Cranky Customer Maintenance
Source: OfficePRO magazine, August/September 2003

BY CARRIE STRAUB

Some research suggests that badly treated customers tell their experience to as many as 20 others. Couple this finding with the fact that it costs a lot more to sell to new customers than to existing customers, and you quickly see that you're better off taking care of your current customers. Plus, a customer service star may gain job security.

There are two avenues for working with potentially cranky customers. The first is prevention--keeping the customer with a service issue from becoming cranky. The second is intervention--reclaiming good will and resolving the difficulty--and it isn't as easy or comfortable, uses time that could be spent in better ways, and likely involves managing a situation you didn't create in the first place.

Here's an example. Susan owns a small rental house. The tenants called one evening to say the furnace wasn't working. "Have the gas company check the situation and then advise me about repair/replacement," Susan told the tenants. The gas company left a checklist that said the situation was "iffy"--furnace is getting old, may require expensive repairs--and left a list of possible repair companies. By phone, Susan and the tenant discussed the list, studied the phone book Yellow Pages, and decided on three companies that advertised a Free Estimate."

Susan asked the tenant to call and make arrangements based on the tenant's and the company's availability. A few days later, Susan received a bill from the company for a $72 service call. Susan called the office to protest, because no service" was performed. The person on the other end of the phone line replied that Susan had to pay for the service call. When Susan said, "Oh, no I don't…," the company representative said, "I don't have time to listen to this!" So Susan said, "This isn't over, but I will not talk with you further."

The company then called the tenant to inform her that because Susan wouldn't pay, she had to. The tenant called Susan in hysterics. Susan has now been inconvenienced, embarrassed, and insulted.

The tenant forwarded the bill to Susan who then visited the company Web site to find out the owners' names, left messages for the owners, filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and spent $3,500 for a new furnace with the company's competitor, whose service people were stellar in every conversation.

Being prepared to listen to a customer with a concern and explain misunderstandings is essential. Clearly, the company in this example wasn't prepared to do so. Under-promising and over-performing are important concepts in customer service.

While everyone responsible for customer service may not have the power to make executive decisions, everyone can employ strategies to gain agreement even when they wish a particularly difficult customer would just go away. You and your organization cannot afford defensive or domineering behavior when dealing with an unsatisfied customer.

Consider another situation. For Valentine's Day, Mark gave Karen tickets to a local theater performance. The dates for the performance were about six weeks in the future, so Karen set the tickets aside. About six weeks after the date, Karen came upon the tickets while looking for something else. She called the ticket office and told the representative, Kathleen, her sad story. Karen didn't want a refund and didn't really expect the theatre to replace the tickets, but mostly wanted to know if any tickets were available for the remaining performances.

But Kathleen said, "Oh, I'm so sorry! It's such a fun show! Let me see what I can do for you. I will need to check with my box office manager, and I will call you back. We have two more weekend performances--if I can help, which would be of most interest to you?"

When Kathleen called back, she had arranged for the tickets to be substituted for another performance. She even remembered Karen when she showed up to make the exchange. The result? Karen will contribute to the theatre organization in the form of birthday and holiday gifts.

Effectively Communicating

Communicating with customers convincingly and sincerely requires exercising all of your communication muscles. Your verbal (words used) communication must match how you convey the information vocally (tone, pitch, loudness, delivery style) and non-verbally (gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, colors, posture). If the verbal doesn't match the vocal and non-verbal, it's the vocal and non-verbal that people will believe. Customer service happens at any time, through a variety of modes and customer relationships--internal/external and so forth.

Here are some tips for the most common communication modes:

Telephone: Words and vocal elements are the key here because non-verbal communication is absent. Long, droning explanations get tuned out, so keep it brief and use common language, not industry jargon unless you know your customer has the same frame of reference.

Tape record yourself to evaluate your inflection and verbal habits (um's, ah's, and other verbal junk are irritating). Practice your speaking style: Do you sound officious and overbearing? Does your voice sound shrill and hysterical, or even disinterested?

