Page 24 - Print 21 Magazine Jan-Feb 2019

Business
Is the customer always right?
Customer experience consultant Scott Telfer discusses
how best to handle situations when the customer is not right.
Ever had that phone call from a client just after you have delivered a job, saying ‘the colour is not right’? You get
that sinking feeling – you know you are in for a visit to the client to check the job against the proofs. However, 99 per cent of the time you are okay. The job in fact matches the proofs or pretty close to it... but the customer never admits they are wrong.
In the back of your head, you repeat the mantra ‘the customer is always right, the customer is always right’. If you listen to sales and marketing experts, then the simple answer is yes, the customer is always right... well, can I say, maybe not all the time.
I can hear you saying, hang on
a minute, if you are promoting customer experience (CX) programmes then surely you must agree with the statement? As a general rule I do; however, there are times when the customer is blatantly in the wrong. Sometimes it is not as simple as checking colour against a proof, it’s bigger than that.
What do you do in this situation like this?
Well, in my experience after
having former customers tell me
how ordinary our service was, or
that the colour of the job did not match the proof, I have come to the conclusion that the best thing to do is to listen to the customer. Do not argue with them.
I suggest the following five- step strategy, which can make the customer still feel they have had a win without you giving in.
1. Do not offer any judgemental
comments.
2. Listen with both ears open. Don’t
write any notes, concentrate
on what they are saying. Once
the conversation has concluded and you have left the customer’s premises, then write up your notes.
3. Make comments like ‘that is really interesting, tell me more’, or ‘wow, I didn’t realise that’. Eventually the client will run out of puff.
4. Empathise with them – that will make the aggrieved customer feel you are on their side.
5. Most importantly, do not tell them they are wrong: eventually they will come to that position themselves, or they will come up with a face saving solution.
When dealing with a difficult customer, it is easy to become embroiled in the discussion as you try and win the argument. It is our human nature to defend ourselves
– but it does not make for great customer service, nor a great example to coworkers or other customers that may be around.
I recently witnessed someone do exactly this, arguing with a customer. Although not a true customer/client relationship, it was a relationship. It was at the local library, and the situation was overheard by everyone in the library that night: the librarian was trying to justify why a member of the library could not borrow another book until an outstanding fee was paid for a damaged book the member was alleged to have returned. The member was unaware
the book was damaged.
Even if she was correct or not,
the librarian constantly in a loud voice (not shouting) spoke over
the member. She belittled her and ashamed her in front of all the people in the library. It was appalling behaviour for a senior librarian. In the end, there was no winner – and particularly not the member.
If the librarian had employed
the five-step strategy I have listed above, the outcome would have been quite different. I am certain the library member would have come around and the issue could have been resolved, but now, it is still in limbo. There was no outcome.
In the fast pace of our industry, we get hurried along. So, when
a customer raises an issue we immediately get defensive. We need to learn to park these first thoughts, as they are our emotional reaction.
I am reminded of a saying I read recently: ‘Wisdom springs from reflection and folly from reaction’.
If you want to try and understand more about customer problems, a strategy could be to measure all your customer complaints. Every time you get a customer complaint, keep
a register or log with what action has been taken as a company to resolve the issues/problems. Everyone in the company has to have access to the register, and it cannot be seen as the log of shame – it has to be positive. Every month, review the register/ log and see if there are any patterns, then look at the issue/problem resolutions. This type of behaviour will eventually lead the company to doing journey mapping; however, that’s another topic for another day.
A customer-centric company knows how to handle difficult
clients. It is pretty simple, really: treat other people (customers) as you would want to be treated.
A customer-first company does not let issues escalate out of control; they
have processes in place to ensure the customer is still loved. 21
For a free one hour consultation about how you can improve your internal culture, please contact Scott Telfer, leading customer culture specialist at Customer CX (www.customercx.com.au) and member of CXPA, on 0413 382 528 or at scott@customercx.com.au.
24 Print21 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019