Is the customer always right? Of course not, but the general practice is to make every customer happy no matter what the problem is. Otherwise, those dissatisfied customers could spread bad reviews about your business and cost you more business. So, what do you do when you face a customer that is wrong?
Don’t Let Customers Take Advantage of Your Business
Customers know that you want to do everything possible to make them happy. Therefore, you’ll occasionally come across a customer that tries to take advantage of your business with a fake complaint or problem. Or, a customer may blow a small problem out of proportion in an attempt to get something at a discount. When this happens, you need to address the situation carefully. It’s important to keep customers happy, but that doesn’t mean you have to let customers walk all over your business. You’re in the business to make money, and therefore you need to train employees to spot customers who are trying to take advantage of the system.
Don’t Sweat the Bad Customers
Some customers are just bad. They cause a huge commotion over a very small problem and demand outrageous retribution. Sometimes you have to let these bad customers go because they are more hassle than they’re worth. Everyone knows it’s much harder to get a new customer than it is to retain the customers you already have, but you do have to realize that one bad customer can rub off on others and do more harm than good. Treat each of these situations on a case by case basis. The customer might get tripped up and drop his or her complaint.
So, How Do You Handle a Customer that Is Wrong But Thinks He Is Right?
Oftentimes, you do encounter customers who are upset for a good reason, even if they are wrong. Make sure that you handle these situations properly so you don’t lose out on business. Here are five things you can do to make the customer happy.
Show the Customer You Care
The first thing you should do is carefully listen to the customer to find out what is wrong. Don’t interrupt and don’t act like their problem doesn’t matter. When the customer is finished explaining, offer an apology and tell him or her that you’re going to try to help.
Turn Something Negative into a Positive
You can always find positives in a bad situation. For instance, if a customer is complaining about bad service, make sure to reinforce that the product is good. That way the customer doesn’t leave discounting your entire business. Use as many positives as possible.
Offer a Product or Service at a Discount
When a customer feels upset, try to make him or her feel better by offering a discount. This way you still make a sale, but your customer feels like the problem has been remediated, even if not entirely. A 10 to 20 percent discount can make a customer very happy without eliminating your profit margin.
Work Quickly to Solve the Problem
Customers only get more upset if they are given the run around. If there is a problem, make sure to bring the manager in quickly or solve the problem in a timely manner. Customers will appreciate that you’re actually trying to fix the problem and bring attention to it.
With continual popularity of mobile devices, negative comments can be made public from anywhere at any time. And if the problem is published on social media, it could go viral quickly. To ensure your brand reputation stays solid, keep a reliable mobile device on a fast network on-hand to check the pages of your brand for any disgruntled customer rants.
Exceed Their Expectations
The only way to ensure that a disgruntled customer ends up happy is to blow their socks off when you solve their problem. Make sure that whatever you do is memorable so that the customer talks about that instead of the problem.
The customer isn’t always right, but there are things you can do to ensure that they feel that they are. Whether you like it or not, customers are the most important part of your business because without them you wouldn’t make any money. Therefore, you must keep them happy and live by the mantra that “the customer is always right.” Just be wary of customers that want to take advantage of your business.
