From complaint to loyalty

What comes into your mind when you talk about complaints?  Is it that it’s going to take time and energy, there will be some allocation of blame, conflict and usually someone having to lose out of the whole scenario?

This shouldn’t be the case, should it?  We don’t go out of our way to get things wrong, sometimes it just happens.  No one and no company is perfect so there are bound to be complaints.  However when we receive them, the most important element is to take ownership of the situation and recover them quickly.  And this is where we often fail.  Too many customers are given the run around, not taken seriously or are dealt with in a ‘one of many’ way.  Communications don’t relay the information in a way that customers understand which then means the cycle becomes more elongated than necessary.

Although complaints can tarnish an organisation’s reputation, they also create opportunities.  They present us with a chance to improve and produce better services for our customers.

Outline of the workshop

  • Complaints from a customer’s point of view
  • The importance of ownership and understanding without judgement
  • The five step approach to managing complaints
  • Problem solving and conflict management techniques
  • Writing letters that convey your message professionally
  • The compensation principle

Benefits

  • To understand the journey that customers take when they complain and your role as the service provider
  • To recognise the difference between understanding where the customer is coming from and agreeing with them
  • The importance of building rapport and trust while managing complaints to build longer term loyalty
  • To use tools and techniques that aid problem solving and diffuse conflict
  • To write letters that are understood by your audience using positive and active language to portray your message

Who should attend

  • Anyone managing the interaction between customers and the organisation.