Handling Customer

Fielding customer complaints is tough business: for starters, there's not always a clear-cut solution to the problem. Then there are the customers who seem to be spoiling for a fight....

When a customer calls with a problem, it indicates that the customer is sufficiently motivated to engage your company. Sure, your company could recite its standing policy back at them, or attempt some other defensive measure. But all you’ll wind up doing is alienating a customer and eliminating any possible of repeat business.

So try this approach: 'We try to deliver a quality product, but we know we aren’t perfect. Tell me about the problem.'

This approach SEEMS commonsensical but it's amazing how many companies don't set this sort of policy in stone. You’ll be surprised how a little courtesy and diplomacy can diffuse a tense confrontation. At the very least, you won't be picking fights with the very people who make your business possible--the customers!