Around Kansas City, you'll likely find some of the most loyal customers are those who frequent Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Nordstrom, Hyatt Place and O'Neill Honda along with a host of hair salons, restaurants and other establishments that are known for their superb customer service.
Other businesses in the metro that may have a disproportionate share of complaining customers should read Mark Thompson's and Brian Tracy's book, Now...Build A Great Business!
The authors explain in their book that even complaining customers can be turned into loyal customers:
- A customer who complains and receives a fast response will actually be more loyal to your company in terms of future sales and referrals than a customer who never complained at all.
However, a slow response to a customer complaint triggers fear and anger. "The customer is afraid that he is going to be stuck with a product that doesn't work and feels angry that he went ahead with the purchase in the first place," said Tracy.
The authors recommend you take these actions to deal with customer complaints:
- Respond quickly to all customer complaints.
- Refuse to defend or make excuses.
- Offer to make the customer happy immediately.
- Be open and honest in all your dealings with the customer.
- Assume anything you do or say will become public knowledge quickly.
- Tell the truth and tell it as soon as you know it.
- Resolve to build and maintain trust in everything you do.
And, if you are leading a sales team or a customer service team, empower your team members to take the above listed recommeded actions.
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