{"id":1284,"date":"2014-05-16T16:24:11","date_gmt":"2014-05-16T20:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationaltransaction.com\/credit-card-merchant\/?p=1284"},"modified":"2014-05-16T16:24:11","modified_gmt":"2014-05-16T20:24:11","slug":"handling-customer-service-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationaltransaction.com\/credit-card-merchant\/handling-customer-service-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Handling Customer Service Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Customer<\/a>

Credit: Flickr<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

As much as you’d like to hope that no one will ever be unhappy with your product or service, you’re almost guaranteed to encounter at least a few customers who are less than fully satisfied. Where there are customers, there are complaints.<\/p>\n

As consumers increasingly air their grievances about brands on social media, the focus has turned to the way those brands respond to customer complaints, especially in a public forum. Knowing what to do in this situation makes all the difference when it comes to re-earning a customer’s business and what he or she tells others about your company.<\/p>\n

Great service is about getting your customers to trust you and count on a consistent experience, but that doesn’t mean you’re always going to be perfect. In a crisis, you can elevate your stature with how well you handle the situation. A negative experience can be the best time to show your value.<\/p>\n

Great service has to come from the top. Lower level employees aren’t going to be inspired and motivated unless they see their\u00a0leader providing exceptional service.<\/p>\n

No matter which person on your team is responsible for handling customer relations, it’s imperative that you embody excellent service as the head of the company as well.<\/p>\n

If faced with negative customer experience follow these steps to resolve the issue and regain customer’s trust.<\/p>\n

Acknowledging the problem –\u00a0<\/strong>Customer is always right classic customer service clich\u00e9. While it may in fact, turn out to be a misunderstanding, the worst thing you can do is dismiss a customer who tells you he or she had a problem with your business.<\/p>\n

Apologizing for it –\u00a0<\/strong>Once you’ve acknowledged the customer’s issue, apologize for it and ask what you can do to help. Gather the facts about the situation and determine a course of action from there.<\/p>\n

Taking action –<\/strong> \u00a0<\/b>Saying you’re going to fix a problem is one thing, actually doing it is another. Make sure you honor your commitment to take care of the customer’s complaint. If you can’t correct the problem, offer a coupon or voucher as a way to ask the customer for another chance.<\/p>\n

Follow up –\u00a0<\/strong>When you’ve done what you promised to do, follow up with the customer to make sure that your solution was satisfactory.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As much as you’d like to hope that no one will ever be unhappy with your product or service, you’re<\/p>\n

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