How to resolve them
Poor product quality
Launch that can automate refund and replacement requests. Gather feedback after every customer interaction to get feedback on product quality and make improvements accordingly.
Long wait time
Streamline internal processes, provide a range of customer options that customers can browse through to find answers by themselves.
Assigning the conversation multiple times
Set up workflow automations that route customer conversations to agents who are most skilled in handling them.
High average handle time
Optimize agent performance with agent-facing bots, facilitate seamless inter- , and leverage workflow automations to automate repetitive tasks.
Issues with the support agents
Invest in quality assurance, conduct periodic to cover product updates as well as soft-skills enhancements.
Delivery, shipment, and refund issues
Offer automated solutions with AI-enabled chatbots that can view data from their-party solutions such as your order tracking software and produce instant answers.
Complaints raised due to misunderstanding
Have clear customer service policies in place, set deadlines for response and resolutions using .
Satisfactory customer complaint resolution can protect your company’s reputation and, if on a public channel, show other customers and potential customers that you care. Handling customer complaints by taking a thoughtful approach that involves delivering consistent experiences can work out well in your favor. Here’s an effective step-by-step complaint resolution process that you can implement:
The longer your customer has to wait for your reply, the more time they have to get more and more frustrated. This frustration can cause them to leave you for a competitor, so act fast as soon as you hear a complaint. Acting fast makes your customers feel valued, and it shows them that you care, which fosters a trusting relationship and secures repeat business.
Tone is an important component when responding to your customer's grievances. If you do not correctly grasp the tone of a conversation, it can lead to misunderstandings and cause further frustration for your customers. For example, you are a mechanic, and a customer has complained to you about a tire you recently replaced going flat, making them late for work. If you correctly read the tone, you will respond to them quickly and find them an easy solution. Maybe you could bring them to work or pay for a cab for them while you repair the damaged tire.
If you misread the tone, you may neglect the time-sensitive aspect of the issue, causing harm to your reputation with that customer.
If you only know half of the information about an issue, how can you expect to find a comprehensive solution?
If a customer has made a complaint to you, but you feel there is information missing, or if you are struggling to see why they are unhappy, then ask for more information. Ask the customer questions to find out what they expected from your services, how those expectations were not met, what you could do next time to prevent this issue, and most importantly, whether the problem has happened before.
If you do discover that the issue has happened before, then you need to prioritize a response that satisfies your customer's needs, as repetitive issues can hurt your brand.
Last but definitely not least, find a viable solution to the problem raised by the customer. You can reply quickly to a complaint and offer a response that understands everything about the issue, but if you do not offer a solution, the customer will still feel aggrieved. The whole point of interacting with customer complaints is to find improvements for your goods and services that improve your customers' experience.
You need to consider what your customer expects or demand from your offerings, and how feasible their request is in terms of cost and time for your business. If you have multiple potential solutions and are unsure about which to choose, bring your customer into the decision-making process by offering them different remedies to their grievances.
Check out the interactive product tour to explore the capabilities of Freshdesk.
Here are some more important practices to implement when handling customer complaints:
Active listening and clear communication is vital when handling customer complaints. You need to listen to their actual complaints to find out what exactly they are unhappy about. This allows you to empathize with the customer and find a solution that satisfies their needs. If you do not actively listen, you may miss key details that can offer valuable insights into how to fix the problem. Not to mention the fact that a customer who feels ignored will likely not come back to you for goods or services.
Customers do not like to feel like they are being scammed or having the wool pulled over their eyes. You need to be honest and transparent with your customers when they are making a complaint. For instance, your customer has complained about a service provided by a staff member of yours who is still in training. If you do not tell the customer that they are in training, they will believe that your services are not up to their standards.
However, if you inform the customer that the services were performed by an inexperienced member of staff, you can offer them a discount, or you can ensure that only experienced team members work with them in the future. Being transparent about why an issue occurred helps you to find a solution that the customer can understand and is happy with.
Providing your customer support team with adequate resources is crucial when handling complaints. The customer support team needs to know what they are allowed to do when resolving issues, and they need to have the information and resources required to serve your customers' needs. For instance, if a long-term loyal customer is making a complaint, your support team needs to know that they are a valued customer who needs to be helped immediately. This information can be offered to your customer support team by keeping profiles of customers with any relevant information included.
Here are five important tips to remember when managing customer complaints:
Do not lose your temper or get frustrated, as this will only make the situation worse. If you get flustered, take a deep breath and calm down before responding.
The customer does not automatically know that you are working on a solution, so make sure to tell them repeatedly that you will find a solution in a timely manner.
When transferring the complaint to a manager or relevant part, make sure the customer is not left to wait for 10 minutes for them to reach the right person.
After finding a solution for the customer, take the time to check in to make sure that their issue has been resolved. Some customers will only complain about something once, so you need to make sure that the solutions you offer work out.
Learn from every complaint you receive and how you dealt with it. Improving the solutions you find for problems will reduce the number of complaints you receive and improve your customers' experience.
Dealing with customer complaints efficiently is crucial for maintaining a positive brand reputation and fostering customer loyalty . A customer complaint software like Freshworks’ Freshdesk can help you streamline the process of managing complaints, ensuring a seamless experience for both your customers and agents.
Customers may choose to voice their complaints through various channels such as email, phone, social media, or live chat. With Freshdesk , you can centralize all these conversations in a single unified inbox, making it easier for your agents to track and respond to complaints without missing any important details.
Freshdesk offers powerful automation capabilities that can help you streamline your complaint-handling process. You can set up workflows to automatically assign complaints to the right agent based on their skill set or the nature of the issue. This ensures that each complaint is handled by the most qualified person, leading to faster resolution times.
Resolving complex customer complaints often requires collaboration between different teams within your organization. Freshworks Freshdesk facilitates seamless collaboration by allowing you to easily loop in relevant team members, share context, and work together on finding the best solution.
