Have you ever felt like you have to put on full combat gear and map out a plan of attack just to deal with someone in customer service? Please tell me I’m not the only one!
Last week we took our car to the dealership because we had an issue. An issue that is still covered by our warranty. Imagine that! The dealership sent us to the body shop for them to take a look at our car. The guy at the body shop was less than personable. He checked out our car and proceeded to tell us that it had already been repainted. I was completely confused since we bought our car new (not the wisest investment I know!) with only 4 miles on it. And we put those 4 miles on it during the test drive. When we questioned the expert on his assessment he just kept chanting the same line over and over again…
“It’s not up to me. I just check out the car, tell the dealership what I see and they decide what to do. This car has been repainted and that’s what I plan on telling them.”
Not once did the gentlemen actually recognize our real concern. It wasn’t if the dealership was going to take care of our problem under our warranty, it was understanding how a car with 4 miles on it could have been repainted. We’ve never been in an accident (knock on wood), we have never had it painted and we are the only owner. Even after expressing our concern he just kept repeating the same line. He did expand on his chant only to tell us he had been doing this for 40 years and knows when something has been repainted. I wasn’t questioning his expertise or the fact that the car had been repainted. I wanted to know how this could possibly happen!
The minute we got home we started to do some research. We found out that there are several hundred other owners with the same car, the same year, that had the same problem. We printed pages and pages of information ready to go into battle when the dealership called. I had my weapons drawn, my armor on and my war plan in hand. All of this could have been avoided if the body shop guy would have just taken the time to understand us and our concerns.
I realize the body shop couldn’t solve our problem. We weren’t expecting them to. Regardless of who’s at fault or whether or not you can solve the problem there’s an opportunity here to create a positive experience and diffuse a potential battle with these 4 simple steps.
1. Listen.
The key here is not to interrupt when the customer is talking and not to jump to any conclusions. You also want to make sure you give the customer your full attention. Avoid thinking about what your going to say next. And definitely avoid drawing your weapons! Focus on what the customer is saying, what’s happened, how they are feeling and what they want. Ask yourself, “what is the customers true concern?” Don’t just take a guess at what you think it is or you won’t satisfy your customers needs.
2. Empathize.
We bought our very first new car with only 4 miles on it. Did I tell you that already? It would have been nice to hear something along these lines, “It’s definitely disappointing to find out your brand new car was repainted.” Why yes it is! Empathy will help to diffuse emotion and it shows the customer that you were in fact listening and understand how they are feeling. When there’s a problem realize that customers are not logical beings. We are emotional. So recognize that emotion. How would you feel? What would you want to hear?
3. Apologize.
Often times you probably didn’t create the problem the customer is having. All the same an apology can go a long way in building good karma with your customer. Apologizing doesn’t mean you agree with the customer. It’s just a simple statement. Again it will help to diffuse emotion and increase logic.
4. Educate.
As I stood there in the body shop in disbelief I wanted to know how on earth a brand new car had already been repainted when we didn’t repaint it. Help me understand. All it would have taken is for the service rep to tell us how this could have possibly happened. Come to find out, after our own research, sometimes cars get damaged in transport to the dealership. Sometimes they get damaged on the lot. And sometimes that’s just how the car was built and painted originally. Who knew? Certainly not me. I am sure that the service rep did know though. Because when we came back to drop off our car, he explained that. A little too late if you ask me. There are things about your business that you know that the average customer doesn’t know. Don’t quote policy. But instead educate and explain the possibilities. Not only will it save you a headache later on it will also build good will with your customer.
I am happy to say that the dealership did take care of our problem at no cost to us. I put on my combat gear for nothing! I did second guess our original purchase and for the first time in 3 years experienced buyers remorse. I also said to my friends and family that we would never buy a Dodge again or anything from that dealership. It wouldn’t have taken much for this to be a non-event for us. If only the service rep had these 4 tips.
What would you add? What’s been your experience as an upset customer? What’s been your experience in dealing with an upset customer? We would love to hear your story and what’s worked for you.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post, Kelly. It’s amazing how in such exchanges we become so focused on whose right as opposed to what’s needed to address the problem. We’ve all had those moments where a product or service didn’t live up to either our expectations or worse, what we were told about it. And yes, there is a feeling in there of wanting to blame someone for messing things up.
