Aesoph Group

By Christopher Aesoph, MA

Here’s a very uncomfortable moment for any employee: an angry customer calling, or worse, shouting at the front counter with a complaint. This is a test of your employee’s training. Can they handle it? Or do they feel as though they’ve been lined up against the wall, with a drum roll and firing squad?

Do you stand behind your employees so they become better at “recovering” customers, or do you chew them out after the incident for making a mistake in the first place? This creates an atmosphere of “I didn’t do it, so let me transfer your call,” rather than, “We all care about service here, and it doesn’t matter who did it, let’s just make it right.”

Because these moments are so tense, many people simply try to escape the complaining customer as soon as possible. Their thinking is, “Whew! At least I got away from that jerk!” What happens in reality is something else:

If you find the grain of truth in someone’s complaint and agree with it, you will literally see their jaw drop open in surprise, because most people don’t expect complaints or criticism to be heard.

I had a repairman over the other day. He was frustrated because he needed a part and had to wait an hour for his company to deliver it. I asked who would pay for this hour, and he replied with some vehemence, “Well, I’m sure not paying for it!”

Okkkaaaay, I thought to myself. Not a good day to ask questions. Anybody can have a bad day, so I didn’t pursue him any further, especially since he was the one holding the pipe wrench. But I did call his boss to get my question answered. His boss was reassuring, and told me the company would cover that hour of waiting. But when I told him about his employee’s response, that’s where the boss lost me. I mean, I didn’t expect him to fire the guy, nor did I want a 10 page letter of apology. All I wanted was to be heard. Especially since I now had an angry man with a pipe wrench in my basement.

“This must be some sort of personality conflict,” the boss said. I was dumbstruck. Even if it is a personality conflict, no customer wants to hear that. There are lots of things the boss could have said that would have won me back, like, “Hey, sorry about that. He must be stressed about having to wait so long.” But the “personality conflict” theory was no comfort at all. I was just as upset when I hung up as when I called. Like most people, I don't like being yelled at, and all I wanted was someone to acknowledge that. With the boss's comment, I had reached my limit with this group. I went downstairs and told the repairman that I'd pay for his time, but that I would complete the repair myself, and I escorted him out the door. I didn't want this grump in my home, and I was not impressed with his boss either.  

Customers who take the time to complain usually want to stay with your company if at all possible. Give them a chance to be heard, find the grain of truth in their concern, agree with it, and you’ll have a friend in the community who sings your company’s praises once again.