It doesn’t matter how good or how loved you may be. It doesn’t matter how wonderful your product or service may be. It doesn’t matter how perfect your business location may be. Sooner or later in your glory march to victory, you will receive a complaint from a client. Your response to that complaint, which no doubt will come as a huge surprise, maybe, will help determine your operation’s ability to retain and grow the valuable relationship virtually each client has the potential to provide.  

Most often complaints are cries for help from clients. Quite often we find that the complaint centers around:

• a misunderstanding involving cost, process or responsibility;
• a shortfall on performance has developed; or,
• the client is feeling unappreciated. 

All of these can lead to tense moments for you and also for the client. However, please realize that confronting these challenges head-on and working to achieve a win-win atmosphere places you in a great position to gain in the long-term from your approach. Your gain comes from finding out what not to do or what needs to be clarified; and, the client gains from the fact that their voice was authentically heard.

Here are some simple suggestions to keep in the forefront regarding complaints:

1. Remember most often you have an emotional situation. Hold your emotions so as to not add to the heightened atmosphere. Allow the client to vent to you, moving them to a private area if this comes in person so that any private information that may be conveyed is protected.

Next time, we will look at further suggestions for making good use of a complaint.

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