How to Take Care of Angry or Upset Customers and Clients

Here is our LEAR System.

Listen and don’t interrupt. When people are upset they practice what they are going to say. And they practice it from the beginning. If you interrupt, they are going to start all over again. So... don’t interrupt. Obviously, if the customer is getting loud and unruly you may need to quietly interrupt. But, in almost all cases, DON’T INTERRUPT!

Empathize with something like, “I can understand why you’re upset. I would be upset too.” or, “I’m really sorry that happened to you.”

Ask. “What can I do to make you happy?” It doesn’t get much easier than that.

Resolve - Unless the customer’s request is absolutely ridiculous, DO IT! But what if the customer asks for something ridiculous? What if what the customer wants is totally out of line? The clerk should then be trained to refer the situation to a manager with something like, “Let me see what I can do. I’ll be right back.” And then find an empowered manager (more on that in future issues). In order to use the LEAR System effectively you need to empower your front line people with your “Make You Happy Guarantee”. I believe “Make You Happy” is the best and least costly guarantee for your business.

Here’s our Make You Happy Guarantee. “When a customer has a problem, TMSrs are trained to ask What can I do to make you happy? In 31 years we have never refused a customer’s request to make it right.”

Does this mean we’ll do anything? Just about, but my guess is that some day someone will ask for something so outrageous that we don’t do it. Then we won’t be able to say “in 31 years we’ve never refused a customer’s request to make it right.”

I’ve given my seminar, How To Compete With The Mass Merchandisers, to a few different organizations. Each time I ask retailers if any have a guarantee similar to ours. In each seminar a few people raise their hands. Then I ask them how the guarantee works. Every person, every time answers, “Great!”.

Then I ask each of these retailers with the What Can I Do To Make You Happy Guarantee, “How often do people ask for more than what you would be willing to give them?” The answer is “almost never” or “never”!

If people never, or almost never ask for more than you would be willing to give them, why ask them to jump through hoops, or talk to a manager to give them what they want?