Complaint Management Larry Waters: "Customers are the one who generate your paycheck every week" and "Forget the Golden Rule when it comes to customers: use the Platinum rule: Treat your customers the way you would treat your mother."

Complaints received at the home office Customer service was the most common reason that a customer felt the need to contact the home office for assistance with their concerns in 2012. This totaled 32% followed by cleaning process at 23%. Customer service continues to be the highest reason for an escalated customer complaint. It is currently at 37% of the total complaints received with cleaning process at 14% for the year. This seems to be mostly do to the customer’s perception that that there is a lack in communication and or that their concerns aren’t being taken as seriously as they feel it should be.

Escalated Customer Concerns

LEAP into handling customer complaints Listen—focus on their concern Empathize—imagine yourself in their shoes Acknowledge—tell them you understand Pamper—go the EXTRA mile to make it right A customer complaint is the perfect opportunity for Stanley Steemer to actually increase customer loyalty. At some point you will have to deal with a difficult situation or customer complaint. The following section will give you some guidelines and recommended steps to take when handling these situations. These steps will help make handling customer complaints easier and less stressful for the Customer and for you as the Manager.

4 steps to successful complaint handling 1) Listen to the customer and acknowledge his or her complaint. a) It is best to keep a notepad by your phone and document everything the customer relays to you involving their concern. 2) Develop empathy or show concern for the customer. a) It is important, here, to listen carefully to the customer and apologize for the exact breakdown or failure in the service that the customer identifies. b) It is also important not to apologize for anything other than what the customer describes. c) You must apologize at this point before taking any other action any other response is unacceptable, even if you think the customer has misidentified, mischaracterized, or exaggerated the problem. This is not the time to correct the customer’s perception of the situation. The only correct action at this point is to extend an apology for the customer’s disappointing experience, as the customer sees it. d) Personalize the response. “I am truly sorry that we missed some of the spots in your carpet and I can certainly understand your frustration Mrs. Smith, I would feel the same way if this had happened to me.” 3) Ask open ended questions to identify and analyze the problem. a) Gather all information you feel would be pertinent to the customer’s complaint. c) Some customers may be resistant to this, saying that they would like to speak to someone higher up than you. A lot of times this objection can be overcome by asking “Would it be alright if I asked you a few questions about this unsatisfactory experience so that I can determine which of our managers would handle this?” ( this should only be used in a case where you cannot offer a resolution right then) 4) Resolve the complaint. a) If possible try to resolve the concern on your initial call with the customer. b) You should talk to your supervisor before handling complaints to find out how much liberty they want you to take in resolving customer complaints.   **If the customer is not willing to talk to you about their problem and there isn’t another manager available, politely explain to the customer that, “the manager isn’t available at the present time. However, if you would like I could take down your information and what this unsatisfactory situation involves and get it directly to the manager and he/she will call you back as soon as possible. If the manager for some reason doesn’t get a hold of you in a reasonable amount of time please call me back and I will try to put you in touch with him/her.” Please try to let the customer know that you are there to help them with this matter and give them your name. ***Should there be a customer that doesn’t want to talk to you or a manager about their unsatisfactory situation, please feel free to give them the Stanley Steemer International phone number, 1-800-848-7496, let them know that they can speak to the Customer Relations Manager, Paul Carson, at ext.2417. We, at the home office, will do everything possible to help you retain these unhappy customers. 4 steps to successful complaint handling  

WHAT NOT TO DO!

9 things not to say to your customers

Social Media Social media has changed the landscape of business and customer service.(fast paced and can gather momentum quickly) It is highly recommended that you implement a social networking policy in your operation. (copy of the SSI policy included on flash drive) If you have a Facebook page or twitter account for your location, be sure to monitor it frequently to ensure the best possible customer service and to help protect our Brand. Please ask employees not to comment on a customer’s concerns or questions.