Not all customer complaints require direct agent intervention. Freshdesk’s self-service portal empowers customers to find answers to common issues on their own, reducing the load on your support team. You can create a comprehensive knowledge base and integrate it with your support channels, ensuring that customers have access to relevant information whenever they need it
Freshdesk’s robust reporting capabilities provide you with valuable insights into your customer complaint data. You can track metrics such as complaint volume, resolution times, and customer satisfaction survey scores. By analyzing this data, you can identify areas for improvement, optimize your processes, and make informed decisions to enhance your overall customer experience.
Handle customer complaints with care.
Customer complaints present opportunities for improvement and strengthening customer relationships when handled effectively. By leveraging customer complaint software like Freshworks Freshdesk, you can ensure every complaint is addressed promptly, efficiently, and with the utmost care, transforming potential detractors into loyal brand advocates.
Freshdesk equips your support team with powerful tools to handle complaints seamlessly. Its intuitive interface, transparent communication, and robust reporting capabilities enable agents to respond promptly, analyze recurring issues, implement process improvements, and collaborate cross-functionally to resolve complex complaints comprehensively. With Freshworks as your trusted partner, you can navigate customer complaints confidently, actively listening to customers, empathizing with their frustrations, and working diligently to provide well-rounded solutions that address the root cause of issues, ultimately fostering customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Customer service software.
If you’re looking for an alternative to your existing customer service software, or just want to learn more about software for customer support, click here.
Experience an interactive product tour of Freshworks Freshdesk before your personalized demo and explore the capabilities of the Suite.
Click here If you're in search of a comprehensive and adaptable customer experience management software tailored for your business needs.
Click here and learn to elevate your customer service with a robust complaint management system. Also, compare the top customer complaint software in 2024.
How should customer complaints be handled.
Handling customer complaints effectively involves prioritizing quick, empathetic, and precise action. Firstly, acknowledge the complaint quickly to show the customer you value their feedback. Next, investigate the issue thoroughly to identify the root cause. Offer a solution that addresses the customer's concern directly and implement it promptly. Finally, follow up with the customer to confirm their satisfaction with how the matter was resolved, reinforcing your commitment to excellent customer service.
The three major areas of customer complaints typically include product-related issues, service-related concerns, and misunderstandings or miscommunications. Product-related complaints may arise from faults, defects, or unmet expectations regarding the product’s performance. Service-related concerns usually revolve around the quality of service delivery, such as delays, unprofessional behavior, or poor execution. Misunderstandings often occur when there is a discrepancy between what was promised or advertised and the customer's experience or perception of the product or service.
After addressing a complaint, it's important to analyze for insights that can help prevent similar issues in the future. This may involve making changes to your product, service, or communication strategies. Cultivating a positive outlook towards complaints as opportunities for growth and improvement is essential. Engage your team in training and discussions about these insights, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and customer-centricity.
Acknowledgment: Acknowledge the receipt of a complaint to let the customer know they are heard and that their issue is being taken seriously.
Investigation: Conduct a thorough investigation to understand the issue from the customer’s perspective, as well as the root cause of the problem. This may involve reviewing related documentation, speaking to staff members involved, or examining the product or service in question.
Resolution: Propose a solution to the customer, ensuring that it directly addresses their complaint. The solution might involve a refund, replacement, or repair that satisfies the customer.
Follow-up: After implementing the solution, follow up with the customer to ensure their issue has been resolved to their satisfaction. This step is crucial for building trust and demonstrates your commitment to providing a high level of customer service.
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In the dynamic world of business, knowing how to handle customer complaints is not just a skill; it’s a strategic advantage.
Understanding the different types of customer complaints and the importance of addressing them effectively is the cornerstone of building strong customer relationships.
Handling customer complaints might seem overwhelming, but it’s a crucial part of running a business.
When businesses quickly and efficiently deal with customer complaints, they can make their products or services better, make customers happier, and ultimately, make their business bigger.
Go see this article that might help you find out how to handle customer complaints precisely!
A customer complaint is when a customer is dissatisfied with something they bought or experienced, like the quality, service, delivery, or price.
These complaints can happen over the phone, through email, on social media, or in person. Research by Esteban Kolsky found that 91% of dissatisfied customers don’t even complain ; they just leave.
That’s why businesses should work hard to quickly and effectively deal with complaints to keep their customers happy and loyal.
Let’s dive into why handling customer complaints is so important for any business.
When a customer takes the time to complain, they’re giving you a chance to make things right. Resolving their issue promptly and effectively can turn a dissatisfied customer into a loyal one.
Happy customers are more likely to come back and spread positive word-of-mouth about your business.
Statistics show that it’s far more cost-effective to keep existing customers than to acquire new ones.
When you address complaints well, you reduce the chances of losing valuable patrons. It’s like building a sturdy foundation for your business growth.
Customer complaints often point out real problems with your products or services. They’re like a roadmap to improvement.
By paying attention to these complaints, you can refine your offerings and make them even better, thus staying competitive in the market.
In today’s interconnected world, news, good or bad, travels fast. Handling complaints professionally and efficiently can boost your reputation.
Customers appreciate companies that care about their concerns, and this goodwill can help you weather storms and maintain a positive image.
Prioritizing customer complaints sends a clear message that you value your customers.
It’s a reflection of your commitment to providing exceptional service. This customer-centric approach can set you apart from competitors.
Each complaint is a learning experience. It provides insights into what went wrong and how to avoid similar issues in the future.
This continuous learning process can help your business evolve and adapt to changing customer needs.
Trust is the foundation of any successful business relationship. When you address complaints honestly and effectively, you build trust with your customers.
Trust leads to loyalty, and loyal customers can be your most vocal advocates.
Customer complaints may not be the most pleasant part of running a business, but they are undeniably vital.
They offer opportunities for growth, improvement, and building lasting customer relationships. Embrace them as stepping stones to success, and you’ll find that your business thrives in the long run.
