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The New Rules of Handling Customer Complaints

Want some old advice?The customer is always right. Okay, now you can stick that in yourpocket. Today's best service entrepreneurs are looking beyond old axioms in relating to

customers. That's because today's best customer service isn't something that can be faked: it'spersonalized and it has a personality. Do you have the certainty you can harness all the feedbackcustomers will give your company, act on it, and keep your best customers coming back formore? We've compiled highlights of new expert tips from articles in Inc. and guides on Inc.comto help you take a fresh look at making your customers happier and your business better.

1. Ditch the formalities and break the rules.

The last thing unsatisfied customers want to hear is a recitation of your company's returnpolicies, Tali Yahalom writes on Inc.com. "Today's customer expects to be treated as anindividual, not as just another number who's complaining," Ann Thomas, a senior consultant atPerformance Research Associates, aMinnesotaconsulting firm, says. Consider the case of a

department store with a 90-day deadline for returning an item. If there's a customer who just gotmarried, returned from her honeymoon and, at day 100, realized that a gravy plate adorned withdoves is actually not her style, it's worth looking into alternative options rather than sending herhome right away. Your company should know that occasionally bending the rules will ultimatelycost less it than it would to lose the customer or, worse, if the customer leaves and relays anegative story about your company. Read more.

2. Don't give customers too much choice.

What happens when you give customers too much say in how you make what they buy? "Quitesimply, overly-demanding customers can undercut your ability to grow a valuable business,"writes John Warrillow, serial entrepreneur, author, andInc. contributor. He explains that whentrying to scale up a subscription research offering similar to a Bloomberg or Forrester research

program using a model by which a customer subscribes to a pre-set number of reports providedto all, things started to derail. His company was customizing each report for the 17 subscribers,meaning an annual 102 reports based on six studies, which was untenable for the company's 20employees. Warrillow shut down the program. The lesson? "In hindsight, I realize a big part ofthe problem was my involvement in the selling. I'm just too tempted to make a sale at just aboutany cost. Next time, I'll know better than to let my sales instincts undermine my entire businessmodel."Read more.

3. Monitor your reputation online. All the time.

"Facebook,Twitter, and Yelphave become essential components of many companies' onlinemarketing strategies, but there are countless other sites on which customers rant and rave about

their experiences," writesInc. reporterApril Joyner. When customers rant online, it has thepotential to tarnish a company's brandand scare away prospective buyers. There is a host ofnew tools to monitor what's been said about them online. "Eighty percent of companies do finewith Google Alerts," says Andy Beal, founder of Trackur, an online monitoring softwarecompany. "But once you have 30 different keywords to monitor, you'll outgrow it very quickly."Companies such as Trackur,Radian6, and Viralheat offer Web-based dashboards specificallydesigned to monitor multiple brands. Though the most expensive of these can cost more than$6,000 a year to use, many services offer less expensive packages for small businesses, Joynerreports. Read more.

4. Shut up and listen.

It sounds simple, and it sounds easy, but it's often not. When a customer starts ranting, just listen.Tali Yahalom writes on Inc.com: "Often customers feel the needs to vent frustration with a

product or service before even considering a proactive solution." And Thomas told her:"Acknowledge the customer's emotional state," Thomas says. And don't get defensive.

http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/12/the-new-rules-of-handling-customer-complaints.htmlhttp://topic/Inc.comhttp://topic/Ann+Thomashttp://topic/Minnesotahttp://topic/Minnesotahttp://topic/Minnesotahttp://guides/2010/04/handling-customer-complaints.htmlhttp://guides/2010/04/handling-customer-complaints.htmlhttp://topic/John+Warrillowhttp://articles/2010/08/are-bossy-customers-undermining-your-business.htmlhttp://articles/2010/08/are-bossy-customers-undermining-your-business.htmlhttp://topic/Facebook+Inc.http://topic/Facebook+Inc.http://topic/Twitter+Inc.http://topic/Yelp!+Inc.http://topic/Yelp!+Inc.http://topic/April+Joynerhttp://topic/April+Joynerhttp://topic/Google+Inc.http://topic/Andy+Bealhttp://topic/Radian6+Technologies+Inc.http://topic/Radian6+Technologies+Inc.http://magazine/20100901/whos-talking-about-your-company-online.htmlhttp://magazine/20100901/whos-talking-about-your-company-online.htmlhttp://www.inc.com/guides/2010/12/the-new-rules-of-handling-customer-complaints.htmlhttp://topic/Inc.comhttp://topic/Ann+Thomashttp://topic/Minnesotahttp://guides/2010/04/handling-customer-complaints.htmlhttp://topic/John+Warrillowhttp://articles/2010/08/are-bossy-customers-undermining-your-business.htmlhttp://topic/Facebook+Inc.http://topic/Twitter+Inc.http://topic/Yelp!+Inc.http://topic/April+Joynerhttp://topic/Google+Inc.http://topic/Andy+Bealhttp://topic/Radian6+Technologies+Inc.http://magazine/20100901/whos-talking-about-your-company-online.html

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Remember that a good empathy statement does not imply ownership of the problem.Anotherkey communication tip involves asking open-ended questions that involve the customer, Thomassays. This technique will not only divert focus from emotional frustration but also generatecopious information about the problem at hand and help you arrive at the appropriate solution."Rather than getting defensive I need to simply listen to the customer, accept the feedback,

thank the person, and then decide what to do," she adds. As a bonus, the customer might feelappreciated and cared about, alleviating some of their emotional frustration. Read more.