You may find it helpful to stand up and smile. Your smile and interest will come through in your voice. And become a partner in solution-finding, using phrases like "Help me understand" and "Let's see how we can get this resolved." Also, introduce requests courteously, "Tell me a couple of things so if I can't help, I can find someone who can" or "This may take a little while. Would you like to hold or shall I call you back?"

In person: Be aware that you are communicating more strongly with your non-verbal signals. (Rolling your eyes takes all the sympathy out of "I am sorry…") Stand up and make eye contact. Make the person your priority and show it. Hands-on-hips, pursed lips, and steepled fingers all communicate distrust and judgment. Use friendly non-verbal communication including smiling, a hand shake, eye contact, open hands, leaning forward, and head tilted to one side, which demonstrates you are listening.

Observe your cranky customer's body language closely and listen to his or her choice of words. Where is the customer putting his or her energy and emphasis? Ask for the customer's concerns; then listen. You want to be perceived as professional and interested in doing a good job.

Consider the psychology of head nodding. After you have listened, begin by using paraphrasing to show you were listening, confirm you understood, and to get the customer nodding his or her own head. It's called building agreement. Once the customer is in the "habit" of agreeing, you can offer solutions to his or her concerns.

In writing: Reduce terse, dictatorial, or bureaucratic language. Start letters with praise. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention …" builds a perception of partnership. "Per our conversation of June 1 …" sends an impersonal, rigid message.

Write in a semi-formal style in the active voice. Make every letter a sales letter; you are selling the customer on a solution that's equitable for each of you. People like to feel heard. Pay attention to objections. Let them know how you will resolve the situation. Have someone else review your letter to be sure you are communicating partnership.

Make sure the letter is perfect; misspelled words, poor grammar, jargon, and incorrect punctuation imply lack of respect.

Magical Questions

"Questions are magic," write Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman in their book, 555 Questions for Getting Your Way at Work. "The right question at the right time focuses thought, brings clarity, and can go a long way to defusing conflict," they say. Cranky customers may or may not have a justifiable complaint--in either case, they do want to be heard and feel listened to.

Consider the following situations and a question you could use to gain information and perspective for arriving at a solution. Remember these situations could be created by either internal or external customers.

Customer wants refund/action without documentation: "If we can get a onetime exception to our usual policy, will you commit to sending/faxing me the paperwork I need?"

Customer wants repairs on product out of warranty: "How much would you like to spend on repairs?"

Customer wants the moon: "What would you propose as an alternative that would be equitable for you and our company?"

Customer is using inappropriate language or accusations: "I can do a better job of finding a solution for you if you don't insult me."

Questions that give you control and communicate your interest in resolving their concerns (always asked in a respectful tone of voice): "May I suggest an immediate solution to this situation?" Can we make a deal?" "What can we do to make this right that is fair to both of us?" "How could we have done a better job for you?"

Picking up the Pieces

There isn't one right answer to every customer service situation. In your next customer service discussion, define the questions you most frequently hear, determine the tactic you want to use, and decide on some possible responses.

Here are some common responses you hear from cranky customers. Consider the suggested response techniques or develop your own:

"Who cares about 'Sorry?' Do something!" Listen to the customer's protests patience), keep control (poise), demonstrate action (perception), and reach agreement that satisfies both (partnership).

Possible answers? "You're too good a customer to have that happen. Let's find solution that will take care of you right away." "Here's what I can get done this afternoon. And tomorrow, I can …." (Be careful not to over-promise.) "I can't see where we got that figure. As soon as we finish our conversation, I will call to ask accounting how the total was computed and call you back so we can check it together."

Never say: "Are you sure you got it from us?" "Our policy is that you have to …" "I'm not the person help you."

"I bought this here two years ago. Don't you still have them in stock?" Sell the product you do have and show the customer you care to build the relationship.

Possible answers? "Our suppliers no longer offer those. Here's what we have chosen to substitute." "I could special order that for you. There would be a small fee for the special order. Or, I could suggest Product X as a substitute." "You know, that sold very well. We stopped carrying it because the price was prohibitive. Let me talk to our buyer to find out if we can still special order them."