Customers can have various types of common complaints. Here are some examples:
Handling customer complaints effectively is crucial. Here are steps to take:
Also Read: Understanding What is CRM Software
Customer complaints are not roadblocks but stepping stones to improving your services and building stronger customer relationships. We’ll examine common customer complaints and provide you with actionable, customer-centric responses.
To help you understand better about where is the customer complaints come from, here are some common examples that businesses should be aware of:
Customers want quick responses and dislike waiting. Lengthy customer support hold times can lead to complaints and potential customer loss.
Studies show that after about two minutes, many customers hang up, and 34% won’t call back.
To avoid that worst case, this response template might help you:
Dear [Customer’s Name], I’m sorry to hear about your wait time on our customer support line. We understand your time is valuable, and we’re actively working to improve our response times. We appreciate your patience. Best regards, [Your Name]
While selling out is usually good, it can also lead to complaints if customers can’t find what they want. Keeping product stock levels high is vital to avoid this issue.
The response you can take for this issue is:
Hello [Customer’s Name], We apologize for the inconvenience of our product being out of stock. We’re doing our best to restock it quickly to ensure you can get what you need. To cure your worries, we will contact you if the product has been restocked. Thank you for your understanding. Warm regards, [Your Name]
Customers expect speedy product or service delivery. While delays happen, informing customers about them can lead to positive feedback and fewer complaints.
You can assist this issue with this response:
Dear [Customer’s Name], We’re truly sorry for the delay in your delivery. We’re investigating the cause and will do our best to prevent it from happening again. If there’s anything we can do to assist you during this delay, please let us know. Sincerely, [Your Name]
Poor-quality products or services, like damaged items or inaccurate descriptions, often trigger complaints. Checking for defects or damage before selling is crucial.
To handle this situation, you can respond to this complaint with this following template:
Hello [Customer’s Name], We apologize for the quality issue you encountered. We’re committed to making this right. We’ll either replace the defective product or issue a refund. Please inform us of your detailed order and the contact that we can reach. Your satisfaction is essential to us. Best regards, [Your Name]
Customers want satisfying service experiences, but sometimes they encounter the opposite. This includes representative behavior, tone, and timing.
Poor service can make customers feel their needs aren’t met and lead to complaints about your business.
You can fix the poor service issue with this response:
Dear [Customer’s Name], I’m sorry to hear about your less than satisfactory experience with our service. We’re taking steps to improve our service quality, including additional staff training. Your feedback is crucial to us. Warm regards, [Your Name]
Customers can get frustrated when they have to explain their problem to a new representative. Paying close attention to customer complaints can prevent these frustrating experiences.
To handle customer’s frustration within this condition, you can reply with:
Hello [Customer’s Name], We understand how frustrating it can be to repeat your concerns. We’re working diligently to improve our internal processes so that you won’t have to go through this again. Thank you for your patience. Sincerely, [Your Name]
Getting transferred to another number and waiting a long time can be infuriating for customers. They dislike having to explain their issue from scratch to someone new.
For this issue, you can give your best response like:
Dear [Customer’s Name], We apologize for any inconvenience due to call redirection. We’re actively working on streamlining our call routing to ensure a smoother experience for you. Best regards, [Your Name]
Customers often turn to social media for inquiries and expect quick responses. Treating social media as a customer service channel is vital to avoid customer complaints.
To clean up the mess on this complaint, you can respond to your customers with:
Hello [Customer’s Name], We’re sorry for the delay in our social media response. We’re treating social media as a customer service channel and will respond promptly to your inquiries in the future. Thank you for your feedback. Warm regards, [Your Name]
Also Read: WhatsApp for Customer Service – A Guide for Businesses
Customers expect their issues to be resolved in one call. Most complaints can be fixed during the first call, and failing to do so can lead to more complaints.
This issue can be taken care of with:
Dear [Customer’s Name], We regret that we couldn’t resolve your issue during your first call. We’re enhancing our training and support processes to increase the likelihood of first-call resolutions in the future. Sincerely, [Your Name]
Also Read: Understanding What is Call Centre
Neglecting to follow up on customer complaints can lead to more dissatisfaction and additional complaints as customers feel their issues are forgotten.
To get your customer’s trust back, this template might help you:
Hello [Customer’s Name], I apologize for not following up on your previous complaint. We’re implementing a system to ensure we proactively check on the resolution of all customer issues. Your feedback is essential in helping us improve. Best regards, [Your Name]
Occasionally, customers may request additional products or features if your current offerings don’t meet their needs. This can be an opportunity to enhance your product or service based on customer feedback.
To handle this issue, you can respond to your customer with this reply:
Dear [Customer’s Name], We appreciate your input regarding additional products or features. Customer feedback like yours helps us grow and meet your needs better. We’ll consider your suggestion in our future product development. Sincerely, [Your Name]
Stop stressing over customer complaints. Mekari Qontak ‘s CRM software is here to assist you!
Our powerful tool helps you easily manage complaints, automate follow-up processes, and boost your customer satisfaction.
Say goodbye to complaints and welcome to business growth with Mekari Qontak’s CRM software. Contact us now for your free trial !
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Do you know what makes big brands like Amazon, Apple, and Samsung exceptional?
Besides their high-quality products, what really makes people stick to these brands is how brilliantly they handle customer complaints.
Dealing with customers is an art that requires perseverance and patience, more than anything else. So, whether you are a month-old startup or a multinational corporation, there is only one mantra that can keep your business growing, and that is:
Take every complaint as an opportunity to win customers for life!
While some customers will be easy to please, some will give you sleepless nights, ready to pounce on you at a single instance of inconvenience, and vent their frustration on social media.
Feels familiar?
Fret not as this blog is here to guide you on handling customer complaints gracefully and analyzing them to gain front-line insights.
Let’s turn every complaint into a golden opportunity to bring customers closer to your business!
