A client has called to complain about
your product or service and is
demanding his money back or he will never do business with you again.
What do you do now?
One answer to the problem is to keep
your money and let the client walk out.
Another answer is to make the product or
service right, which might mean actually
losing money on this particular transaction
but retaining the client in the long run. Of
course, even if you make it right, there’s no
guarantee that the client will ever avail
himself of your product or services again.
So there appears no definitive answer to
this vexing question. But wait …
Smart Business talked with Holli Hammarquist, an assistant director of client
services for International Profit Associates,
about how business owners can most efficiently handle these types of issues.
What should business owners do to handle
the above situation?
First, take a step back and determine
where we stand by developing a risk-strategy system. This includes knowing our true
costs. What is each product or service
worth in time, materials and other costs?
What is the break-even point for the individual products or services? As a client
service representative, what is your time
worth?
We must know our costs and our own
worth or risk spending hundreds or thousands of dollars defending a few dollars, or
vice versa, not spending enough defending
what amounts to large dollars. You
absolutely must know where you stand
from a financial viewpoint and put into
place a system so you know when to stand
firm and when to give the client his way.
What needs to be done next?
Once we have determined exactly where
we stand financially and what kind of time
we are willing to commit to the issue, we
must then determine what happened (or
did not happen), and decide on the best
course of action. To do this, we must understand what the client is complaining about.
Is it a perceived problem or an actual
physical problem? Which of your product’s
or service’s claims did not live up to the
client’s expectations? What was he expecting in the first place? Was he promised
something by the sales staff that was not
delivered? Did the client misunderstand
how to use the product or service and
needs retraining? Was your product or
service truly at fault and, if so, to what
extent? Was it a personality conflict
between your staff and the client?
Speak to the client where possible. Do
not be defensive. Allow him the time to be
heard. An upset client should not be put on
a time limit. Acknowledge the validity of
the complaint. If he becomes angry or frustrated, reassure him emotionally before
dealing with the issue logically. Even if the
complaint seems bizarre, it probably contains a grain of truth. Try to learn something from it. Any complaint is a 100-percent bona fide, major issue for the client.
His perception is your reality.
Research the problem and look for lessons before making any decisions. Find out
what actually happened from both sides.
Does it need to be fixed or is it a one-time
issue? Has the client misunderstood something? For complex problems, give yourself time to figure out a proper resolution.
If the situation was caused by something
that can be controlled, implement a system
to prevent it from happening in the future.
Know that if one client complained, others
probably feel the same way.
Give the client a choice of possible resolutions. Suggest a way that works for both
of you. Sometimes just listening to a grievance and acknowledging it is sufficient. At
other times, the client is looking for more.
Be creative, find an equitable resolution to
the problem, and make sure the client
agrees that it meets his needs.
Finally, you cannot make all the people
happy all of the time. If you have done everything in your power to resolve the issue within the risk parameters you have set up, it is
time to fire the client because he is now costing you more money than he is worth.
How can a business learn from these situations?
Most importantly, the business will learn
what clients’ true perceptions are of the
service or product you provide. Just
because you believe you have the most
wonderful widget in the world, does not
make it so.
If there are complaints, do not take them
personally; take them as a challenge to be
even better. Categorize complaints from a
once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence to ‘it’s
serious and a solution must be found now.’
Then make sure to track them on a regular
basis for trends.
Obviously, very serious situations will be
dealt with immediately but for the rest, you
need to look to the trends. Over time, are
you seeing that one person’s name keeps
popping up? It might be time for retraining.
Are you seeing that a certain specialty
product that you produced on a limited
basis is getting rave reviews? Maybe it is
time to expand its line. The trends and your
clients will provide you all the information
you need to be successful.
HOLLI HAMMARQUIST is an assistant director of client services for International Profit Associates, Buffalo Grove, Ill. IPA’s
1,800 employees offer consulting services to businesses
throughout the 50 United States and Canada. Reach Hammarquist
at (866) 538-0668 or [email protected] or
www.ipa-iba.com.