Proper training of your staff helps keep customers happy

by Kris Matz

Unfortunate but true; a dissatisfied customer is more likely to contact you than a satisfied customer. This contact provides you with an opportunity not just to solve a problem but also to gain the trust for standing behind your product or service. The key to success is a properly trained staff that will politely and effectively handle and resolve customer complaints. Here are a few ideas to help prepare employees to turn negatives into positives:

1. Have an established protocol for handling upset customers so employees know how to react and avoid escalating problems they cannot resolve. Role-playing and practicing can help to build confidence handling these kinds of calls.
2. 2.     Make sure that customer service personnel are informed about all identified quality problems as well as the company’s plan for resolution. Customers will be more trusting of well-informed and knowledgeable representatives. Chances for successful resolution at the first call will be increased.
3. Empower and authorize employees to take action.

Identify what a customer service representative can offer a customer without managerial approval. For example, a couple of years ago I ordered some clips from an online office supply store, they were supposed to hold 50 sheets of paper. When they arrived, it was obvious that 10-15 sheets would be the maximum. I called to complain that the product wasn’t what was advertised and to find out how to return the clips. The customer service rep immediately refunded my money, replaced the clips and asked me not to bother with returning the incorrect ones. I learned that she had the authority to take actions like this without managerial approval if the total value was $25 or less. I was impressed. The result: a satisfied customer that has remembered the experience several years later.