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50 years of success - Established 1974

50 Years of Success
Established in 1974

"Helping you gain
.control of your career"

Dealing With Complaints The Stress-Free Way

We don’t get a lot of complaints here at Business Training as we try very hard to provide good quality study materials; a first-class service and we treat all our students as individuals.

But over the past 18 months with the disruption caused by the pandemic there have been unavoidable postal delays and I suspect that more people are becoming impatient and stressed by the whole situation. So, it has been more important than ever to try to understand their problems and sort them out efficiently.

So this month, let’s have a look at how to handle complaints effectively so that everyone feels it’s a win-win situation.

If you work in the service industry – retail shops, offices, food outlets, selling holidays or insurance, driving a bus or a taxi – there will probably be times when people make complaints and YOU have to deal with them. So, here are some tips that will help you to do this in the most stress-free way (stress- free for both you and the customer!)

  • Always deal with complaints promptly and courteously. If you don’t, the customer will start to feel angry and frustrated.
  • Remember – the customer is always right (until you have firm evidence to the contrary)! If you try to bear this in mind when you received a complaint you will deal with it much more considerately and sympathetically.
  • Honesty is always the best policy. When you (or the company you work for) have made a mistake, you should admit it. Making up excuses could do more harm than good to your credibility.
  • Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask yourself how you would like the complaint to be dealt with. Then make sure that the customer knows the complaint is being taken seriously.
  • Never try to off-load blame onto someone simply to exonerate yourself. But if it’s not your fault – say so.
  • Don’t lose your temper. Take a deep breath and stay calm whatever the provocation. But if you encounter a particularly aggressive customer you may want to tell them that you will terminate the call unless they calm down but you will be happy to resolve their problem when they have done so. But do check with your boss that it’s acceptable to do this.

And finally – if you don’t feel the complaint is justified, stand your ground. Explain your position clearly and firmly but don’t be intimidated.

 

 

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Susan Metcalfe - head of Business Training - discusses business, training and work issues. Come and join in the conversation or just enjoy the read!