How to eat humble pie: Dealing with customer complaints

An American Express survey recently revealed that Australians are some of the biggest complainers in the world, with 61% admitting to having lost their temper at customer service staff and 64% having asked to speak to a supervisor or manager.

How do you handle an angry customer?

John Winning is the CEO of online store Appliances Online, which won the Best Customer Experience Award at the recent Online Retail Industry Awards. Just a few weeks ago, one of his customers was “mucked around” twice.

First, the delivery of the customer's kettle was delayed, then her fridge arrived damaged. The fridge was eventually fixed, but in addition to that, Winning sent one of the guys in the warehouse to a local cake shop to pick up an apple pie for the customer. He delivered it to her workplace with the note ‘humble pie’, accompanied with a $100 gift voucher, giving Winning’s team the opportunity to show the customer how positive the service at Appliances Online really can be.

“Put yourself in the customers’ shoes. Think, ‘If I was that customer, what would I need to happen to rectify the problem?’ Generally, it’s not enough to just fix the situation,” Winning told Smarter Business Ideas. “I don’t like to use the word ‘compensation’, but they usually need something over and above to outweigh the convenience you’ve given them for a late delivery or misadvising them.”

Jason Newman, manager of El Dorado Inn in Alice Springs, grew up working in hotels, bars and nightclubs, and has had his fair share of narky patrons in the past.

“Really, the best way is to stay calm and try to be flexible. See if you can find a solution for that person. The other thing is not to argue with them. Be as calm as you can so you’re not flaring up the situation and attempt to rectify their problems,” he said.

“Don’t get drawn into a shouting match with them, you’re never going to win and you’re never going to get them back if you do.”

According to Anthony Janssen, owner of Gnarabar restaurant  in Western Australia, customer complaints can offer your business the chance to grow, if you’re willing to listen to what they have to say.

“More often than not, I’m grateful if they’ve given us constructive criticism, because it helps us make our business better. If a customer who was unhappy left your building and didn’t tell you, they’re doing the business a disservice. We can’t make it better if we’re unaware that the customer’s unhappy," he said.

Janssen pointed out that even though you may have had a complaint from a customer, you often have the opportunity to rectify the problem and turn them into a happy patron instead.

“We’ve had a few bad nights over the years and hopefully you can catch the customer before they leave,” he said, adding that he’s offered free desserts or coffees to sweeten a sour customer.

He recalls one evening when his kitchen was understaffed and a flood of tourists entered the restaurant. Unfortunately, it got to the point when Janssen himself had to explain to diners that he was unable to feed them. One table in particular had been waiting for an hour for their meals.

As the customers were staying in an apartment in a nearby resort, Janssen offered them ingredients for a meal to prepare back in their own kitchen, such as eggs and steak.

“I always explain to the customer we always do our best to meet their needs at any particular time. We never go out of our way to offer bad service or a bad product, we always do our absolute best. Most people are receptive to it when you’re genuine,” he said.

Everyone makes mistakes and nobody is perfect I guess. How you deal with difficult situations is what makes the difference