How to Handle Complaint in Customer Service

Handling complaints is the biggest duty of those who are in the customer support. Be it in the outsourcing industry or an in-house unit, there is not much different on how difficult and tricky handling customer’s complaints could be. In some unfortunate instances, there will be a customer dropping the angriest tone, loudest voice, and all the curses in the world. But there is no need to be afraid; complaints like this can be manageable if you will be able to handle them carefully and if you will keep the following things in mind.

No matter how perfect a company’s protocol or a customer support outsourcing agent’s intuition, customer complaint will still come. What you have to remember is to acknowledge these complaints and deal with them accordingly. Evernote CEO Phil Libin once said that feedback is great for telling you what you did wrong and it's terrible at telling you what you should do next. Dismissing the complaint will send a clear message to your customer that you don’t value their opinion and may lead to grave consequences.

Listen

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The most important part of handling customer inquiries in general is listening to what your customer has to say. Receiving a very angry complaint can take you by surprise but you still need to listen for what they are pertaining to. Keep in mind that there is a reason why they are upset so pay attention to verbal cues that will help you identify the root of their anger. Being inattentive and addressing the wring area may just put them into an even worse condition so be wary about this. It’ll be wise to let your customer vent out for a bit. Cutting him out might or trying to speak while the customer is speaking would appear rude and might just tick the customer off.

Understand

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Remember to put you emotion aside when handling complaints. Again, there is the reason why the customer is upset. Never ever assume that a customer behaving wildly or furious cannot make a sound argument. Never challenge the customer’s complaint and try to understand where the customer is coming from before responding.

Empathize

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Now that you know where the customer is coming from, imagine being on the same situation as he is. Be sure to watch out your tone and how you will respond to the customer. Express your sincerity help by responding appropriately.

Empower

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Educate the customer on why such inconvenience appears but phrase it a way that you won’t seem to be implying that the fault is on their end even if evidences suggest so. If there is a need to transfer the customer to a different person of department, phrase it a way that they will know that the best resolution is to have them transferred to the right person.

Customer support in the outsourcing industry can be really full of surprises but with the right state of mind and, you will be able to convert even the angriest customer into a victory.

Sources:

http://www.skillsyouneed.com/rhubarb/dealing-with-complaints.html

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleleinbachreyhle/2015/01/08/10-tips-for-dealing-with-customer-complaints/&refURL=https://www.google.com.ph/&referrer=https://www.google.com.ph/

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/use-empathy-customer-service-920.html