Customer Service Information

Hit The Jackpot With Customer Complaints


Our most powerful instinct is to avoid customer complaints, but they may be the best thing that happens to your business. Here's why...

Marketing research shows that only 1 out 50 unhappy customers take the time to complain... to you. They are likely to let 11 of their friends in on the fact that they are unhappy, but don't feel comfortable letting you know. What happens to the 49 unhappy customers who don't complain? Besides griping to 11 friends and family members, they'll just change products or places of business.

Complaining Customers Are A Bonus

Let's forget about the fact that complaining customers aren't always polite or fun to deal with. What's really happening when they let you know that you didn't meet their expectations?

1. They are giving you the opportunity to fix the problem and keep them as customers.

2. Let you in on problems that may have turned 49 other customers away.

Encourage Complaints

Yeah, I know... I dread them too, but they are tools for growing your business. How easy is it for your customers to let you know they are dissatisfied with your product or service? Make it easy by...

1. Offering a toll-free complaint hotline.

2. Make customer satisfaction surveys available.

3. Send follow up postcards after the purchase.

4. Make a place on your Website for customer complaints.

The Unhappy Customer's Options

An unhappy customer can do one of four things:

1. Keep silent

2. File a lawsuit or report you to an government agency

3. Give you bad word-of-mouth advertising

4. Complain to you

Remember that your customers and clients know your businesses strengths and weaknesses much better than you do! They have first-hand experience to make their judgment from. When a customer takes the time to let you know what you need to improve you truly owe them a thank you! And don't forget... an unhappy customer that you turn into a happy customer becomes a loyal, life-long customer. Yeah, customer complaints pay off in the long run.

Copyright 2005 Cutts Group, llc

Who is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care? Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://www.AllynCutts.com and you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays.


MORE RESOURCES:

SEPTA's Improved Customer Service Allows Riders to Discover ...
MarketWatch - Nov 21, 2008
"The SEPTA Customer Service Department was kind, polite, knowledgeable and respectful...helping me to get the answers I needed about re-applying. ...


Gilbert Hospital Kicks Off New Customer Service SMILE Campaign
MarketWatch - Nov 21, 2008
"We developed this after determining our customer service satisfaction survey scores weren't exactly where we wanted them to be," said Ms. Ritchie, ...


Clients Praise SilverSword for Exceptional Customer Service
MarketWatch - Nov 21, 2008
The survey assessed overall client satisfaction along with their appraisal of response time, consultant image and customer service. ...


North American Retailers Underperforming in Customer Service ...
PR.com (press release), NY - 15 hours ago
OB), the leading provider of multichannel customer service and knowledge management software on-premise or on-demand, today published its 2008 international ...


Customer service expert is new Rackspace board member
Bizjournals.com, NC - Nov 21, 2008
Reichheld is a leading authority on customer loyalty and an author and frequent speaker on the subject. A Harvard graduate, Reichheld founded Bain’s Loyalty ...


Best Syndication

High Customer Service Ratings Draw Customers to CallCentric
Best Syndication, CA - 3 hours ago
One of the most important things to consider when choosing a VoIP provider is having great customer service and simplicity. CallCentric is careful to offer ...


Running and winning an effective customer service campaign
Record Journal, wa - 15 hours ago
One thing I’ve learned that holds true in any economic environment is a time-tested and cost-effective growth strategy: Make exceptional customer service a ...


Study Finds Companies Lacking in E-mail Customer Service
TMCnet - Nov 20, 2008
For others, it isn’t as easy to compete on price – but they may be able to get the edge they need with proper customer service. To study the retail sector’s ...


AT&T Tells Us Customer Service Critique Unfair
Dslreports - Nov 20, 2008
Yesterday we noted how AT&T was taking heat from Connecticut's Attorney General for poor customers service in the state, something local unions say is ...


Media Watch- Customer service
Billerica Minuteman, MA - Nov 21, 2008
I called customer service and explained the mix-up to the pleasant English-speaking woman on the phone. She put me on hold a couple of times while she was ...

Customer-Service - Google News

home | site map
© 2008