Table of Contents
Customer complaints signal a customer’s disappointment with a business. They show a disconnect between what customers are promised and what they actually receive. This gap is often a result of faulty products, inadequate customer support, or sometimes even baseless assumptions from customers’ end.
Customer complaints pinpoint problems that you never knew existed and can help you gain front-line insights into what customers prefer and what they don’t.
For example, when a customer expresses disappointment regarding a delayed response on social media or any other channel, it is a formal complaint. Such complaints show that customers value fast responses over anything else, so you can take timely steps to turn your support process more efficient.
Below is an example of a customer expressing disappointment when not provided access to TV on a flight of 4 hours.
Customer complaint handling is a challenging process. Knowing the different types of customer complaints will certainly help you devise the right strategy and use the right tactics for a delightful customer experience .
Let’s look at the common types of customer complaints that your support team may have to deal with.
These complaints are about a faulty feature or missing functionality in a product. Such complaints are also raised when customers are confused about working with your product.
If the complaint is about a faulty product or feature, dig further into the problem to understand what is wrong. If the product is really defective, get it replaced with a fresh one immediately. If there is a problem with a feature, see if your tech team can resolve the issue or guide the customer on how to correct it.
Customers expect instant gratification regardless of how a complaint is raised – via call, email, ticket, or social media. In fact, for 12% of customers , lack of speed is the number one cause of frustration. This figure can translate into mind-boggling numbers if not dealt with on time.
Take a step back and identify the workload of your agents. Are your agents always drowned in an ocean of customer complaints across channels? If yes, that means your small team is not enough to handle the heavy workload. Consider hiring more agents for a fast and efficient support process.
You can also adopt tools like an online knowledge base , live chat , and help desk . Club them to automate menial tasks and streamline the support process for maximum efficiency.
Delay in delivery is one of the most common concerns of customers who purchase products online. The website promises delivery within 2 to 3 days, but in reality, it takes over a week for a product to reach the customer. The matter gets even worse when the product is delivered to the wrong address. This can be true even for companies that offer same-day delivery services.
This shows a disconnect between what a company promises and what the customers receive.
Your support team should immediately report these issues to the concerned department and ensure that the delivery is fast-tracked. Find out what is causing such delays and problems in the product delivery. Were there any transit issues? Was the product not dispatched on time? Once the issue comes to your attention, convey it clearly to the customer and immediately speed up the delivery process. Reassure customers that you will take extra care of product deliveries in the future.
Suppose you are frustrated about something and have to explain the issue to multiple people. You take deep breaths every single time to don’t lose your cool. Now think of your customers in a similar situation.
Around 72% of customers call customer service “poor” if they have to repeat their issues multiple times to multiple people. The need to repeat issues arises due to two reasons. First, when a service rep doesn’t heed the customer’s complaint. Second, when customers are transferred from one agent to another their time holds no value.
A sure-shot way to handle such situations is to avoid transferring the customer to different agents. The transfer process is tedious and ends up frustrating customers even more. Instead, see if you can contact the subject matter expert internally and solve the problem without the painful call transfers.
A better solution would be to invest in help desk software . Modern help desk tools come with a round-robin ticket assignment system that automatically distributes customer complaints to agents who are best suited to handle them. It’s the best way to delegate work and ensure that agents are neither overwhelmed nor under-utilized.
Customer support reps are always at the frontline, representing your brand and talking to customers on your behalf. So, when they don’t seem fully invested in a customer, they put your brand’s reputation at stake. When reps talk in an uninterested tone, fail to resolve complaints or meet customers’ sky-high expectations, they send a message that your company doesn’t care enough.
First of all, when such issues are reported, ensure that you gather enough details before coming to conclusions. Criticizing your reps is not going to solve the problem. Instead, reintroduce them to your company’s service quality standards and, if possible, provide them the required training to prevent such issues in the future. Explain that they are your company’s ambassadors, so their tone, body language, and how they deal with problems have a deep impact on your reputation.
Aside from these, you may encounter many other types of complaints on lack of follow-ups, out-of-stock products, and even the most minor issues that concern customers.
Now, before we learn about how to deal with customer complaints, let’s understand how we should analyze them in the first place.
No customer can ever be 100% satisfied . That means complaints will keep flowing, no matter how hard you try to keep customers happy.
Complaints are inarguably a great way to gain valuable pieces of feedback that help you improve and grow your business .
But to turn every complaint into a growth opportunity, you must analyze it to the core.
The first step of complaint analysis is to ask the right questions and get the right answers. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself and your team to gain deeper insights into customers’ pain points:
A rigorous analysis will help you find and fix the root cause of the complaints, identify patterns, and take practical steps to reduce customer complaints.
All growth-focused businesses have one thing in common. They constantly face the question – “How to handle customer complaints?” gracefully and win customers for life.
If you are also one of these businesses longing for the right answer to this question, we’ve got you covered. Here are ten proven tips and tricks to successfully handle customer complaints.
Understand that a customer who lodges a complaint is already frustrated. Such challenging situations can make or break your brand image. One mistake can fan their frustration, and in a moment, you will find customers vowing to end the partnership forever.
The very first thing you should do at this point is to keep your cool. Pay attention to what your customers have to say, acknowledge the problem, accept your mistake, and most importantly, don’t hesitate to apologize.
Be it life or business; a simple apology has the power to mend even the most complex problems.
A simple statement such as – “Thank you for reaching out to us. We apologize for the inconvenience caused. Rest assured that we are looking into the problem and will get back to you at the earliest” can work wonders.
Such a positive attitude portrays you as an organization that takes ownership of its actions and is ready to do whatever it takes to win back its customers.
If you do not have complete clarity on customers’ pain points, how can you solve them?
When customers come to you for help, let them speak their hearts out. Take note of everything they say and dig deeper into the matter by asking relevant questions. This will help you get to the depth of the matter and find an appropriate solution for the problem.
For example, suppose a customer comes to you complaining about a poor support experience. In this case, you can put up questions like:
Asking the right questions also give customers an impression that you genuinely care about their problem.
