A very important customer has been offended beyond measure and he is threatening to take action that could have disastrous consequences for all. The customer had made a simple request through some of his employees and had not only been turned down but had been badly treated. You were not around when the incident occurred but this is definitely not the time to play the blame game. You must act and act fast to save the day. What will you do, especially as a Christian? Some readers will easily identify with an occasion like this at their work places whilst others will remember times when they had been so mistreated as customers that they had vowed never to deal with that particular company again. No matter your experience with customer care you will need to know how to handle situations like this when they arise, and so far as you are dealing with people chances are it might happen.
Providing great customer care that creates memorable experiences for your customers is not an option anymore in today’s highly competitive market; it is a must. Any business that fails to deliver exceptional customer care will be out of business in no time. Customers are only as loyal as the quality of the service they receive from you. High quality service equates to high loyalty whilst low quality means they will switch to a competitor who can cater for them better. It has become so important to give the very best of customer care that all employees who interact with customers on a regular basis, especially front line and customer service personnel, need to be trained on how to create pleasurable experiences for all customers, not for a selected few.
As a sales consultant and a born-again believer, I found a book that contains some of the most potent and time-tested principles about how to handle a disgruntled customer: THE BIBLE! This library of outstanding books has great advice on how to deal with other people. A classic case of handling a customer who is about to blow his top can be found in 1 Samuel 25. It is the well-known story about an incident that occurred between David, Nabal the Calebite and Abigail, then wife of Nabal. In fact readers who are familiar with that story will know it bares an uncanny resemblance to the opening vignette.
As a summary the story went like this. David had sent his men for some supplies from Nabal who happened to be a very wealthy man. David had showed kindness to Nabal’s men so he was expecting to be paid back with that same kindness but Nabal did otherwise. He hurled insults at the servants and sent them away empty-handed. When David heard this he was so angry that he decided to attack the entire household of Nabal. Abigail, wife of Nabal heard of this incident and through intelligence and tact she was able to save the day. The steps she took in calming down an angry warrior who was bent on wiping away her family will serve as a basis for my analysis in this write up.
STEP # 1: GATHER ALL THE NECESSARY FACTS
Abigail listened attentively as the servants narrated the incident. It is important to note that she only acted after she had gathered all the relevant facts concerning the issue. She did not act on partial information. Many customer service personnel will act without listening to the full story and end up exacerbating the matter.
STEP # 2: MOVE FAST
After she had gathered all the facts necessary for her to make an informed decision, she moved immediately. In verse 18, the NIV translation reads “Abigail lost no time.” Lose no time under such conditions. Procrastination can be a cardinal sin under such a situation. It is important to attempt a solution immediately. Some people prefer to wait till things calm down. This might work under different circumstances but it could be critical when dealing with a very dissatisfied customer since the one might react in an unfavourable way in the heat of the moment. I have known customers who closed their bank accounts within minutes of being treated badly at their bank.
STEP # 3: TAKE ALL THE BLAME AND APOLOGISE
Though Abigail was not around when the incident occurred, she immediately begun to apologise when she met David and his men. She did not go to David blaming the offender. It is disappointing that some people will prefer to give up their colleagues when they get into trouble. They mostly do this so that they will appear “righteous” in front of their superiors. Your responsibility is to provide a great customer experience for all your customers, therefore anything to the contrary should be apologised for. This is not the time to read out rules and regulations to justify why that incident happened. Rather it is time to take the blame for failing to meet the customer’s expectations. Badly-trained customer service personnel will tend to argue with the customer especially if it happens to be the customers’ fault. It is the most unacceptable thing any business person can do to a customer.
STEP # 4: SHOW IMMENSE RESPECT
This is the time to be extra courteous since anything else could aggravate an already heated state of affairs. Abigail’s first sentences were filled with phrases such as “My Lord, my master, your servant”. These opening statements served to clam down the angry ‘customer’, David. Try this tactic in heated situations and see things calm down. Make the customer feel important. Everyone likes to be praised and admired. This is one thing that does not cost a lot to do but the rewards are immense. Respect should be genuine otherwise the customer might see through and this might worsen the case.
STEP # 5: REASON WITH THE CUSTOMER
The force of Abigail’s reasoning in addressing the issue is simply admirable. She was able to appeal to David logically. This is what is expected of you as someone who deals with customers when such issues arise. Calmly explain to the customer why the particular incident occurred and assure him or her that such an issue will not occur again.
STEP # 6: WALK THE TALK
If you promise the customer a solution then ensure that you deliver. Walk the talk and do not offer anything less. David and his men needed food and that was what Abigail provided. This is where most businesses fall short. They promise to solve an issue a customer has complained about but they do absolutely nothing about it. No customers will take kindly to being treated like that.
STEP # 7: MAKE THE CUSTOMER FEEL FREE TO COME BACK
Naturally, many people do not like to complain so when they
are forced by circumstances they tend to stay away from that particular business. This is not good since it means the business has still lost a customer. It is therefore imperative that you make the customer feel good for having to come and complain. I always make it a point to impress it on attendants to my seminars that it is important to make it easy for customers to complain. The most ‘dangerous’ customers are those who do not complain. They will leave without you noticing. Therefore aggressively seek out customer complaints.
Remember to treat your customer every time as though it is the first time to impress that customer. You may never get another opportunity to impress that customer. Apply these seven simple steps and no matter what happens your customers will always come back for more.
Who knows? You might be rewarded with something great, as Abigail was. Do you know what she got for her reward? She married David when he ascended the throne. You might never know where your reward will come from or in what form it would come.
SALES QUOTE FOR THE WEEK:
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Maya Angelou
The writer is the CEO and Principal Consultant of Exsellers International, LLC, an avant-garde sales training and consulting firm involved in turning around and improving the sales fortunes of its partners through cutting-edge training seminars, recruitment and placement of highly trained sales professionals, and the provision of state-of-the-art sales-boosting products and services.
Contact: 233-24-3157948/233-27-4930493
Email: exsellersghana@yahoo.com
Blog: www.exsellers.blogspot.com
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