BLT 14-Mar: Complaints – how to turn them from criticisms to catalysts

Around the BLT table, we all agreed that complaints should be encouraged – after all, if you don’t know if it’s broken, how can you fix it? That doesn’t mean that every complaint is valid – serial complainers are becoming an issue nowadays, especially if you happen to be a large retail concern – but, by and large, it is best to hear about grumble before it becomes a full-blown rant!

Here are 3 ways to ensure that complaints become a catalyst rather than a criticism

Ever had a particularly poor meal in a restaurant, yet when asked by the waiter/waitress how the meal was, blurted out “Yes, lovely thanks!”…before grumbling to your partner that you’re never coming back here again?!

As Brits, we are particularly bad at complaining, so how do we find out what our customers really think?

An independent 3rd party can be a great ice-breaker when it comes to gathering customer feedback. It is often the small niggles which (left untreated over time) grow into major irritants, and are the biggest cause of losing customers.

EXAMPLE
A few years ago, I was involved with a Customer Research organisation. One of the products we offered was a detailed consultancy piece involving independent feedback (note: via Nobleword, I still offer an abridged, very affordable version – see Customer Pathfinder).

The beauty of this was that people would be far more apt to air their grievances / gripes / groans to a 3rd party than to their supplier. The irony was that these niggles were exactly what the client wanted to hear, but were perceived as negative feedback by the customers and hence withheld.

Here’s a brief overview of the issue:
• A cost-management firm had a school as a customer; i.e. in order to reduce its utility bills…etc.
• The client reported directly to the school’s board of governors.
• The report produced by the client had grown to well over 50 pages over time, since client thought this was what the customer wanted/valued
• However, when questioned directly, the governors only wanted a 2-page report with Action Points – they were close to terminating the contract.

* By mocking up an example of exactly what the school governors wanted to see and presenting this to the client as a template, the contract was saved and the client could utilise the template for other customers going forwards.

• This is the best time to gather both testimonials and honest feedback.

* In fact, because any ‘complaint’ is usaully  balanced by positive feedback, you are more likely to unearth those minor irritants which would otherwise remain dormant.

• This is the ultimate win:win – a positive testimonial (for external marketing purposes) combined with (if applicable) negative feedback (for internal strategic purposes).

Very few companies actively solicit exacting/difficult customers in order to demonstrate how their customer service goes way above and beyond the norm.

EXAMPLE
• I’ve written about Zappos before – an online US footwear company which has become the byword for customer service that goes way above and beyond the norm.
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