As an electrician, I had a customer call me up for service on his generator. When I explained to him that I would schedule him for the next week, he got upset. He wanted me out to his house immediately.
His response was just complaints. I just had to listen. He called his generator a piece of junk and said things like what good is it. Once he finished venting and calmed down, he was open to my suggestions.
I listened. I reassured him. I gave him possible scenarios to his problem. I scheduled an appointment for the following week. Listening was the first step. If I would have started arguing with the guy when he was complaining to me, one of us would have hung up. When I offered suggestions, he knew I was serious and that I was willing to work with him.
Listen to your customers. What are they saying? Are they just venting or do they need an immediate response? Sometimes you can handle it over the phone. Sometimes a service call is needed. Sometimes an email will suffice. You must determine what is the right response to turn that unhappy customer into a happy one.
How did you handle that angry customer when they called?
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