You bet your Aunt Fanny they do. What does the word complain mean: In general use, a complaint is an expression of displeasure, such as poor service at a store, or from a local government What is a customer: Recipient of a service; usually the Customer management has responsibility for the cost of the service, either directly through charging or indirectly in terms of demonstrable business need. Business refers to at least three closely related commercial topics. The first is a commercial, professional or industrial organization or enterprise, generally referred to as "a business." The second is commercial, professional, and industrial activity generally, as in "business continues to evolve as markets change." Finally, business can be used to refer to a particular area of economic activity, such as the "record business" or the "computer business" You probably won't have been in business too long before you get your first complaint. It just can't help but happen: low-end customers pay nothing and expect the Earth, while high-end ones pay a lot but expect an inhuman effort in return. You just can't please all of the people all of the time, even if you run yourself ragged trying -- there will always be someone who's not happy with what you've done. So what can you do about it? Don't Be Rude or Dismissive. The customer's complaint might seem stupid to you, or even insulting -- but that doesn't mean that you can respond in kind. You must treat every customer complaint seriously, and always act as if it is 100% your fault that things weren't to their satisfaction. Remember that every unhappy customer will talk about their experience to your potential customers (research varies, but some say that they might tell as many as 20). Those potential customers won't get to hear your side of the story. Going the extra mile to keep unreasonable customers happy is, above all else, a defensive technique to prevent them from damaging your business. Don't be scared of complaints: you should, instead, be actively soliciting them, to give you a chance to put things right before they tell anyone. Write a Letter of Apology. People will really appreciate the effort you've gone to if you take the time to write them a formal letter of apology, and say that you're sorry things weren't to their satisfaction and you appreciate them taking the time to tell you so that you can improve. Offer a Partial Refund. The closing part of your letter should offer a refund of as much as you can afford to give -- in this scenario, for example, where there was a problem with delivery, you should offer to refund the full cost of delivery, plus a little extra to cover the inconvenience. In this way, you can turn your dissatisfied customers into some of your most satisfied ones. They will tell everyone they know that there was a small problem that wasn't your fault, and they probably complained too harshly, but you handled it courteously and sent them a refund. Having people know that you respond well to complaints is some of the best word-of-mouth marketing you can get. What's more, that customer you treated well is surprisingly likely to come back and do business with you again -- although, of course, they'll be very annoyed if things don't go well the second time either. However, having said all this, you will not be able to satisfy everyone all of the time. Keep in mind that sometimes it might be better to just fire your customer |
