailed them to let them know there had been a mistake and asked if they would just refund the difference. They refused, claiming that they couldn't tell I ordered the larger item because the description they included on the confirmation didn't include the size, even though it had a product code and a price. They basically implied that I was lying and I couldn't prove otherwise, as I had only printed the confirmation and not the product description on the website. Both items and product numbers had disappeared from the website. I was so angry that I wanted to send it back purely because I didn't want them to have my money. Unfortunately, it would've cost a lot more to buy it elsewhere. Straight afterwards, I received a survey to rate the website and customer service. I quite enjoyed completing it. I won't find out whether they actually do anthing with the information, as I have absolutely no intention of visiting the website or buying anything from them ever again.
It’s terribly hard to complain in Britain because our social conventions dictate that we don’t actually tell people what we’re really feeling – we sort of insinuate it and leave them to work out the rest. So when people are explicit about their feelings, two things tend to happen:
1) They express themselves angrily, because they feel vulnerable without the protective cloak of suggestion and insinuation.
2) The person being complained to becomes indignant because they are not used to people openly saying what they feel. They smother their embarrassment by pointedly making over-the-top reparations.
In short, everyone gets angry and nobody actually gets what they want – reasonable feedback on the one hand; sensible reparation on the other. Plus they will do everything to avoid each other from now on. So how do you complain in Britain without causing offence?
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