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You cannot please everyone all the time. It is a fact of life, but as a business owner, it can be hard to accept. You naturally want every customer to be thrilled with the products and service they receive from your business, feel the prices are fair, and enjoy their interaction with your brand. When this doesn't happen, it is easy to feel demoralized, upset or to join them in their anger, but it is important to keep these emotions out of the equation.
You can turn an unhappy or angry customer into a happy, loyal customer, but there are some vital steps that you must take and a defined process you should follow to ensure you not only transform the experience for that customer but learn lessons to prevent the same issue from recurring.
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Don't automatically apologize
Jumping straight into apologies can enhance a customer's frustration as they then assume that you were already aware of the problem that has upset or angered them yet failed to do anything about it. Instead, ask pertinent questions to understand what has occurred and what the impact is on the customer.
By engaging with the customer in this way, you can better understand their frustrations; identify where, why and how the problem occurred; and put yourself in a better position to resolve it for them. If it turns out that you, the business or one of your employees is at fault, you should absolutely apologize and use the information gleaned from the customer's impact statement to determine an appropriate resolution.
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Be empathetic
Empathy is the act of putting yourself in the customer's shoes and understanding how the problem has affected them. By immersing yourself in their position and asking relevant questions to improve your understanding, you can identify and articulate how they feel and why they feel that way. By being empathetic to the situation, the customer will begin to see you as an ally and will be open to proposals for resolution.
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Stick to the facts
If it becomes necessary to explain how the situation occurred that has angered the customer, always stick to the facts. Don't be drawn into emotive discussions, and avoid making unfair comparisons. It is better to agree to disagree based on the facts available than to debate the whys and wheres of imaginary situations.
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Propose a suitable resolution
Your proposed resolution should not be a bandage but a genuine attempt at redemption. Your aim in this interaction is to transform your angry customer into one who will return to your business at a later date, remaining loyal and generating positive recommendations. Put some effort into identifying a suitable resolution that will restore their confidence and satisfaction in your business.
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Do what you say you will
Even though you may have resolved the issue for one customer, unless you put processes in place to prevent a recurrence, you will spend a lot of time firefighting. Therefore, it is important to learn from these difficult conversations and implement appropriate policies, training and practices to mitigate against future unhappy or angry customers.
