Main types of customer complaints and claims
1. Long wait
Main types of customer complaints and claims, If your company has a call center, the average waiting time is one of the most important metrics. Customers want a quick response to their questions.
According to Velaro’s research, waiting more than a minute encourages the customer to hang up in almost 60% of cases.
How to respond to this claim?
Keeping your customers waiting too long indicates two important factors:
First, it may mean that the demand for your products or services is too high and your team can’t handle the flow of calls. Consider, for example, expanding your call center.
When answering the call, your specialists should apologize for the long wait time and do their best to resolve the customer’s issue on the first interaction.
The second problem may be the lack of automation in your call center. The right software can help your operation run more efficiently and streamline routine tasks. This should reduce waiting times and improve the quality of care.
Chatbots, for example, produce faster response times, eliminate human error, and can handle high volumes and multiple tasks simultaneously.
2. Neglect of customer service
In some service cases, the customer and the attendant may not understand each other. For the customer, the company is indifferent to her problem.
When an employee appears unmotivated or lacks empathy, it can seriously hurt your business.
How to fix this problem?
Faced with these types of complaints, employees need to understand what they can do to provide a quality customer experience.
Your company may have roadmaps and best practices for communicating with customers. However, to avoid desertion, it is sometimes necessary to leave the script and do a personalized follow-up of the situation.
Damage or poor quality service
If there is a claim that cannot be avoided, it is when the product is broken or damaged. It can also happen that the product is in good condition, but the person does not know how to handle it. In this situation, your main task is not to let the customer go to the competition.
How to respond to this complaint?
If the product is working, guide the customer on how to use it. Discover the reason for the purchase and show how to use your product for that need.
If the product is broken or the service does not work, inform what is the process for the change.
Lack of products in stock
Out of stock items may be a good sign, but customers may be unhappy with the delay in replacement.
In these cases, customers may make a special request or constantly call the call center to ask if the product is available.
How to respond to this complaint?
If the service team does not know when an item will be available from stock, management needs to be notified immediately.
Support specialists can also provide notifications about special requests. This is possible with helpdesk software, where it is possible to create support call tickets.
Tickets include the customer’s request, the status of the request, and other important information. With these tickets, operators quickly add, identify and notify the status of an order to the customer.
Your client repeats the problem several times
Customers hate bringing up their complaints over and over again. This can happen when a person is transferred to another specialist, there is a lack of attention or there is no omnichannel communication in your system.
The rapid shift from physical to online interaction has reshaped what customers expect from service interactions.
Research on Trends in Customer Experience in 2021, conducted by Zendesk, indicates that 75% of customers will invest more to buy from a company that offers a good customer experience.
How to respond to this complaint?
If the client needs to repeat the problem countless times, it is best to stop transferring calls to other specialists.
The best thing is that you, in the position of manager, get in touch and seek to transmit recommendations that help the client.
The long-term solution is to invest in helpdesk software, so the calls will be distributed among the company’s departments and the helper will have information about the problem in advance.
Omnichannel support allows the user to start the service in a channel or with a person and, if it is necessary to transfer, the next assistant does not need to ask the customer to repeat, since the information is in the system.
How to deal with customer complaints?
After looking at some examples of customer complaints, it’s time to respond.
Use the 5 tips to follow to turn customer complaints into a golden opportunity for your business.
1.Listen and understand
Always listen to your customers. They complained for a reason and it is important to understand what the reason is.
2. Apologize
Don’t underestimate the importance of an apology:
A survey by the Nottingham School of Economics found that dissatisfied customers are more willing to forgive a company that offers an apology rather than be compensated.
In the study results, 45% of customers withdrew their negative rating of a company in light of an apology, while only 23% of customers withdrew their negative rating in exchange for compensation.
The researchers concluded that when a client hears the words “I’m sorry,” it triggers an immediate instinct to forgive. But don’t just apologize; follow through with the promise to resolve the issue.
3.Find a solution
When your customer has a legitimate complaint, you need to resolve it. Give your customer service team the authority to handle most customer complaints, preventing your customer from being transferred to a variety of people and managers.
4. Track the customer
Follow up with your customers to make sure they are happy with the solution. This can be in the form of a follow-up email or a survey asking for feedback on how the complaint was handled.
Following up shows that you care. And that makes the customer feel important and valued.
5. Exceed expectations
You acknowledged the mistake, corrected the problem, and moved on.
Now is your chance to go the extra mile and exceed customer expectations, whether it’s sending a handwritten thank you note or giving the customer early access to new product features. By doing this, the next time the customer talks about your business, that will be the message they communicate the most!
Ready for customer complaint management?
Resolving customer complaints is a lot like putting out fires. It is reactive and no matter how good your product or service is, it is impossible to please all customers.
The next time you get a complaint, use the following 5-step checklist to respond, resolve, and keep your customer happy.
- Acknowledges the claim;
- Inform the client that you are taking action;
- Record and categorize the customer complaint;
- Resolves the complaint in accordance with company policy;
- Follow up with the customer to make sure they are satisfied.
Dealing with customer complaints is an ongoing process.
Proactive handling of customer complaints
As mentioned above, not all customers complain directly to you.
This means that you must proactively handle complaints.
Finding complaints online isn’t easy, but here are some suggestions on where to start:
- Have they made negative comments on your blog?
- Was your brand mentioned on Twitter?
- Do customers post messages on your brand’s Facebook page?
- Did someone leave a negative review on your Google My Business page?
- Are the comments on your YouTube channels positive?
- Does your brand appear in any directories or complaint forums when you do a Google search?
All these channels should be monitored. If you don’t respond, readers will assume you don’t care what they think.
By responding to online messages, you will show that you work hard and care for your customers. This act alone can inspire brand loyalty and customer trust.
Customer experience is more important than ever
Customer complaints are important. There is no better way to improve your product or service than to collect direct feedback from your customers. And without a doubt, the way you handle a complaint is the difference between keeping or losing a customer during the shopping experience.
The next time you receive a complaint from a customer, listen to what they have to say and apologize if necessary. Find a solution and follow up to see if he’s happy with how he’s being treated.
By doing this, you’re on the right path to gaining more loyal customers, improving your product, and providing better quality customer service.
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