{"id":944,"date":"2011-10-07T20:41:19","date_gmt":"2011-10-07T12:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shirleytaylor.com\/blog\/?p=944"},"modified":"2011-10-07T20:45:59","modified_gmt":"2011-10-07T12:45:59","slug":"could-you-win-an-oscar-at-handling-complaints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shirleytaylor.com\/blog\/could-you-win-an-oscar-at-handling-complaints\/","title":{"rendered":"Could You Win an Oscar at
Handling Complaints?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What makes a movie bad? Many elements can affect the quality of a movie, but they all boil down to one thing: if the audience doesn’t believe enough to get carried along, it’s a bad film.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

What is the one thing that is guaranteed to annoy an angry customer even more? When they don’t believe you are handling their complaint sincerely – when they don’t believe in you.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Improving the script<\/strong><\/o:p><\/p>\n

A bad script can’t be saved by any actor regardless of their star quality. Likewise, you have to get the words right in your response to a complaint. That means being sincere. Old-fashioned language makes you sound formal and consequently insincere, so watch out for words and phrases like: ‘We humbly<\/strong> apologise’, ‘Kindly<\/strong> accept our apologies’, and ‘In reference to<\/strong> your letter’. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

If you are not specific you are also showing that you are not sincere about helping the customer. What about ‘We apologise for any inconvenience caused<\/strong>’? It’s a stock phrase that says ‘I haven’t bothered to understand your problem so I am putting in a blanket statement in case you are upset.’ It says ‘I don’t care.’ To show that you understand, be specific.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Going beyond the script<\/strong><\/o:p><\/p>\n

When an actor gets a script, they have to go beyond the words and get to the feelings behind the words. That is what makes us believe in them. So, when you are handling a complaint, you really have to get to the feelings behind what the customer has written and address those feelings in your response. Think about how you would feel if the same things that happened to your customer had happened to you. Use empathy to show the customer that you understand how they might have felt. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Owning the role<\/strong><\/o:p><\/p>\n

When we love the way an actor has performed we say that they owned the role. Likewise we have to own the role too when we respond to a complaint. This means we need to take responsibility. Passive sentences like ‘Your complaint is being dealt with<\/em>.’ do not say who is doing what and consequently leave the customer wondering whether anyone is doing anything. To assure the customer that something really is being done, and that you do care about their issue, you need own it. That means using phrases like ‘I have passed your feedback on to John in the IT department<\/em>.’<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Getting it right on the first take<\/strong><\/o:p><\/p>\n

Actors in movies can try again and again to get a scene right, but we have to get it right the first time every time. That’s why it’s critical that we really concentrate on handling every complaint we get sincerely.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Just remember to use modern language, be specific, recognise feelings and take ownership. If you do that, you could be well on your way to winning Best Customer Service at the next Oscars!<\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Don't miss this fabulous workshop conducted by Andy Gurnett: Writing Back to Customers Effectively.
\n\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks to Andy Gurnett for allowing us to reproduce this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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