Call Waiting Say that complaining caller does reach the office. What then? “The question isn’t whether or not you get a complaint,” says Jake Jacobson, vice president of sales for Premier Window & Building, also based in Baltimore. “It’s how you handle it.” Premier, he says, gets about three such calls a week. Successfully managing customer complaints means resolving them in a way that benefits both customer and company. Bear in mind that you should:
Have a policy. Set up written guidelines for resolving product and service disputes.
Take action. Return the call within 24 to 48 hours. If you let it linger, anger will build.
Listen. Angry callers often simply want to vent. Give them their opportunity. Listen respectfully and let them know you’re listening.
Get the facts. Before taking action, retrieve the job file. “Anytime somebody calls,” Jacobson says, “go through the file to find out the history.” You may find, for instance, that this is the customer’s third complaint about that job.
Define the problem. When a client complains, for example, that the gutter you installed isn’t straight, verify immediately that other elements of the job are satisfactory. Were the shingles correctly installed? And the valley flashing? Sometimes, Fick points out, a customer complaint will grow exponentially unless you and the customer agree up front exactly what the problem is.
No apologies. Express regret for whatever happened, Jacobson advises, but don’t apologize. “As soon as you apologize, it’s your fault.”
Settle it in person. If you have the time, go to the house and speak to the homeowner in person.
Aim to Please Complaining customers often become your company’s biggest advocates. Sound farfetched? Last August a customer, hopping mad, called Premier Window. He had ordered 22 windows but only 21 had been delivered. Jacobson went to the house and assured the homeowner that the window would be there and would be installed. “That customer gave me a lead that I’m running on Saturday,” he says. And at Ohio Consolidated Builders, the gentleman who had Melinda Kirk in tears not only called to apologize but gave the company a referral that resulted in the sale of a window job and possibly a siding job later this year.
