11 Steps to Handle Customer Complaints in 2020

Every flourishing business deals with a world of factors that affect its growth. One of the keys to ensuring this growth is handling customer complaints effectively.

Irrespective of impeccable services, one day or the other, customer grievances are a common occurrence. It’s inevitable for any company to have customer complaints and bad situations. 

But what separates a good company from the one that’s doing badly is the way of handling these complaints. Never ignore customer concerns as it creates havoc in the long run. 

Providing resolutions to customers’ problems and ensuring their satisfaction helps in triggering an opportunity from a challenge. In the same instance, not every angry customer carries significant insights when something goes wrong. Also, don’t burry trivial feedbacks of complaints.

So, do you have a strategy in place to provide excellent customer service?

Have you trained your team to tackle sensitive complaints?

Are you thinking negative feedback about your services or products bring a stake to your reputation?

This article has useful insights  to help your customer support team with the best ways to handle customer complaints. 

• Customer Complaints Are Crucial to Businesses: Complaints are part of business, but there is a chance to turn these customers and their claims into recommendations. Fixing the situation, having a will to make things right is all you need to handle customers’ issues like a pro, even if you have just begun your startup.

11 Stunning Steps to Handle Customer Complaints

1. A Problem Addressed Well Is a Problem Half Solved

Retaining customers is proportional to the respect given to them. While the customer is sharing her complaint, be sincere, and provide a genuine impression of listening to the concerns. Lend an ear of patience and tell the possible ways of addressing the problem. 

When the customer is angry, stop being carried away by emotions, stay calm, and address the customer situation without taking it personally. 

Keep the business objective in mind. Let this goal steer your conversations and not your failure (customer complaints about your business) Mistakes do happen, but fix them well. 

2. Avoid Adding Fuel to Their Anger

In a few cases, you might know the customer is wrong in her perception. Rest her case politely. Don’t challenge her that she is wrong. Explain how your service works and clear the misunderstandings. 

Thank them for approaching you with their concerns.

3. Witnessing Customer Problems Is Equally Important

The immediate need of an aggravated customer is a responsible employee to heed their emotions. 

Get all the clarification from them to ease their stress. Don’t just run a one-person show, ask them questions, and address their discomfort. Continue the conversation with positive dialogues. 

Before providing them your list of solutions, hear to them and ask for their concerns. Then elaborate the steps that they can take to solve the problem. 

Also, Read: Customer Service Strategies to Help You Beat the Competition

4. The Magic of Service Recovery

As a business owner, don’t get devastated when you come across bad reviews or angry customers. As the complaint gets filed, work to resolve it and let the customer know about it. Ensure you are working on it as there is no tomorrow. 

Once an upset customer is satisfied, her review helps towards brand recognition. Here are a few ideas: 

• Speak to the concerned person who has reported the problem and the one responsible for triggering it.
• Learn from your mistakes. Include a new procedure in your business process to avoid these customer problems in the future.
• For customer satisfaction, when a fault is at your end, refund or promise them for rewards or discounts. 

Stellar solutions don’t matter when the customers are unhappy. Ensure you turn every possible stone to satisfy them responsibly and quickly. 

5. The Art of Organizing Complaints

Businesses can’t provide everything a customer needs. So, it is always wise to organize and record customer complaints. There are chances for recurring concerns from customers. 

Think of addressing these concerns with a unique solution. Doing this will curtail future complaints. 

6. Delve Deep to Know Your Customers

Based on the customer complaint, there is a chance to evaluate the type of customer. Know the different personas of your customers and handle their complaints like a champ. 

• Be responsible for listening to the deep cause of the problem from a meek customer who never likes to speak to you.
• Control your emotions and speak politely to an aggressive customer.
• Have patience and address the concerns of a chronic customer who keeps troubling you with her concerns, complaints all the time.
• Organize the complaints of the customer who pays the business well. This high roller might complain about discounts or premium support. Check out all the ways to make such a customer happy.

Respond with composure to customers who keep on complaining about the services that they are not paying for. 

7. Transfer Calls Quickly Explaining the Benefits

If you have to transfer the call during a conversation with the customer, let them know the benefit of doing it. Assure them that you are transferring the call to an expert who will be able to solve their problems or complaints quickly. 

Let the customer know you are doing the best thing by putting their call on hold while you transfer. 

8. Follow up for Satisfying Clients

Customers always get relieved when they hear a follow up for their raised concerns. After resolving the issues of the customers, make a protocol to follow them. Doing this helps you to win the grace of happy and satisfied customers.

Fifty-two percent of customers wish to get their problems solved by the concerned employees within seven days of leaving a negative review. 

Refocus on the complaint and acknowledge a solution for it. Update the customers with the immediate process you follow to clear their problem.

Also, Read: 8 Best Customer Retention Software For Reducing Churn Rate

9. Maintain Decency in Handling Lost Cause

If there is nothing to help an aggressive customer and she is willing to cancel her account, gracefully help her to leave without causing further frustration to her. 

Provide a marvelous service to the customer. When she is not happy with it, provide a hassle-free exit. 

10. Give Your Time on Priority to Customers

Support the customer on time and provide them the details for every query. Being productive on time is all that you need. Give priority to resolving these tasks. 

Even though you have loads of complaints on queue, manage your resources to address through helpful conversations. Don’t neglect the fact that instant replies are always needed to reduce customers’ stress. 

11. Research to Provide Crystal Clear Communication

Ask the employee to research thoroughly on the customer’s complaint. If needed, ask the customer about the references to the issue she is facing. 

By doing so, you can get relieved of false promises and fake problems in this regard and can find a quick solution. 

Wrapping Up

The best way to handle customer complaints is to address them on priority with all the possible resources. When you pay attention to customer grievances immediately, they become the most loyal and high paying customers. Getting negative reviews or complaints is not new for any business; however, you should figure out a recovery system to make customers happy. Give the customers the benefit of the doubt to retain and keep them satisfied.