Customers come to you heavy-hearted, loaded with frustration, and leave light-hearted with the assurance that their complaints will be resolved.
Every customer is different, and therefore your strategy to handle their complaints should also be different.
The way no two snowflakes are alike, no two customers can be the same.
Some customers do not hesitate to express their disappointment openly. Others are bold enough to quit your business completely without any complaints. Some reach out only when things go over their head, and then there are those who don’t get tired of contacting you for basic problems.
These are just a few types of customers that you might have to deal with. You will have to understand their behavior and thought process and accordingly set the tone and flow of the conversation.
For example, being polite and empathetic always works with customers who criticize openly. Those who contact you frequently for minor issues should be handled with patience. Try to stay calm even if you have to answer the same questions multiple times. You never know they might end up becoming your brand advocates!
It is believed that self-help is the best help.
According to HBR, 81% of customers like to resolve issues on their own. This means they seek support only when things go out of control.
While self-service is super quick, other forms of support such as phone calls, social media, and ticketing are not as fast. You might have heard tales of slow customer service on social media, right?
There is a way you can speed up the complaint resolution process. Whenever a customer comes to you with a complaint, instantly share the link of a relevant self-help article over chat, social media, or even in your ticket responses. You don’t have to manually type the solution or repeat it multiple times on call.
Introduce customers to the right self-help article, and the complaint will be resolved in no time! The more you promote self-service , the easier it will be to handle customer service complaints, or even better, reduce their number in the future.
Following up is an important step in customer service complaint handling.
There are two benefits of taking regular follow-ups. One, you have complete clarity on whether or not the solution you provided is of real help to customers. And second, it reflects positively on your brand. Follow-ups reassure customers that their concerns are of top priority to you.
While following up with customers, reiterate the issue and the solution once again to ensure everyone is on the same page. Apologize again for the inconvenience caused to the customer. It is also a good time to solicit their feedback on the support experience and reassure them that such issues will not happen in the future.
For example, after a day of solving the complaint of a faulty product, contact the customer again, and ask:
“Hi XYZ, we recently received a complaint from you regarding a faulty product. We hope that the issue is resolved. Are you happy with the product replacement?”
“Hi XYZ, this is about your complaint raised on XXX. We would like to know if the new product is working to your expectations. And if there is anything we could do to help you.”
When customers feel cared for and attended to, they are likely to stick to your company even after all the inconvenience they had to endure initially.
If you are wondering how to handle complaints that are raised frequently by customers, here’s what you need to do.
When you resolve customer issues, document them in your online knowledge base.
When you create detailed knowledge base articles on each customer issue you receive frequently, it reduces the chances of customers contacting you for the same problem repeatedly. The next time customers face a similar issue, they can visit your knowledge base and find the solution right away.
While this promotes self-service in customers, it also saves your support team considerable time and effort in answering the same questions repeatedly.
At a time when customers’ inclination for self-service is rapidly increasing, it makes sense to record all recurring customer issues along with their solutions in your knowledge base.
You can employ knowledge-base software to document all customer issues in a centralized help center . Support agents can record tickets and their responses, structure the articles to make them readable, and ensure that the knowledge base covers all crucial customer concerns.
With no specialized training required to use a knowledge base software , your support reps can quickly set it up and start using it for customer self-service and complaint resolution.
How to respond to customer complaints in the very first instance?
First contact resolution depends on a lot of factors, one of them being the type of complaint you receive and whether or not you have an immediate solution for the same.
There will be times when your support reps will not have an immediate response to provide.
Does that mean you should let your customers walk away? No, right?
In such situations, your support reps have to play smartly. Instead of responding negatively, they can ask customers for some time to look into the matter and provide them a plan of action stating how and by when the matter will be resolved.
If you know that a particular problem is beyond your control and you don’t have the means to solve it, convey it politely to your customers. Detail the steps you would be taking and reassure them that you will put in your best efforts to address the concern.
Set the right expectation from the get-go, so there is no room for later disappointment.
Handling customer complaints, one after the other, can be messy and frustrating-inducing.
Often, the support process gets too complicated, and crucial matters go unnoticed. Even the quality of responses customers receive takes a hard hit when reps have to handle multiple complaints simultaneously.
While small teams prefer using Gmail to keep track of customer complaints, a ticketing tool is a better choice when your customer base expands.
Modern ticketing systems bring all your support tickets to a shared space, where agents can easily manage and track them. With a round-robin ticket assignment system, tickets are automatically distributed to relevant support reps best suited to handle them.
This way, complaints in the form of tickets are routed to the right agent with relevant expertise for instant resolution. Agents can monitor the status of each complaint, prioritize them as per urgency, and ensure that every customer gets equal attention.
Here is a short video that explains how a ticketing system works.
A customer complaint management system is an online platform for end-to-end complaints management. From consolidating customer requests on a centralized dashboard to tracking, prioritizing, and resolving them, this system provides a 360° solution for complaint management.
It automates manual tasks such as ticket assignment and gives agents a transparent picture of important and not-so-important complaints, resolved and pending complaints, and a lot more. With such transparency, agents can keep a firm track of every customer grievance from the time they are raised until they are completely addressed.
Deploying this robust system can make customer service complaint handling fuss-free and straightforward for your support team. Here’s how:
No matter how hard you try, customers will always have a reason to complain. While some customers will be patient enough to listen to what you have to say, others will not leave a chance to spoil your name on social media.
Does that mean you should run away from complaints?
Running away is the trait of the faint-hearted. In the business world, you can survive only if you are strong enough to handle these complaints gracefully and turn them into growth opportunities.
And it all starts with acknowledging the issue and apologizing even when you are not wrong. Identify the root cause of complaints by asking the right questions, take regular follow-ups, and deploy customer service tools and be ready to do whatever it takes to keep your customers happy.
In the end, it all boils down to one thing – how you treat customers today determines how well they will treat you tomorrow.
