It's a necessary evil in every business: the complaining customer. Unfortunately, it would be suicide for the business, especially the small business, to ignore the complaining customer since the customer can give negative reviews about the business and steer others away from it. Fortunately, there are ways to deal this kind of customer in a manner that will not only solve the problem, but may enhance the image of your business.
#1: Make Sure To Compensate The Customer For Their Troubles
It's never enough to simply fix the problem. Sure, the customer's problem has been solved, but the customer should never have been wronged in the first place. The customer needs to feel special in order for his/her to feel that the owner really cares about that customer. Ask yourself, if you were the customer and you were wronged, would it be enough for the owner to simply solve the problem?
Compensation can take many different forms. It might be saying that the product and/or service is on the house. It can also mean a coupon for a free product and/or service for a specified period of time. Whatever the form of compensation, make sure it is a reasonable one such that it will not hurt the business financially or make other customers complain, but a compensation that the customer will not feel dissatisfied with.
#2: Use Social Media As A Means Of Apologizing And Illustrate The Lesson(s) Learned
Social media for a business is often a double-edged sword. It can help your business grow if used the right way, but it can also destroy your business if used in the wrong way. But, there is one way to use it to your advantage in the wake of a customer's complaint. First of all, you should always use social media as a means of apologizing, especially because your customer may decide to use social media as a means of complaining about the incident, even after you have fixed it. Apologizing shows that you are human and shows that you understood that you made a mistake and that you did what you could to fix the problem.
It is also advisable to write about some of the lessons you learned from the incident and what you plan to do to address the incident so that it does not happen again. Writing about the lessons learned demonstrates to your customers that you have a commitment to improving the business, which you must have if you want your business to succeed. It also shows that you have a strong commitment to learning, which is also important for success. It is important to sit down and take some time to reflect on these lessons before writing them down.