Source: AllBusiness.com
By Jonathan Farrington, AllBusiness.com.
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The focus of all modern management thinking, and strategic business practice, has to be the customer. Keep your customers happy and your sales will continue to soar. Neglect them, or take them for granted, and your bottom line will suffer accordingly.
When responding to a customer who has a complaint, keep these six rules firmly in mind:
1-Listen with understanding and sympathy: This defuses anger and demonstrates your concern. Tell the customer something like "I am sorry you have been inconvenienced. Tell me what happened so I can help you.” It is vital to show a sincere interest and willingness to help. The customer's first impression of you is all important in gaining cooperation.
2-Take responsibility: No matter what or who caused the problem, never, ever blame or make excuses. Instead take full responsibility and the initiative to do whatever you can to solve the problem as quickly as possible.
3-Paraphrase and repeat: Whenever you hear an important point from the customer, say "Let me make sure I understand. You were promised delivery on the 10th and you did not receive the product until the first of the following month. Is that correct?”
4-Find out what the customer wants: Is it a refund, a credit, a discount, or a replacement? The customer is complaining because of a problem that he or she wants solved as quickly as possible. Find out what the problem is so you can work toward solving it and not toward a solution the customer doesn’t want.