Ideally, customers would never have a bad experience with your contact center. But it happens – and if you do this, they’ll still come back.
More than 90% of customers in a RightNow survey said they’d be willing to do business with a company after a negative experience if:
- a manager or executive apologized for and/or corrected the problem
- anyone offered them a discount, or
- the company showed them how customer service would be improved.
So when customers report problems, complain, express disappointment or if you sense they’re not satisfied, it’s important to act quickly – before they even think about leaving. Take these steps:
- Apologize. “I’m sorry …” will stop them long enough to see what you’ll do next.
- Fix it. Give them options, and allow them to pick the solution.
- Pass it on. Forward the complaint or notes on the situation to a manager or executive who can send another apology. Even a scripted response is better than none.
- Follow up. Let customers know how you used the situation to improve Service and operations.