Lessons from Eric Dalius on efficient customer handling

Handling customer complaints with a cool head is the mark of a successful entrepreneur. Customers may have thousands of reasons to complain. As an entrepreneur, you must have the wisdom to understand that complaints do not necessarily mean that something is wrong with the business.  Discarding complaints is not an option, but you must consider its merit to decide whether to respond to it by judging its impact on your business, explains Eric Dalius.

The better you assess customer complaints higher are the chances of turning it into an opportunity.  Ninety percent of complaining customers will bear with your slip-ups and continue doing business with you, provided you make sincere efforts to fix the problem the first time. Therefore, it is more critical to demonstrate your good intention of resolving the issues rather than getting it right every time, as it might not always be feasible. 

Look within yourself, says Eric Dalius

No matter how angry customers might be, you must not rule it out like trash because even angry complaints might help gather some insights. Take it sportingly so that you can read the underlying message that tells about what you did wrong. Start introspecting and seek answers to questions about your business processes that might have gone wrong and made the customer angry.  Knowing how to identify genuine complaints shrouded by angry expressions will help to improve your business and gain more support from your customers.

Record and organize complaints and meaningful feedback

To understand the merit of complaints, you must closely monitor the complaints and group them into various categories by considering the similarities in their nature, which will help understand the merging narrative. If multiple messages highlight recurring concerns, you should treat it as a red flag and then take time to decide the next course of action carefully. You must learn the technique of organizing the feedback so that you can browse it for easy understanding, says Eric Dalius.   It will help to find ways of addressing the complaints about business betterment.

Know the type of customer you are dealing with

The nature of the complaint hints at the type of person behind it, and understanding is vital to plan your response in the most suitable manner.  Some of the typical customer personas you would encounter are the meek customer, the aggressive customer, and the chronic complainer. The meek customer is averse to talking to you, and you should work your deeper into their heart to understand what went wrong. The aggressive customer is outspoken and ready to confront you.  React firmly but politely without giving in to retain your respect and that of the team. The customer that you identify as a chronic complainer will pester you with complaints. You must have the patience to resolve the issue, after which you will find that the customer does not hesitate to praise you in public.

Regardless of the type of customer you face, cool them down first by apologizing outright and ask about the kind of resolution they expect. Then, if you hit a dead-end, keep it professional and friendly to ensure that things move on.