Handling Customers Complaints

Overview

This course explains how to stay calm under pressure, not to over react, and how to remain professional when managing issues.

Customer expectations for speed, quality, cost control and delivery have increased and customers complain when their expectations are not met. When customers complain it can be a very stressful experience and remaining calm under pressure is key to retaining long-term customer loyalty.
It is designed to challenge your beliefs in managing customers’ expectations of you and your organisation, whether they are internal or external customers. You will leave the course with a personal action plan identifying the key changes to make, and skills to practise, to ensure you stay calm at all times regardless of the pressure of the situation.

Objectives

  • Understand the impact you have on customers; negative and positive.
  • Understand the change in your thinking and behaviour that is required to manage complaining customers.
  • Recognise that it is important not to take complaints personally but to respond in a professional manner.
  • Establish rapport with angry and abusive customers, and resolve their complaint.
  • Appreciate the value to you and your customers when you remain calm and resist their pressure.

Course Outline

Personal Impact on Customers

  • “I’m good at managing my customers”- self-analysis
  • What do your customers think about you and your organisation?
  • The perception divide – “It’s entirely your fault!”

Managing Customer Complaints

  • Why customers complain
  • Managing extremes of behaviour
  • Managing emotion

Managing Angry and Abusive Customers

  • Managing the issue and not the person
  • Managing your customer’s emotion
  • Staying calm under pressure

Generating Customer Loyalty

  • Listening, acting and responding to customer needs
  • Using the complaint to re-shape the ‘customer experience’
  • Genuine, sincere and proactive customer service

Achieving Excellence in Customer Service

  • Best practice checklist
  • Your customer experience statement
  • Personal action plan