So take every step cautiously, follow the above-mentioned tips and use complaints to win customers for life.
About the author
Brayn Wills
Brayn Wills is an experienced writer passionate about customer service and relationship building. His expertise encompasses help desk management, customer communication, AI chatbots, knowledge management, lead generation, and more. Brayn provides practical strategies to enhance customer satisfaction and drive business growth. His work has been published in publications like GetFeedback, CustomerThink, and Apruve.
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It is vitally important to handle a customer complaining about your service or products empathetically.
In addition, a strong communication structure is required, in order to stay in control of the conversation and to achieve a successful outcome. Crucially, a customer complaint well handled can win you a lifelong customer, who remains loyal to your organisation.
However, complainants displaying difficult behaviour can be as challenging for the recipient to manage as the complaint itself. As a result, we offer some tips for dealing with difficult behaviour , to help appease these difficult situations.
Here are some practical tips for effectively dealing with customer complaints:
Concentrate solely on what the customer is telling you. Make notes of the key facts and their concerns, so that you have a record of the conversation to refer to in the future.
Importantly, don’t interrupt the customer, stay calm and in control. Above all, remember that you are representing your organisation and they are not “having a go at you personally”.
In a supportive but concerned tone of voice you can demonstrate you are actively listening and empathetic to the customer. For example, use a few small statements such as “right”, “oh dear”, “I’m sorry to hear that”, “that must have been disappointing”, as well as paraphrasing what they have told you.
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At the appropriate time during the conversation, when there is a natural pause for example, recognise the level of distress this may have caused them. In addition, thank the customer for bringing this matter to your attention. Importantly, this will demonstrate that you are concerned and want to put the matter right or resolve the situation.
You may also need to empathise with the complainant concerning the failure to deliver the level of service expected, where appropriate. By saying ‘sorry’ you are again demonstrating to the customer that you are genuinely apologetic that this has happened to them and showing that you wish to put things right.
Remember to seek permission from a customer who is very angry, to ask questions. As a result, you can then collect all of the facts needed to understand what has happened and to identify how best to resolve the situation.
Ask a combination of open (“what”, “how”, “who”, “why”, “where” and “when”), as well as closed questions (for example, “did you?”, “is he?” Importantly, this will confirm the key facts and glean the information you need. Then summarise your understanding back to the customer to ensure you are clear of the facts. In addition, give the customer the opportunity to share any further facts they may have omitted.
Ensure that you only commit to the steps you have the authority to take. For example, explain what you will personally undertake to resolve the complaint, including when you will get back to them.
Remember to be realistic about timescales – do not over promise. It is always better to under promise and over deliver, rather than the other way round. Take ownership of the complaint, but should you need to involve a colleague, explain to the customer who will be in contact with them, their name and job role.
Check that the customer is happy with the suggested actions you have committed to. Where appropriate, ask the customer if there is anything further that they think you could do at this stage to help them.
Review actions in line with your organisation’s procedures. You should then:
Finally, review procedures with your team leader or manager to ensure future mistakes are not made and you learn from each complaint to enhance your customer service experience.
To help team leaders and managers develop their problem solving skills you may find our tips on developing your creativity helpful.
Kim Larkins , MCIPD is Company Founder of KSL Training. Kim has 30 years training and HR management experience in the Retail, Hospitality and Pharmaceutical industry.
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How to handle customer complaints the right way.
by Jessica Brown , on Jul 25, 2019 11:22:39 AM
If you work in customer service or more specifically, a call center , chances are you've dealt with customer complaints before. And if you haven't, don't worry, your time is coming.
Customer complaints range from people who are mildly annoyed to those who are in a rage, and you have to know how to effectively deal with each one to resolve the situation, make the customer happy, and leave them with a good feeling about the company you're representing.
In this article, we look at how you can handle customer complaints to accomplish the above, so you and the customer walk away satisfied at the resolution.
When you get a dissatisfied or angry customer, it's easy for you to lose your cool too, which only worsens the situation. However, you can make the interaction go more smoothly if you keep these tips in mind.
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Sometimes, when the customer calls, they are angry to the point they're yelling or using foul language. When this happens, it's difficult to look past their hostility and see the underlying issue.
As mentioned above, one of the best ways to diffuse a situation with an angry caller is to be as kind and respectful as possible and to acknowledge their problem. Don't tell them it's their fault, even if it is, and don't offer excuses.
Also, some customers are more difficult to calm down than others, so when you get one who's difficult, it's helpful to explain that you can't help them if you can't have a respectful conversation about the problem. Acknowledge their anger, but try and bring the tension down so you can better resolve the issue. Most people are okay after they're able to vent their frustrations, however, if you get someone who won't settle down or becomes abusive or threatens violence, explain that you can't continue the conversation if they don't settle down.
Dealing with angry and upset callers is part and parcel of the customer service industry, so it's wise to practice the techniques discussed above to remain calm and talk someone down from their anger and into a productive conversation to get them the help they need. Remember, most people want help and for their issue to be acknowledged, and if you can do those things, you're on your way to diffusing a bad situation and keeping a customer happy.
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The widespread assumption that ai chatbots will inevitably replace service workers, the way physical robots took many factory and warehouse jobs, isn’t becoming reality in any widespread way., by paul wiseman | associated press • published september 2, 2024 • updated on september 2, 2024 at 5:12 pm.
Imagine a customer-service center that speaks your language, no matter what it is.
Alorica, a company in Irvine, California, that runs customer-service centers around the world, has introduced an artificial intelligence translation tool that lets its representatives talk with customers who speak 200 different languages and 75 dialects.
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So an Alorica representative who speaks, say, only Spanish can field a complaint about a balky printer or an incorrect bank statement from a Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. Alorica wouldn’t need to hire a rep who speaks Cantonese.
Such is the power of AI. And, potentially, the threat: Perhaps companies won’t need as many employees — and will slash some jobs — if chatbots can handle the workload instead. But the thing is, Alorica isn’t cutting jobs. It’s still hiring aggressively.
