You probably won’t have been in business too long before you get your first complaint. It just can’t help but happen: low-end customers pay nothing and expect the Earth, while high-end ones pay a lot but expect an inhuman effort in return. You just can’t please all of the people all of the time, even if you run yourself ragged trying — there will always be someone who’s not happy with what you’ve done. So what can you do about it?

Don’t Be Rude or Dismissive.

The customer’s complaint might seem stupid to you, or even insulting — but that doesn’t mean that you can respond in kind. You must treat every customer complaint seriously, and always act as if it is 100% your fault that things weren’t to their satisfaction. Read the rest of this entry

As the Internet becomes an increasing part of our lives there are a growing number of web sites which are run for dissatisfied customers to publicly air their complaints about bad service. See your name posted on these sites or get contacted by them and you know you have a problem!

How can you prevent your business from becoming ‘feature of the week’? Of all the skills small business owners need these days, the one least practiced is the ability to step back and look at your business from the customer’s perspective.

Having an effective complaint handling process is important but that is the equivalent of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted – it’s too late, your customer has already suffered. Read the rest of this entry