Never say: "I don't think you could have purchased that here." "I never saw anything like that before." "It's been five years since those were available."

"What do I want you to do for me? Here's exactly what . . ." Keep control. Do what you were going to do anyway. Get the customer involved in partnering to find solutions. Let the customer know you are not the final decision maker but you understand his or her position. Be the customer's partner in finding a solution that is equitable.

Possible answers? If the customer's suggestion has merit and it's something you were considering anyway, then say, "That's a great idea--I can do that for you." Here's another, "That's a good idea. Let me take that to my supervisor. I will get back to you by late this afternoon." "Let me ask, if I can't do exactly what you're suggesting, what else would be acceptable?"

Never say: "That's impossible." "Our policy won't allow…"

"You're wrong. I ordered the medium not the large." Keep the customer from becoming defensive. Find a solution instead of fixing the blame. Believe the customer. Treat the one percent of "shifty" customers as if they were honest instead of treating the 99 percent of honest customers as if they were shifty.

Possible answers? "Let's make it right for you. I'll make sure you're only charged for the medium." "I'll correct the situation right away. "I'll be able to resolve this more quickly if you will tell me…"

Never say: "Jane is our most experienced employee and rarely enters the order incorrectly." "Are you sure?" "This is what the computer shows." "Our order system tracks…"

Eliminating Red Flags

Preventing cranky communication is much better than intervening once the customer is irate. One key to prevention is to eliminate "red flag" words and phrases; these have the effect of increasing a customer's perception that they aren't going to get resolution.

Words such as "problem"…"you have to"… "our policy"… and "Your call is important to us" delivered by a voice response system during a 25-minute wait are examples of words and phrases you can easily avoid. You may not be in charge of the voice response message, the decision to use a voice response system, or the waiting time. But you are in charge of the implications of the language you use. Here are some alternatives:

Building Collaboration

You can use five strategies to curb conflict and build customer collaboration.

Step One: Make a commitment to help instead of excuses. A customer with a problem doesn't care that Steve has left the company. We've already agreed customers want their concerns to be understood. Skip the "Steve is no longer here" and go right into "I am the person who will work with you to resolve this. I have some of the information you gave to Steve. Let me review it with you to be sure it's correct and then let's get you taken care of." Now you've reassured them, stayed in control of the discussion, and made a commitment to help without raising the possibility that nothing will get done.

Step Two: Avoid making your problem theirs. The fact that your supplier shipped the wrong part or didn't ship anything may, in fact, be the reason. But it becomes an excuse when invoked during a solution-finding discussion. As a customer, I want to know how you will resolve the situation, not explore your supplier deficiencies. "We expect to have the repair kits available by (date). I will request overnight delivery to you. In the meantime, what have you considered as possible ways to get your copier needs met?"

Step Three: Don't make your customer wrong" (even if they may be). In the furnace example, the vendor who lost the sale was still protesting that it always charges for estimates, even though its ad clearly states "Free Estimates." The company made the customer "wrong" by invoking "industry standard." Ignoring the customer's protests sent the customer right to the company's competitor.

Step Four: Don't train customers into tantrums or other negative behavior. Customers have learned that if they throw a fit in certain situations, they are probably going to get what they should've gotten in the first relatively calm communication. Consider what you will be willing to do and offer that in the first place instead of caving in to explosions or pressure. Don't make your customers escalate the situation. They will. And you will lose.

Step Five: Praise instead of apologize. Thank you for your feedback," I appreciate your being willing to tell me about your concerns," "Thanks for your patience. I have checked into the situation and here's what I suggest to solve the issues" are far more effective than I'm sorry you are upset." Nothing brings on a righteously demanding attitude like an empty apology statement.

It's important to become your customer's partner instead of an adversary. Positive communication and finding a mutually beneficial solution always is the key to pleased customers.

© Resources for Success 2003. All rights reserved. Carrie Straub is founder and director of performance acceleration, Resources for Success. Straub specializes in improving workplace communications in teams, customer service, and management. Reach her via e-mail at carries@resources4success.com  or visit www.resources4success.com  for more information.