Customer Service - Dealing with Challenging Customers

“Ask your customers to be part of the solution, and don’t view them as part of the problem.”

- Alan Weiss

The two most commonly stated reasons given by customers for changing suppliers are:

-       We felt poorly treated; and

-       Our “problems” were not resolved properly or in a timely manner.

Clearly the manner and effectiveness of handling customer complaints is crucial to keeping existing business and maintaining a good reputation in the market.

This practical course is designed to equip delegates with the confidence and skills to improve their handling of challenging customers, manage strong emotions, and actively deal with complaints, to ensure that a satisfactory resolution is achieved that increases customer retention and loyalty.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• All staff in a sales / customer service environment
• All staff dealing with challenging customers and customer complaints
• Customer Care Staff
• Managers, Supervisors and Team Leaders
• Account managers
• Business Owners

 HOW YOU WILL BENEFIT

• Increase customer loyalty by learning how to solve problems efficiently and with care
• Explore the importance of your role in handling challenging customers and customers complaints
• Learn to manage one’s own emotions when dealing with challenging customers
• Establish a stronger competitive advantage as you demonstrate a commitment to your customers by managing their strong emotions with empathy and helpfulness, and finding a solution to their complaint
• Avoid reputational damage to your organisation
• Explore the advantage of learning from customer complaints, to enhance experience for customers.

 WHAT WILL BE COVERED

• The value of a customer complaints management system
• Understand customer expectations and origins of complaints
• Understand why customers become angry or upset when expectations have not been met
• Identify the problem, the origin and assess the level of severity of the complaint
• Manage yourself when dealing with complaints and strong emotions such as anger and distress
• Key considerations of how to prioritise customer needs
• Importance of keeping customer informed and documenting to keep track of complaints
• Escalating complaints through a defined complaint management process
• Techniques to defuse anger and other emotional responses
• Agreeing and committing to an appropriate course of action to solve the customer’s problem
• Implementing a solution to the customer's complaint
• Communication and follow up with all stakeholders
• Providing practical business solutions
• Utilise learning from customer feedback to enhance customer experience