How To Reply To Unsatisfied Customer?

One of the issues you must face as a business owner or representative is feedback. This could include dealing with customers that were not satisfied with the service they got from your business. It is important to know how to handle these situations when they arise and give appropriate responses if need be. This article is a guide on how to reply to unsatisfied customers. Lets’ start with How To Reply To Unsatisfied Customer.

How To Reply To Unsatisfied Customer?

When you get a complaint from an unsatisfied customer, it is important, first of all, to understand what the complaint is about. Responding to unsatisfied customers typically follows a similar process, which we can break down into nine simple steps.

Steps for Responding to Unsatisfied Customers

Understanding the reasons for the complaint

There are many reasons why a customer might send in a complaint. It could be because of issues bordering on delivery, product quality, or inaccurate information. When you know the reason for being contacted, you can move ahead with the process and prepare an appropriate response.

Accepting the complaint

The next thing to do is accept the customer’s complaint. The customer might send the complaint by phone, email, social media, or physically at your store. So, depending on the medium, you are to read or listen carefully and patiently to understand what the customer wants to resolve. It would also help if you had a system for sorting the complaints to keep track of them and respond appropriately.

Assimilation

After reading the customer’s email or listening to what they have to say, you have to properly process the situation, so that you would be able to give the appropriate response. It is important to be open-minded and understand the customer’s angle.

Engaging the customer

The next step is engaging the customer. This is when you respond to the customer after you are sure that you understand their complaint. When engaging the unsatisfied customer, whether, by email or phone, you must acknowledge their problems and avoid deflecting the blame or responding angrily, especially if the customer has spoken angrily. This will only further annoy them and might lead to more arguments.

Apologizing

You should then thank the customer for their feedback and apologize for any inconveniences they might have had. Let them know that you understand them, and are looking to resolve the issue as soon as possible and would get back to them with new developments.

Finding ways to resolve the issue

Your next step will be to come up with ways to resolve the issue your customer is facing. Since you understand the situation well, this should not be difficult. You might also need to create a plan. If you cannot resolve the problem immediately, remember to keep the customer informed of new developments.

Offering solutions to the customer

After you have come up with a way to resolve the problem, don’t hesitate to let the customer know. Give a detailed solution and put them through what they need to do so that their issue is resolved. If the customer needs to get a refund, you are to help them process it and make sure they get the refund. You can also give them additional contact information should they have any future problems. Make sure to apologize again and thank them for their business and feedback.

Make sure the customer is satisfied with the service

You need to follow up to ensure that the customer is satisfied with the response you have given them. You can follow up by asking them to fill out a short survey on their satisfaction with your customer service. After some time has passed, you may also contact them again to ascertain their satisfaction and if the solutions you offered helped them resolve the issues they had

Making the required changes

The final step is making appropriate adjustments from customer reviews. You might need to make huge changes to your strategy based on new weaknesses that your customers point out and you didn’t know your business had previously. This helps reduce future reoccurrences and improve the overall customer experience.

Tips for Engaging Angry Customers

Sometimes, handling customer complaints can be very challenging, especially when the complaints come in through the phone or physically at your business establishment. Some customers might get angry and even yell at you while airing their complaints. Here are a few tips to help you better handle those tough situations:

Always remain calm

As provoking as it could be, you have to stay calm when you are in this situation. Never yell back at the customer or argue with them. It is best to let them air their annoyance, then after listening, explain the situation clearly and assure them that you will work to resolve the issue.

The customer is always right (even if they are very wrong!)

You need to empathize with your customers and put yourself in their shoes to understand where they are coming from. Even if it’s not your fault, listen to what they have to say before explaining the situation. Also, never give the customer the impression that you are mocking them.

Try to be prompt and effective

Customers never like to be kept on hold for too long. You should try to get back to them and respond to their complaints as quickly as possible. You should also try to make your responses as relevant as possible.

Draw up a process for responding to customer complaints

It would help you to create a system for handling complaints that come in through the phone, email, or social media. This should also apply to the possible complaints customers could have regarding your services. This will help you respond more quickly and effectively to customers.

Conclusion

Lastly, the feedback you get from customers should be taken seriously and seen as positive. Many times, customers with bad experiences don’t bother to contact the business. So, it is good to get feedback from your customers as it helps you make improvements to your business and services.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What should I do if a customer is angry and yells at me?

Your response should never be to yell back or stir up any further argument with the customer. Always remain calm, even when the customer is agitated.

  1. How do I respond if the customer is wrong?

Listen to the customer’s complaints, then try to explain the situation clearly without mocking them.