Last week, I went to a seminar/book promotion breakfast early in the morning to promote my website. After putting up flyers everywhere, I took a moment to go inside the building and spend a few minutes with Jack Welch, who used to be the CEO of GE.
As I walked in, a question-and-answer session was already going on. A woman walked up to the microphone and asked, "Is it always true that the customer is right?"
Jack smiled and said, "You might not think so, and they might think so, but if you don't make it so, you're dead!"
That's a pretty serious result, Jack is Dead. But let's face it. Who will come back to do business with you after you argue with them about how unhappy they are? Most people will probably just go somewhere else, I think.
Doesn't it make sense to let the customer complain and then fix the problem? Well, we usually just smile at the business owner and ask, "What would it take to make you happy today?" but what about our staff?
How will our employees react when a customer tells them, "The food was cold and tasted like crap!" if we haven't taken the time to teach them how to deal with unhappy customers? or "I only had it for three days before the wheel fell off!"
As part of their training, all employees who deal with customers should learn how to handle customer complaints as well as how to work the cash register or take an order. As the owner of a business, you've probably already thought about that. Is there something missing from this puzzle?
Power could be the piece that's missing. The worker can be taught to stay calm and not take complaints to heart. But what if they don't have the power to take action and fix the problem right away? What if you told them to come to get you if something goes wrong, but you are on your way to the bank to make a deposit?
Most of the time, an angry customer won't wait for you to come back.
This would mean that if your employee is not allowed to make a change or offer a compromise to make the customer happy, you would lose their business forever. What does it cost to bring in a new customer? How much does it cost to make them happy when they are unhappy? On paper, the difference is huge.
So, when new worker is being trained, they should be shown what they can do to make a customer happy when they are complaining. Most of the time, a quick answer to a problem is almost more appreciated than the actual solution.
We are all customers at some point in our lives, and I don't know about you, but when I am an angry customer, I am always right!
