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The customer is always right" -- except when he isn't. Regardless of the situation, a customer service representative's job is to maintain composure in any situation that he encounters. Customers, as the consumers of products and services, are the backbone of any healthy business; one upset customer often shares his dissatisfaction with friends, family and, sometimes, the media. Having a planned and positive complaint-resolution procedure helps to mend the client-business relationship and, sometimes, can prevent a seemingly small problem from snowballing into a public-relations fiasco.
Instructions
1. Thank the customer for bringing the problem to your attention. Calmly tell him that the company values his business and wants to reach a positive resolution. Repeat the problem back to the client, to confirm that both parties are on the same page.
2. Document the details of the consumer's complaint. Take down his name and the date and time of the complaint.
3. Refer to company documentation -- or use personal judgment, when appropriate -- to determine if the company is indeed at fault for the difficulty experienced by the customer. If the company is not at fault but can easily resolve the problem in a cost-effective fashion, offer to do so.
4. Refer to company documentation to determine fix the problem if the company is at fault. Follow the procedure to rectify the problem. If no relevant entry exists in the company documentation, ask the customer what can be done to make him feel better. If he asks for something reasonably within the power of the customer service representative -- such as a small discount or credit for the inconvenience -- then grant it. Defer more complex resolution suggestions to a superior for a final decision.
5. Document the resolution or lack of resolution of the complaint. If the problem is not the company's fault and cannot be easily rectified, then apologize to the customer for being unable to come to a satisfactory resolution and end the call or conversation. File the completed incident report for future reference.
