Mark Murrell offers tips on how to turn around an unhappy customer.
You’re always going to get the good, the bad and the ugly when something goes wrong with a customer. Thankfully, it’s almost always the good, even when things go south. With just about every obstacle, an opportunity awaits.
(PRWEB) September 13, 2013
All good businesses need help and often provide training and mentoring to employees to hone skills in handling customer needs and complaints. And while many workers who interface with customers regularly are willing to admit they have moments when they feel clueless in their roles as mediator during customer complaints, those who ask for help when they need it learn that there is almost always a way to turn around a negative attitude—at least that’s what business owner Mark Murrell has found.
“You’re always going to get the good, the bad and the ugly when something goes wrong with a customer,” says Mark. “Thankfully, it’s almost always the good, even when things go south. With just about every obstacle, an opportunity awaits.”
Mark is quick to admit that his business makes mistakes. Shipping live lobsters overnight to every corner of the United States from Maine requires precision and relying on a multitude of variables—many over which he has no control. He sees the nature of his business as a perfect breeding ground for learning valuable lessons in customer-related business issues.
Mark offers five steps to what he believes are the most effective ways of turning an unpleasant and complicated business interaction into an opportunity for customers first and businesses second:
1. Remain calm. Intensifying your tone to match an irritated customer’s tone leads to a complete breakdown in communication. The end goal is to diffuse the situation and shift the customer’s dissatisfaction to satisfaction.
2. Listen. “The worst thing you can do is interrupt someone who isn’t happy,” says Mark. “Allow the person to voice the complaint and wait for the final pause in communication before you begin to send the message that you understand. Sometimes I just have to check my ego at the door.”
Mark adds that one of the biggest complaints he has relative to employees is that they can be too quick to jump in and start to defend.
3. Engineer the right solution. Asking the customer what can be done to correct the problem is the first step toward finding a solution. If the customer’s proposal isn’t possible, work toward finding a compromise.
“Be willing to admit you’ve made a mistake and try to get beyond the regret that the mistake will cost you money,” says Mark. “It’s up to you, the person representing the business, to find a solution that both parties agree to that will cost the least amount of money.”
4. Follow up with the customer. Depending on the situation, this can be done over the phone or sending an email or postcard. Communicating with the customer after the dust settles sends a strong message that you are committed to finding a resolution.
5. Know when to let go of a no-win situation with a customer.
“There are a sorry few individuals out there who really do make it part of their life mission to complain,” says Mark. “You have to know how to identify those people quickly and do your best to deploy your exit strategy, working all the while to do enough damage control to exit the situation graciously. You’ve succeeded in that if you haven’t stooped to that customer’s level.”
Like any job, employees who are charged with working directly with customers need to understand the duties and responsibilities that go along with it. Mark has become an expert in identifying who those people are and aren’t.
“Most of the unproductive issues we face with customers stem from either the mistakes that inevitably happen in a business operation or simple, resolvable communication glitches,” he says. “The big picture of excellent customer service lies in the actions and practices that lead to a positive lifetime relationship with customers.”
The value of these actions is seen in the level of success Mark’s business continues to achieve.
About GetMaineLobster.com-Black Point Seafood
Mark Murrell is the founder and owner of GetMaineLobster.com and Black Point Seafood, online lobster and seafood overnight delivery services specializing in transporting live Maine lobsters, Maine lobster tails, authentic at-home Maine lobster bakes, and lobster and seafood prepared meals throughout the United States.
GetMaineLobster.com-Black Point Seafood is one of three businesses selected out of the four million Chase serves to be represented in its 2013 national advertising campaign.
To learn more about Mark Murrell and his online businesses, contact Rose Mulligan at rrmulli@yahoo.com, or log on to GetMaineLobster.com, BlackPointSeafood.com, and JustAddLobster.com.