However, more often than not, that’s our initial reaction to discovering the problem and after that all we want is for someone to just help us to find some solution.
The steps you list above are a great way to help those on the receiving end of these issues to remember that it’s not about accepting blame as it is about helping others to resolve an issue.
Hi Tanveer,
Thanks so much for stopping by and adding your insight! I think human nature is to place blame or shun responsibility when problems occur. Shifting our thinking to one that is solution focused and focusing on education can help to diffuse that. It’s very easy to take for granted the level of knowledge that one has about their company or industry that the average customer doesn’t. A little understanding, empathy, education and problem solving go a long way in building relationships.
Most of the time an unhappy customer will become a businesses biggest advocate when you can professionally solve their problem and make the experience as painless as possible. My hope is to show that it’s not that difficult to deal with unhappy or upset customers. It just takes time and that personal touch.
Cheers!
Kelly
Well done, Kelly. This post is pretty timely. You bring up some great points.
Not long ago I heard a discussion on the radio in which empathy was mentioned. One party stated how little empathy many people have now, especially those beginning their careers now. Having listened to my best friend’s frustration with his oldest child, it made a lot of sense to me. You’re story is surprising because it was an older, experienced guy who showed no empathy. That’s scary to think that he is mentoring younger people who should being taught how to empathize with customers. Maybe being empathetic is a lost art?
Instead of listening and empathizing, too many of us are too busy trying to be right, instead of doing the right thing. Clearly, the man at the body shop was more interested in being right; throwing out the 40 years experience card. Little does he know that in 40 seconds he blew 40 years of credibility.
I’ve offended many customers in my career. More often than that though, I’ve been too empathetic, and even sympathetic, with customers. I’ve always struggled with how far to go and how much to take from an unsatisfied customer. Your 4 points help there.
Hi Marty,
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! Empathy is a lost skill and it is an art. I have found that either people have the ability to empathize or they don’t. It’s something that can be challenging to teach and learn. I also think the world needs a little more empathy. It’s interesting that it was the topic of a radio show. The more we talk about it the more it may start spread.
I too can say that I have offended a few customers in my day and have also gone to the other extreme like you mentioned. The key is to reflect on each situation and figure out what worked and didn’t work for you in that moment. Our skills are constantly developing.
The most important thing that businesses and employees must realize is that an upset customer is in fact a gift. Not a pretty gift, but all the same they are a gift. They are taking the time to share their upset, disappointment or frustration instead of just leaving and not saying a word. Complaints are our opportunity to take a negative experience and turn it around. As you also pointed out, it’s not about being right, it’s about doing the right thing.
Thanks for contributing to the conversation!
Kelly
Empower. People in customer service should be trained to do something on the spot to remedy a bad situation. Kelly not sure how this would work in your example, but I am thinking in other service industries like airlines or restaurants.
Kelly,
I love the way you use examples in your daily life to highlight customer service issues and ideas – nicely done!
I also love your 4-point plan – simple but powerful. I’m going to pin that next to my desk!
I would add that it really helps to share your values (the principles you believe) with the customer.
For instance:
“Here at Downtown Dodge, we are committed to doing the right thing for our customers and it’s really important for us to make a fair decision. So, here’s what I’m going to do, I’m going to speak to the Service Manager at the dealership and explain how you see the issue, and we’ll call you later today to talk about what we can do next. Is that OK with you?”
(OK so I threw in another point too – tell them what the next steps will be, and when you will get them done!)
Thanks for the post Kelly,
Tim
@Jim – It’s so good to hear from you! And I completely agree with you that customer service reps should be trained to remedy the situation or offer an alternative. There’s nothing worse than waiting for a call back from a manager or company rep when you are already upset. Empowerment is a key element in service delivery and customer engagement.
@Tim – I appreciate your kind words and I am so glad the post resonated with you. I love the example and verbiage you provided. Communicating the next steps is a critical element in the service recovery process. Not only will the customer know what to expect it also shows a level commitment in taking care of their problem. Thank you so much for expanding on the 4 steps above and adding your insight!
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