Customers.

DrumSteve

....or how should the public deal with you.(it could be called either.)

As part of my own job i would state i deal with the public on a daily basis. Now as part of that i resolve customers issues for them.

As part of this industry i would just like to give some advise to customers if they want to get their issues resolved. Please do not shout and roar and scream and make threats. That only makes us not want to help you.

We do understand if your pissed off or frustrated however everything would be better if you treated us like human beings instead of pieces of crap.

I would also say if say that sometimes making the request in writing is a bit better as it comes as the points can be dealt with 1 by 1.

Do any of my fellow workaholics have any advice on how to help customers get their complaints resolved easier for all involved?

whippet

it's a long time since I had to deal with consumers, but I had a very simple way of dealing with issues / complaints / problems etc ...

Let the customer rant, rave, waffle, accuse as much as they want initially. Say nothing, nod your head ... customer like to talk, to be heard and even if you have no notion of taking anything they are saying seriously at least listen (or appear to listen) to it.

When they are finished and got their frustration off their chest, pick out the important bits of information that they have given you.

- actual times, dates, confirmed problems etc.

Give this information back to the customer in a rational nice mannerly way, in effect getting the customer to agree to the version of events as you have presented them, not their embelished consumer way.

Sympathise with the customer, make them feel special, then offer them a solution if one exists. Explain why this solution is what you can offer or why you can't offer anything more.

If they insist on something more than what you can offer, explain in the nicest possible way that you are not in a position to offer anything more and if they still feel agrieved they will have to deal with your superior. Let that be at a later date, in writing or what ever method is preferred.

Always, always give the impression that you are doing everything possible.

Generally this apeases most normal folk, but then there is the small minority that like to stamp their feet and shout and roar.

Make a golden rule, the first time a customer swears at you, end the conversation, say simply, 'I can not continue speaking with you while you are using that type of language' .. Hang up or walk away. Most will come around the first time, but even the most obnoxious will get the hint after the second or third time the phone is hung up.

At this stage you will have a calmer more mannerly customer to deal with as they know that contact will be cut should they get agressive or rude.

Jev/N

Rule 1 (for both parties): stop generalising

Ste.phen

There's a great thread in Ranting & Raving that covers this issue in hilarious detail

DrumSteve

ah yes the cries of retail. I tried to aim for something different with this thread i.e. Tips for customers on how to deal with staff to get the required result.

krudler

approach the issue like an adult instead of a 5 year old who isnt getting their own way for a start.

Launching into a tirade against whatever the problem is on some poor worker who just answered a call and has never dealt with you before wont get you anywhere.

STOP SHOUTING, it wont make whoevers trying to help you go out of their way to do it, nice people get much further than screamy dickheads.

jd83

Dont work in customer support really anymore. But when i did and someone would start off a call shouting and roaring my level of helpfulness would just go way down. I also hate when they ring back saying you offered them something at a different price than you actually did quote them or make up lies about how you acted during the call. When i first started working in customer support i didnt like the way they record you calls and use them for reviews etc. But have to say its great when you prove some braindead customer wrong by playing their call back to them and let them listen to what type of rude obnoxious creeps they really are. End rant.

If you are nice on the phone or even just speak the person on the other end like a human being you will end up getting your problem resolved quicker.

Agent_99

WHO ARE THEY??, When someone tells you something that you what to use in the future get their name!!

It's no point coming back 3 weeks later and starting a rant stating "They said"

keep a record of calls, names and what was said!!

foggy_lad

My advice to customers with problems is write to the company. They can ignore calls as some companies only have call centres to comply with legal obligations but few will ignore a letter detailing problems as it makes them look bad.

Greyfox

Agent_99 wrote: »

WHO ARE THEY??, When someone tells you something that you what to use in the future get their name!!

It's no point coming back 3 weeks later and starting a rant stating "They said"

keep a record of calls, names and what was said!!

+100 on this

Theirs no point saying some girl told me this or that as if you don't know who you were talking to a lot of the time this is the same thing as the conversation not taking place.

As it's been said already rule no.1 is to not shout, I had a guy shout "I want to speak to your managers manager" and threaten to go to Joe Duffy yesterday, I took great pleasure going out of my way to be as unhelpful as possible with him, if he had of been nice I did have the power to get his issue resolved quite quickly

Generally I agree with requesting things in writing but letters need to be addressed to somebody, addressing it to "to whom it concerns" or "Dear Sir/Madam" sometimes means letters get put onto somebodys desk while their busy doing other things, then they put this into their drawer and then other things are put into this drawer and the letter gets lost. This is why when your cancelling something you should ALWAYS make sure you get confirmation that your service has been cancelled

Getting a name and an agreed timeframe/resolution is very important. If I was calling a Telecom company for example and they told me it would be sorted tuesday morning I'd call back tueday afternoon/evening if it was not done, if they say 2 weeks I'd call back in 2 weeks if it was not done, this works because it tells the person dealing with your issue that although their unbelievably busy they cannot fob you off and that they need to make your issue a priority. I don't recommend hounding people as you'll likely be put on hold a lot or passed around due to their being no update on your issue but if you give people time to deal with your issue and within reason regularly call for updates it will speed things up, also people should always make sure their speaking to the right department

thefinalstage

Ste.phen wrote: »

There's a great thread in Ranting & Raving that covers this issue in hilarious detail

Linkage? I cant find the R&R forum

the_syco

I've gone out of my way to help nice people, including ringing them back, or staying on the line for a few minutes after I've "officially" finished work. Even sent out an old OEM cd as the next shipment may never come (product was discontune).

I've gone out of my way to make someones life miserable if they're being a cúnt, up to and including:
let the entire team know they're a cúnt
ensure they don't get any goodwill
ensure they get the most basic of help
ask the warehouse to take lots of photos of their machine, and let the warehouse know they're dealing with a cúnt
don't offer alternatives that would make their life easier

=-=

If they ask for my name, I give my first name. They don't need to know my second name, nor do I have to give it to them (under UK law, anyhoos). Had a few threats of "I'll be waiting outside for you", which I tend to laugh at... :cool:

DrumSteve

thelastangryman wrote: »

Linkage? I cant find the R&R forum

click my sig! :-)

thefinalstage

DrumSteve wrote: »

click my sig! :-)

I just requested access, thanks bro

DrumSteve

thelastangryman wrote: »

I just requested access, thanks bro

no worries