Irrespective of the scale and nature of your company and your efficiency and business acumen, customer complaints are a harsh reality that you will have to deal with at some point in your career. No matter the line of work, customers are the core of any business, and no company can thrive without achieving customer satisfaction. It remains particularly true for the current digital landscape where consumer reviews can make or break a company.

While dealing with consumer complaints might be an unpleasant part of your day, the fact remains that handling a complaint well can be great for your business. If you address a customer’s concern satisfactorily, he/she is not only more likely to return to your company but also send new customers your way through word of mouth.

Read on as we take a look at five tips to help you deal better with consumer complaints.

Listen

When a customer approaches you with a complaint regarding your services, you should listen carefully and remain professional throughout the conversation. You should put your emotions aside and try to understand what drove the customer to file the complaint. At Lloyd’s Business Brokers Sydney, we understand that it is essential to remain calm and empathetic regardless of the emotions the customer projects at the customer service agent while voicing his/her concern.

Apologize

After your customer finishes voicing his/her complaint, thank them for letting you know about their concerns. Even if the customer says something negative about the business, being empathetic with them and apologizing for your mistakes is essential for building trust and projecting a positive brand image for your business. However, your apology should not only consist of words but also appropriate actions to resolve the customer's complaint to their satisfaction.

Support

After acknowledging the complaint, you should try to offer support to the customer. Support can mean listening to their suggestions, and if their complaints are reasonable, reassuring them that their concerns will be addressed to the best of your ability. This is where you need to put your words into action and try to resolve the issue at hand.

It is also essential to remember not to pass the customer off to another department and follow through with the resolution of their problem personally. Having an autonomous customer service team can work wonders for customer complaint resolution and save everyone from unnecessary trouble.

Compromise

When you try your best to fix your mistake, it is important to remain flexible and compromise for the greater good. If there is no discernible way to resolve the customer's complaint reasonably, you must find some other options to make them happy. For instance, gift cards and refunds are some of the most common ways to satisfy agitated customers for whom there is no better solution. Since the customer has taken time out of his/her busy day to address something that can help improve your business, finding an appropriate solution to their concern is your prime responsibility.

Follow Up

It is essential to follow up with the customer after the resolution of their complaint to ensure their satisfaction. Most companies follow up after customer complaint resolution through emails or phone surveys to ask if their concern was addressed properly. Following up after the conversation for feedback is a good way to let customers know that they are valued by the company, and their concerns are important to improve your services.