Customer Servces
Dissatisfied Customers Are Goldby Debra Schmidt
In every business, mistakes happen and customers get angry. But when a problem is fixed properly and stays fixed…customer loyalty actually increases! Here are five steps you can take to not only resolve the problem but actually build loyalty:
q LISTEN carefully to your customer. You need to stop everything you are doing and give your customer 100% of your attention. Active listening requires a lot of effort and cannot be accomplished when we are distracted.
q EMPATHIZE with your customer’s concerns. Let him know that you sincerely care about his problem even if you don’t agree with his comments.
q APOLOGIZE even if you are not the cause of the problem. When said sincerely, the words “I’m sorry” can diffuse as much as 95% of most people’s anger.
q RESOLVE the problem. Let the customer know you are on his side and will do everything you can to help him get the problem resolved. If only an employee in another department can fix it, help make the transition smooth so the customer doesn’t have to tell his story more than once.
q NOW is the time to address the problem. The faster a mistake is fixed, the more likely it is that the customer will give your company another chance.
The best way to handle a situation in which the customer is angry or upset is to remember the acronym LEARN and apply the five steps listed above. Then feel great about the positive difference you made in that person’s day!
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Emmy nominee, entrepreneur, author, television personality and winner of six national marketing awards, Debra J. Schmidt is one of the nation’s most versatile speakers and trainers. She is known as America’s “Customer Loyalty Ambassador” and author of Spe