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The experience at Alorica — and at other companies, including furniture retailer IKEA — suggests that AI may not prove to be the job killer that many people fear. Instead, the technology might turn out to be more like breakthroughs of the past — the steam engine, electricity, the internet: That is, eliminate some jobs while creating others. And probably making workers more productive in general, to the eventual benefit of themselves, their employers and the economy.
Nick Bunker, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, said he thinks AI “will affect many, many jobs — maybe every job indirectly to some extent. But I don’t think it’s going to lead to, say, mass unemployment. We have seen other big technological events in our history, and those didn’t lead to a large rise in unemployment. Technology destroys but also creates. There will be new jobs that come about.’’
At its core, artificial intelligence empowers machines to perform tasks previously thought to require human intelligence. The technology has existed in early versions for decades, having emerged with a problem-solving computer program, the Logic Theorist, built in the 1950s at what's now Carnegie Mellon University. More recently, think of voice assistants like Siri and Alexa. Or IBM’s chess-playing computer, Deep Blue, which managed to beat the world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997.
AI really burst into public consciousness in 2022, when OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, the generative AI tool that can conduct conversations, write computer code, compose music, craft essays and supply endless streams of information. The arrival of generative AI has raised worries that chatbots will replace freelance writers, editors, coders, telemarketers, customer-service reps, paralegals and many more.
“AI is going to eliminate a lot of current jobs, and this is going to change the way that a lot of current jobs function,'' Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, said in a discussion at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in May.
Yet the widespread assumption that AI chatbots will inevitably replace service workers, the way physical robots took many factory and warehouse jobs, isn’t becoming reality in any widespread way — not yet, anyway. And maybe it never will.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers said last month that it found “little evidence that AI will negatively impact overall employment.’’ The advisers noted that history shows technology typically makes companies more productive, speeding economic growth and creating new types of jobs in unexpected ways.
They cited a study this year led by David Autor, a leading MIT economist: It concluded that 60% of the jobs Americans held in 2018 didn’t even exist in 1940, having been created by technologies that emerged only later.
The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which tracks job cuts, said it has yet to see much evidence of layoffs that can be attributed to labor-saving AI.
“I don’t think we’ve started seeing companies saying they’ve saved lots of money or cut jobs they no longer need because of this,’’ said Andy Challenger, who leads the firm’s sales team. “That may come in the future. But it hasn’t played out yet.’’
At the same time, the fear that AI poses a serious threat to some categories of jobs isn't unfounded.
Consider Suumit Shah, an Indian entrepreneur who caused a uproar last year by boasting that he had replaced 90% of his customer support staff with a chatbot named Lina. The move at Shah's company, Dukaan, which helps customers set up e-commerce sites, shrank the response time to an inquiry from 1 minute, 44 seconds to “instant." It also cut the typical time needed to resolve problems from more than two hours to just over three minutes.
"It's all about AI's ability to handle complex queries with precision,'' Shah said by email.
The cost of providing customer support, he said, fell by 85%.
“Tough? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely,’’ Shah posted on X.
Dukaan has expanded its use of AI to sales and analytics. The tools, Shah said, keep growing more powerful.
“It's like upgrading from a Corolla to a Tesla,'' he said. "What used to take hours now takes minutes. And the accuracy is on a whole new level.''
Similarly, researchers at Harvard Business School, the German Institute for Economic Research and London’s Imperial College Business School found in a study last year that job postings for writers, coders and artists tumbled within eight months of the arrival of ChatGPT.
A 2023 study by researchers at Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and New York University concluded that telemarketers and teachers of English and foreign languages held the jobs most exposed to ChatGPT-like language models. But being exposed to AI doesn’t necessarily mean losing your job to it. AI can also do the drudge work, freeing up people to do more creative tasks.
The Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, for example, introduced a customer-service chatbot in 2021 to handle simple inquiries. Instead of cutting jobs, IKEA retrained 8,500 customer-service workers to handle such tasks as advising customers on interior design and fielding complicated customer calls.
Chatbots can also be deployed to make workers more efficient, complementing their work rather than eliminating it. A study by Erik Brynjolfsson of Stanford University and Danielle Li and Lindsey Raymond of MIT tracked 5,200 customer-support agents at a Fortune 500 company who used a generative AI-based assistant. The AI tool provided valuable suggestions for handling customers. It also supplied links to relevant internal documents.
Those who used the chatbot, the study found, proved 14% more productive than colleagues who didn’t. They handled more calls and completed them faster. The biggest productivity gains — 34% — came from the least-experienced, least-skilled workers.
At an Alorica call center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, one customer-service rep had been struggling to gain access to the information she needed to quickly handle calls. After Alorica trained her to use AI tools, her “handle time’’ — how long it takes to resolve customer calls — fell in four months by an average of 14 minutes a call to just over seven minutes.
Over a period of six months, the AI tools helped one group of 850 Alorica reps reduce their average handle time to six minutes, from just over eight minutes. They can now field 10 calls an hour instead of eight — an additional 16 calls in an eight-hour day.
Alorica agents can use AI tools to quickly access information about the customers who call in — to check their order history, say, or determine whether they had called earlier and hung up in frustration.
Suppose, said Mike Clifton, Alorica’s co-CEO, a customer complains that she received the wrong product. The agent can “hit replace, and the product will be there tomorrow," he said. " 'Anything else I can help you with? No?’ Click. Done. Thirty seconds in and out.’’
Now the company is beginning to use its Real-time Voice Language Translation tool, which lets customers and Alorica agents speak and hear each other in their own languages.
“It allows (Alorica reps) to handle every call they get,” said Rene Paiz, a vice president of customer service. “I don’t have to hire externally’’ just to find someone who speaks a specific language.
Yet Alorica isn’t cutting jobs. It continues to seek hires — increasingly, those who are comfortable with new technology.