5. Collect lots and lots of customer feedback.

Several companies offer tools that let customers submit feedback and vote on suggestions.Although all of these services offer some basic features for free, they typically require businessowners to pony up for paid versions in order to moderate customer comments and integrate thetools into their company websites. With Get Satisfaction, customers can report problems, askquestions, submit ideas, and offer compliments. The most popular package for small businesses,

priced at $89 a month, includes design customization and an analytics dashboard. Other options,such as IdeaScale, UserVoice, and UserEcho, are priced from $15 to $589 a month.Read more.

6. Sit tight and be nice.Sometimes, necessary business-sustaining decisions irk customers. In the case ofeMusic, anonline subscription-based music service, in order to broaden the offering catalog, a price hikewas needed. Customers lashed out online immediately.Adam Bluesteinwrites: "Over the nextcouple of weeks, Stein received more than 1,500 comments. 'Good luck with your new majorlabelfriends,' read one. 'They will teach you so much more about screwing your customers,'offered another. Over the summer, eMusic staff members worked to cool down the message

boards and promote added-value features of the new pricing plan, such as album pricing, whichallows customers to buy many complete albums at a discount on the regular per-track rate. Thecompany also dispensed a flurry of virtual Band-Aidsgiving customers 'booster packs' of freedownloads and offering them free songs in exchange for rating or reviewing albums." Lo and

behold, a few months later the online dust had settled, with the site's subscriber base holdingsteady. Read more.

7. Don't fear using your QSA budget.

Clarissa Cruz writes that successful restaurants specialize in dealing with unappetizing situationswith customers. "When a bug was recently discovered on a table at the Michelin-starred JeanGeorges inNew York City, management promptly moved the affected customers to another tableand comped them drinks, dessert, and an additional course," Cruz writes. Rajat Parr, winedirector at Michael Minain San Francisco, says: "Comps are built into our QSA [quality serviceassurance] budget. It makes up about one percent of the budget." Consider that from the start,and don't get bitter about using it, experts say. "It's the cost of doing business," addsMichael

Madrigale, the head sommelier at Bar Boulud in New York City.Read more.8. Focus on learning from the feedback.

Larry O'Toole, the founder of Gentle Giant movers, doesn't get a lot of negative feedback fromhis customers. In fact, he tellsInc. magazine editor-at-largeLeigh Buchanan that in order tosolicit more criticism he broadened the rating spectrum or 1 to 10 he asked customers to placetheir service on to 1 through 14, where 12, 13, and 14 were all excellent. "That way people couldgive us a lower score and not seem too critical. They could circle 12, meaning you're excellent

but you could be better," he says. But once you have feedback, it's key to tune in to how you canactually use the criticism to make your company better. O'Toole tells a story: "I remember whenmy grandfather was teaching me how to drive. He told me, 'If someone honks a horn at you, you

probably could have done something a little bit better. Maybe they were being a jerk. But if you

were a really good driver, that wouldn't have happened. Instead of getting upset at that person,try to figure a way to improve.' So if someone yells at me in traffic I just say to them, 'Thanks forthe feedback.'" Read more.

http://guides/2010/04/handling-customer-complaints.htmlhttp://guides/2010/04/handling-customer-complaints.htmlhttp://magazine/20101101/4-tools-for-collecting-customer-feedback.htmlhttp://magazine/20101101/4-tools-for-collecting-customer-feedback.htmlhttp://topic/eMusic.com+Inc.http://topic/eMusic.com+Inc.http://topic/Adam+Bluesteinhttp://topic/Adam+Bluesteinhttp://topic/Adam+Bluesteinhttp://magazine/20100301/coping-with-fury-at-a-price-hike_pagen_2.htmlhttp://topic/Clarissa+Cruzhttp://topic/New+York+Cityhttp://topic/Rajat+Parrhttp://topic/Michael+Minahttp://topic/Michael+Minahttp://topic/San+Franciscohttp://topic/San+Franciscohttp://topic/Michael+Madrigalehttp://topic/Michael+Madrigalehttp://topic/Michael+Madrigalehttp://clarissa-cruz/how-do-you-say-im-sorry.htmlhttp://clarissa-cruz/how-do-you-say-im-sorry.htmlhttp://topic/Larry+O'Toolehttp://topic/Larry+O'Toolehttp://topic/Leigh+Buchananhttp://topic/Leigh+Buchananhttp://articles/2010/08/gentle-giant-on-coaching-employees.htmlhttp://guides/2010/04/handling-customer-complaints.htmlhttp://magazine/20101101/4-tools-for-collecting-customer-feedback.htmlhttp://topic/eMusic.com+Inc.http://topic/Adam+Bluesteinhttp://magazine/20100301/coping-with-fury-at-a-price-hike_pagen_2.htmlhttp://topic/Clarissa+Cruzhttp://topic/New+York+Cityhttp://topic/Rajat+Parrhttp://topic/Michael+Minahttp://topic/San+Franciscohttp://topic/Michael+Madrigalehttp://topic/Michael+Madrigalehttp://clarissa-cruz/how-do-you-say-im-sorry.htmlhttp://topic/Larry+O'Toolehttp://topic/Leigh+Buchananhttp://articles/2010/08/gentle-giant-on-coaching-employees.html

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