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Customer Service Information |
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When a Customer Has Done Everything to Get Your Goat
You try to make your customers happy. You sincerely WANT them to be pleased with your products and service. You go out of your way to provide quality and integrity in everything you do. So, why is it that every once in a while there's a customer who insists on totally, absolutely and completely pissing you off? How long is a string? There are some questions, the answers to which, will always elude me. Are you with me on this? I received an email message from a customer who must have not only have awoke on the wrong side of the bed, but must have also found himself in the wrong bed, in the wrong bedroom, in the wrong house, on the wrong block, in the wrong city, and in the wrong life. As I read this message, I was seething with anger -my hands literally shaking. Wanting to somehow reach through my ethernet connection to find the neck attached to the head of the person who could be so rude was my first priority. What do you do at this point? How do you satisfy the irrational? ANSWER: You don't. Romans 12:20 says, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." This is what I attempted to do in my reply to Mr. Disgruntled. Here's a formula that you can use; and if you do this, the satisfaction will outweigh - many times over - the anger you initially felt. Step 1: Stop. Close the email. Put down the poison mouse and walk away. Step 2: Consider the situation carefully. Can you imagine a time and place where you might have blasted someone in the same way? Is there even the tiniest hint of legitimacy to the claim of this angry customer? Things aren't always as you might perceive them. There are always multiple sides to every story. Does this condone abusive behavior? Of course not. Now, if the answers are "no, No, and NO, this is unjustified", stick with this formula anyway. When you've done what's right, you'll be the bigger person and your self image will be elevated. Step 3: Now that you've cooled off, draft your reply. Answer question, comments and complaints with cool and exacting detail. If the complaint is a product problem, test it. Also understand that with the proliferation of different computer operating systems, your test results may not match the results of others. Explain only what you know for certain (this version of this software on this operating system with this service package, etc.) Keep an open mind that your experiences are not always shared by others. Step 4: Spell and grammar check your message. This might seem like a funny thing to include here, but haste leads to errors and errors can erode the potency of your reply. Step 5: Print your message and read it out loud to yourself. Is it coherent? Have you addressed everything? Is your reply laden with sarcasm, anger or spite? If yes, Start Over. Remember, you provide awesome customer service and will not be shaken by small minds or ill tempered customers. Step 6: Sign your message. This is the last thing that the customer reads and if you blow this, everything said prior will have little or no meaning. Leave them no doubt that you are, above all else, a professional. Step 7: Click send. Yow! That feels good. Two additional options that you may consider are... Option 1: Call the customer if you can find their phone number. You'll be blown away at how attitudes change instantly when your customer hears your voice live at the other end of a phone connection. It's miraculous. Option 2: Refund their money instantly. Cancel their membership. Remove every trace of their contact information from your mailing lists. AND MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE. In some cases this is the prudent thing to do. You won't please everyone, and 14 different email messages over the course of 8 days isn't worth the $19.95 sale. Cut bait and run. You try to make your customers happy. You sincerly WANT them to be pleased with your products and service. You go out of your way to provide quality and integrity in everything you do. Outstanding! Keep up the good work. Copyright 2005 Ron Hutton Ron Hutton is a 20 year sales and marketing veteran with a passion for coaching and training. Subscribe to "GoThrive Online", for big juicy marketing tips in small, easy-to-chew, bite size servings. 17 Free Cool Tools... http://www.gothrive.com
MORE RESOURCES: AI Chatbots Are Ready to Talk to Customers. Sort of. The Wall Street Journal Pricing, AI, DPA, Customer Service Tools; Bill Emerson Interview; Training This Week; STRATMOR CD Workshop Mortgage News Daily Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in ‘Best Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Yahoo Finance Qme secures $3M funding to streamline customer service across Africa Techpoint Africa Building Competitive Advantage in Customer Care Through AI The Business of Fashion 311 Customer Service Center City and County of San Francisco FTC Finalizes Order with H&R Block Requiring Them to Pay $7 Million and Overhaul Advertising and Customer Service Practices for 2025 and 2026 Tax Seasons Federal Trade Commission News JEA is inviting bids for 19-story downtown tower that used to be its headquarters The Florida Times-Union Consumers Demand Enterprises Modernize to Improve Ailing Customer Experience, Says Research Business Wire American Lamprecht Enhances Visibility for Air and Ocean Shipments Using Descartes Solution Supply Chain Dive Neterra Enhances Its Customer Service Monitoring System Total Telecom Women in Fintech: A Conversation About Loyalty Ecosystems in Financial Services with Becky Hill Finovate Gladly Named a Leader in Constellation ShortList™ for Digital Customer Service and Support PR Newswire QueueKiosk™: Saving Thousands of Active-Duty Man Hours & Improving Customer Service at the MPF Office Kiosk Marketplace Finally, hard data on a real-world AI business use case: It’s huge for customer service Sherwood News Liverpool reinvents customer service through digital platform ComputerWeekly.com Firm to expand customer service in Yorkshire with new service centre Golf Business News CSPI & Nutrition Action Customer Service CSPI Newsroom Textron Aviation to Open New Service Facility at Essendon Fields Airport, Expanding Capabilities in Australia Pittsburg Morning Sun Help Department of Taxation and Finance Six Game-Changing AI Customer Service and CX Strategies Hospitality Net Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) New York State Department of Health Cigna's customer-centric strategy could ripple across the sector Modern Healthcare Major AI Success Story: Giftify Achieves 40% Faster Customer Response Times with Enterprise AI StockTitan How banks can build consumer confidence with stellar customer service Insights by Samsung Contact Us About Your Bill myclearwater.com Customer Service Center apps.tampagov.net 311 - Birmingham’s Customer Service Center City of Birmingham (.gov) DESCO's meeting held to enhance customer service and power reliability The Business Standard Palm Coast Utility Department Celebrated for Enhanced Customer Service City of Palm Coast 70% of customer service to rely on AI by 2028: Gartner Outsource Accelerator Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) My experience as a Customer Service and Sales Intern Toby Shapiro's Experience at A.D. Sutton and Sons Chapman University Delta’s annual profit-sharing day spotlights ‘people first’ strategy The Atlanta Journal Constitution 3 Ways To Quickly Make $50 GOBankingRates Welcome to Riverside Public Utilities City of Riverside (.gov) Celebrate Customer Service Week City of Riverside (.gov) Which companies have the best customer service? Amazon, Shein, Costco among top-rated brands USA TODAY Con Edison Proposes Investments to Meet Growing Demand for Clean Energy, Enhance Customer Support T&D World Contact Reverb Support Reverb Charter Names Robyn Tolva Senior Vice President, Customer Service Reliability | Charter Charter Communications America's Best Customer Service 2025 Newsweek 8 strategies for using AI for customer service in 2025 Sprout Social Attorney General Bonta Demands Better Customer Service for Californians California Department of Justice AI for Customer Service Market worth $47.82 Billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets™ PR Newswire Can artificial intelligence rescue customer service? The Economist Permits–customer services King County Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications Federal Communications Commission Department of Transportation Governor Tom Wolf President Biden Announces New Customer Service Actions, Targets Subscriptions and ‘Doom Loops’ CX Today 11 key elements of excellent customer service Business.com Launch of New Districtwide Customer Service Platform The School District of Philadelphia Shep Hyken, HPU Customer Service Expert, Mentors Students and Staff High Point University Summer EBT | Department of Human Services Governor Tom Wolf Video Quick Take: Intercom’s Brian Donahue on How AI Agents Can Be Your First Tier of Customer Service Support HBR.org Daily How Intercom Achieves 86% Resolution Rates with Claude AI: A Customer Service Revolution - Anthropic |
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