Recover the Potentially Lost Customer

Chapter 9

Objectives

1. Understand customer recovery2. Maintain healthy attitudes3. Apply techniques4. Handle a nasty complaint letter5. Develop skills6. Understand the difference

between assertive and aggressive behavior

Understand the Case for Customer Recovery

1. Already familiar with the products/services2. More data about likes/dislikes3. Customer may feel flattered by your efforts4. Shorter length of “prospect” and “new

customer” phases

Maintain Healthy Attitudes About Customer Recovery

Win Win

Develop Your Recovery Skills

Feel Their Pain

• Listen to their concerns• Understand their problem• Share their sense of urgency• Compensate them• Eliminate further inconvenience• Treat them with respect• Assure them the problem will not happen

again

Do All You Can to Resolve the Problem

• Have a clear understanding of the problem• Ask appropriate questions to clarify• Fix it as soon as possible

Go Beyond: Offer « Symbolic Atonement »

• Offer to pick up or deliver the goods to be replaced or repaired

• Give a gift of merchandise to repay for the inconvenience

• Reimburse for costs of returning merchandise such as parking fees, etc.

• Acknowledge the customer’s inconvenience and thank him/her for giving you the opportunity to try to make it right

• Follow up to see that the problem was handled

Look Back and Learn from Each Situation

• What was the nature of the customer’s complaint?• Was it generated primarily by value, systems, or

people?• How did the customer see the problem?• Who was to blame; what irritated the customer

most; why was he/she angry or frustrated?• How did you see the problem?• What did you say that seemed to aggravate the

situation?

Understand What Happens if the Customer is Still Not Satisfied

• If you try your best to satisfy the customer, you have done all that you can do.

• Don’t take it personally.• Don’t rehash the experience with your

coworkers or in your own mind.

Handle the Occasional Customer From Hell

Action Tip 1- Be Sure This Really is a Chronic Complainer

• They always look for someone to blame.

• They never admit any degree of fault.

• They have strong ideas about what others should do.

• They complain at length.

Action Tip 2- Know What to Do with This Guy (or Girl)

• Actively listen to identify the grievance• Establish the facts to reduce exaggeration• Resist the temptation to apologize• Force the complainer to pose a solution

Action Tip 3- Take a Break, Cool Off, Reflect

Handle a Nasty Complaint Letter or Email

• ANSWER!!!• Be an effective writer• Be sensitive• Be tactful

People Are Strongly Interest in Themselves

• “What’s in it for me?”

People Prefer Receiver-Centered Messages

I-Centered

We require that you sign the sales slip before we charge this purchase

to your account.

I am sending your report back to you for an update.

Receiver Viewpoint

For your protection, we charge your account only after you have signed

the sales slip.

So that you may update this report to the most current version, it is

being returned to you.

People Want to Be Treated as Individuals

Blanket Tone

When a thousand requests are received from prospective

customers, we feel pleased.

The cooperation of our charge customers in paying their accounts

is appreciated.

More Personal Tone

A copy of the booklet you requested is being sent to you

today. Thank you for requesting it.

I certainly appreciate your paying the account.

People Want Positive Information

Negative Wording

You failed to give us the part number of the muffler you ordered.

We regret to inform you that we must deny your request for credit.

Positive Wording

So that we may get you the muffler you want, will you please check your part number on the enclosed card?

For the time being, we can serve you only on a cash basis.

People Don’t Like Abrasive People

Abrasiveness• Irritating manner• Pushy• Critical

• “You don’t make any sense.”

Assertiveness• Express feelings• Nonthreatening

• “I’m having a difficult time understanding what you’re saying.”

Understand that Assertive Behavior is Not Aggressive Behavior

Aggressors• Communicate from a

position of superiority• Indirect, manipulative,

underhanded• Set themselves up for

retaliation• Use a lot of judgmental

terms

Assertors• High self-respect• Respect others• Win-win solutions• Honest• Emotionally charge

language is seldom used