“We are still actively hiring,’’ Paiz says. “We have a lot that needs to be done out there.’’
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Originally, it comes from Latin where it meant "hit" or, figuratively, "hit on the chest.". Although some businesses happen to treat complaints as hostile fault-finding and try to avoid or ignore them, complaints are claimed to have a positive outcome and, thus, should be managed properly. Get a custom essay on The Value of a Customer ...
Step 4: Present a solution, and verify that the problem is solved. After you've identified the root cause of the customer's complaint, found a solution, and sent that solution to the customer, it's important to verify that the solution you proposed actually solved the problem. There are a couple of ways to do this:
In this article, we will explore best practices and strategies on how to handle customer complaints effectively. From active listening to swift resolution, understanding the root cause, and implementing preventive measures, we will provide insights into creating a positive customer experience, even in the face of dissatisfaction.
Stay calm. When a customer presents you with a complaint, keep in mind that the issue is not personal; he or she is not attacking you directly but rather the situation at hand. "Winning" the confrontation accomplishes nothing. A person who remains in control of his or her emotions deals from a position of strength.
Thanks for your patience and have a great day, [name] 6. Poor customer service in terms of rep-customer culture fit. Some call it "cultural fit", some call it "chemistry", some could argue that it's just like in real life: not all reps and customers will get along, just like not all people get along.
Give the customer your full attention and listen to the whole problem before responding. Put yourself in their shoes - if you had a problem, you would want someone to listen to you. Appearing disinterested, or attempting to argue back, will only exacerbate the situation. Don't jump the gun. You might deal with complaints on a regular basis, and ...
For many of them, it is important to know that their opinions are taken into account. Furthermore, when clients know that there is an open line of communication and their input matters, they are more likely to stay loyal to your company and spread the good word. 5. Impact brand image positively.
For example, a customer's dissatisfaction with a staff member's attitude leads to a heartfelt apology from the company and a promise of staff retraining. This step remedies the situation and also steers the team towards more positive and empathetic customer interactions. 3. Billing and pricing.
To find out all the other ways you can personalize your customer service — and the benefits personalization brings — check out our. 3. Identify what types of customers you're interacting with. One vital tactic to employ when handling customer complaints is finding out what types of shoppers you're dealing with.
I have chosen to write my reflective essay on customer complaints and why it is important to handle them effectively, how to learn from complaints and how my workplace can use a complaint as a way of improving customer experience for the future. Reflective learning encourages development and new approaches to learning (Brockbank et al, 2002).
1. Listen to or read the customer's complaint. When you have a customer complaint, the first action that I recommend taking is to listen to the issue and focus on what your customer is experiencing.Regardless of whether the complaint is over a price increase, a bad meal, or a service outage, this person is reaching out to you to express their frustration.
Taking time to regularly monitor your customer complaints is important to ensure you don't miss one. Set up GatherUp's customer activity dashboard to stay on top of customer feedback and better manage customer experience. You could set up notifications for negative feedback so you don't risk missing it. 4.
2. Apologize to the customer. Apologizing to the customer is another important step in responding to a customer complaint. Be sure to apologize to the customer in whichever setting they are complaining. For example, if the customer posted a negative review, respond to the review to maintain your company's reputation.
8. Create a record. From the time a customer complaint is first submitted to the moment it gets resolved, record your interactions with the customer. Recording customer interactions can provide you with information that helps improve your products, services, and overall customer experience.
The answer is simple. Your customers will complain. According to research by Esteban Kolsky, 13% of unhappy customers will share their complaint with 15 or more people. Furthermore, only 1 in 25 unhappy customers complain directly to you. And for customers that don't complain, they just stop doing business with you.
2. Long wait times to get a response. Waiting to get a response about an issue is usually a very frustrating experience for customers. And over the years, customers' expectations of how long a response should take have steadily increased. In fact, one study found that 31% of customers expect a response within an hour.
In addition to developing the right customer service skills, consistently following a specific set of steps can help you handle customer complaints effectively. Consider this recommended process flow: . Acknowledge the problem. Ask questions for clarification. Identify the type of customer. Provide a fast solution.
Handling customer complaints effectively involves prioritizing quick, empathetic, and precise action. Firstly, acknowledge the complaint quickly to show the customer you value their feedback. Next, investigate the issue thoroughly to identify the root cause. Offer a solution that addresses the customer's concern directly and implement it promptly.
5. Customer-Centric Approach. Prioritizing customer complaints sends a clear message that you value your customers. It's a reflection of your commitment to providing exceptional service. This customer-centric approach can set you apart from competitors. 6. Learning Opportunity. Each complaint is a learning experience.
Types of Customer Complaints. How to Analyze Customer Complaints. 8 Tried and Tested Tips for Customer Complaint Resolution. 1. Acknowledge the Problem & Accept Your Mistake. 2. Ask the Right Questions to Gain Clarity on the Issue. 3. Identify the Customer Type & Respond Accordingly.
Here are some practical tips for effectively dealing with customer complaints: 1. Actively listen and makes notes. Concentrate solely on what the customer is telling you. Make notes of the key facts and their concerns, so that you have a record of the conversation to refer to in the future. Importantly, don't interrupt the customer, stay calm ...
Download: Improve your customer service with these 3 strategies! Listen & Empathize To bring a person's level of frustration down, it's essential you listen to their problem and empathize with it. Many times, a person is at the end of their rope, and they feel no one is listening to them about their issue. So, validate their problem and tell ...
35 Medical Device Complaint Handling jobs available in Remote 🇮🇱 on Indeed.com. Apply to Associate General Counsel, Biostatistician, Pharmaceutical Sales Representative and more! ... Patient & Customer Centricity - Maintain an ongoing focus on the needs of our customers and/or key stakeholders. Impactful Communication - Communicate with ...
Instead of cutting jobs, IKEA retrained 8,500 customer-service workers to handle such tasks as advising customers on interior design and fielding complicated customer calls.