How To Deal With Customer Complaints

As a young CEO of the family business, and despite my years spent in preparation for assuming this role, I have still had to learn a few things on the job. Not many things mind you, but still a few things.

For example, I have had to take a far more proactive role in terms of finance than I had originally anticipated. I am not simply talking about reviewing the books, but structuring pricing models based on a number of diverse variables including the expansion into international markets. Ultimately, and within a relatively short period of time, I was able to if not master, at least effectively manage this important part of the business.

Another area is dealing with customer complaints.

According to numerous studies including an American Express survey, "78% of consumers have bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of a poor service experience."

According to Harris Interactive, customer service agents "failed to answer" consumer questions "50% of the time."

Does this surprise you?

A Lee Resources study found, if you are a company providing a product or service the answer would likely be yes. In making this assertion, Lee points out that while 80% of companies say that they deliver "superior" customer service, only 8% of their customers feel the same way.

Based on the above, it would appear that there is a definite gap between the level of service companies believe they provide and, the level of service their customers feel that they receive.

The question is how do you bridge this gap?

2 Simple Rules

There for me are two simple rules, both of which are based on integrity.

Rule number 1 is fairly straight forward. If you make a mistake or fail to live up to a commitment - regardless of the circumstances - own it and resolve it.

I was recently awaiting a delivery from FedEx when, through no fault of the carrier, weather conditions caused the plane to be rerouted to another city's airport. When the package finally arrived in my city, it had missed the local delivery cut-off time.

When I called in to obtain a new ETA, the first words from the FedEx representative were "I apologize for the delay." No excuses, just I am are sorry, and I can confirm when you will receive the shipment.

While I obviously could not blame them for poor weather conditions, the fact that they owned it and sought to resolve the matter by providing me with a definitive resolution i.e. delivery time, I felt satisfied.

But, what if instead of inquiring about the delivery, I went on the offensive? What if I demanded that they send the package immediately, even if that meant dispatching a special driver to pick it up from the airport late at night and get it to me that evening no matter what?

This leads into rule number 2. Recognize that service issues cannot always be resolved despite your best efforts.

A Case In Point

I recently received the above e-mail. Obviously taking these matters seriously, the first thing I did before calling the client was talk with our technicians to gain a better understanding of the basis for the complaint.

As it turns out, the client had previously sent in the same units to be repaired after the warranty period. Even though the warranty had expired, the technicians repaired them. They then informed me that the units were poorly maintained which is why they had originally failed. As a result, even if they had been returned within the prescribed coverage period, poor maintenance and excessive use had voided the warranty. They then indicated that when they had returned the repaired units the last time, they had informed the client that without proper maintenance i.e. regular oiling, the warranty would be voided. In short, we value you as a client, however you have to take proper care of your equipment otherwise they will break down.

Based on this information I had a number of revelations, as well as a decision to make.

To start, and in an attempt to satisfy a customer need, the technicians had inadvertently created a precedence that laid the foundations for the current complaint. Specifically, and from the client's perspective, if we did it once, why would we not do the same thing again in the future? Despite good intentions, the client expectations were not managed well.

Furthermore, an exception such as this when not equally applied to all clients, can create a credibility problem. For example, what if FedEx acquiesced to the unreasonable demand that a special driver be dispatched to deliver a package despite the fact that the delay due to weather was beyond their control? If they did it for one customer, would it not be reasonable for another customer to expect the same treatment? Can you imagine the cost to FedEx if they were to do this every time there was a delay beyond their control, for each and every customer?

The point is that in providing customer service, you need to achieve a balance between being sensitive to individual needs, while keeping in mind your service obligations to all of your clients.

You also have to consider the responsibility that a client has in terms of gaining the maximum benefits from a product and/or service.

Let's consider another scenario involving a different courier company.

An associate of mine once told me about a customer who had not filled in the waybill information correctly. Apparently they had put in the wrong shipping address.

When the shipment failed to arrive at the destination, they called the courier and gave the service representative and earful, demanding that the package be delivered immediately and, for free! Being well trained in dealing with an irate customer, the representative checked the tracking number, and verified that it had been refused at the delivery point.

"Refused?!?" yelled the customer. "How could it have been refused? I just got off the phone with the person waiting for the shipment and they said that it had never arrived!"

The service representative politely asked the customer to give them a moment. A minute later they came back on the line and said that the "shipment for 1234 street had in fact been refused."

"1234 street" exclaimed the customer. "It was supposed to go to 1234 avenue, not street. Where did you get that address?"

"That was the shipping address that was written on the waybill" was the response from the service representative. They then asked if the customer would like to have the package rerouted to the 1234 avenue location once it had been returned to central dispatch.

Undeterred, the customer said yes, but insisted that the shipping fee be waived. The service representative indicated that because the delay was due to an erroneous address being written on the waybill, they could not waive the fee. They did however indicate that there would not be an additional fee associated with their having to reroute the shipment.

The customer said that this was unacceptable and that they would never use that courier again.

My response

So how you might wonder, did I deal with the customer complaint relating to the out of warranty equipment?

Please see below:

Dear ________

To start, thank you for taking the time to write to me to express your frustration. I am certainly sorry to hear that you had been in an accident, and trust that you are on the road to recovery.

In terms of the warranty we of course have two challenges.

To begin, warranty periods are in place for a reason being that they provide a length of coverage that is commensurate with the manufacturer's responsibility in terms of quality and reliability. Normally, when the warranty period has expired, there is little that we can do because the manufacturer has fulfilled their obligations.

This being said, we do understand the extenuating circumstances associated with your delay in returning the units within the warranty period. However, given that the units were not properly maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications i.e. regular oiling, any latitude we could have received relative to the expiration period is no longer available to us. Think of it in terms of changing the oil in your car. If you fail to properly maintain your car and as a result it breaks down, the manufacturer is not liable for any damages or subsequent repairs.

Previously, and even though the units were not properly maintained, we did repair them at our own expense despite the fact that the manufacturer's warranty had been voided. We did this because we value you as a client.

Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate your most recent request.

Should you decide to use us again, please be mindful of the warranty requirements. While we cannot speak for any other repair service, if you do decide to make a change, please maintain your pieces so as to avoid any problems in the future.

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