Techniques for Handling Customer Complaints Gracefully

Most of us realise that the businesses and service providers that we have dealings with are not perfect. Things can go wrong, a mistake may be made, and customer expectations may not be met, resulting in a complaint. It is not always the fact that a customer has cause to complain that is the real issue, it is often the way that that complaint is handled by the organisation’s customer service representative(s) that creates a poor customer experience. 

Effective complaints handling is essential for any customer-facing business or service provider whether in the private, public or third sector. Poor complaint handling may make an already difficult situation worse, and can cause worry and distress to the complainant. Poor complaint handling has a negative impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty, and it can impact an organisation’s financial viability through loss of customers and/or service users, or in the case of public or third sector organisations, loss of funding. 

Receiving negative feedback from customers can also damage the organisation’s reputation, particularly in a digital age where posting a negative review of an organisation, or posting about a negative experience of complaint handling, on social media can be seen by hundreds or thousands of potential customers, and this can drive away business, and even impact the organisation’s ability to recruit.

The statistics of customer satisfaction with complaint handling in some areas paints a very negative picture, for example:

• The Housing Ombudsman Service identified in its annual report that complaints handling was their second largest category of complaint and that they had a 76% maladministration rate.
• Annual statistics on how well train operating companies respond to complaints show that overall, 28% of respondents were satisfied with how the train operator handled their complaint in the latest year (1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024) meaning that 72% of respondents were dissatisfied.
• Only a quarter of customer problems in the UK got resolved by the organisations immediately, with an average of 15% of customer complaints being resolved within 24 hours.

However, overall, organisations’ handling of customer complaints and problems regarding the suitability of the goods and/or services they purchased had the highest average customer satisfaction rate, scoring 74.9 out of 100 in 2022.

Rather than being viewed negatively, complaints can be incredibly advantageous to an organisation and present an opportunity for improvements to products, services and/or policies and procedures within the organisation to increase customer satisfaction.

• 89% of customers are more likely to make another purchase after a positive customer service experience, and if an organisation’s customer service is excellent, 78% of customers will do business with them again after a mistake.
• Nearly three out of five customers report that good customer service is vital for them to feel loyalty towards a brand.
• 68% of customers say they are willing to pay more for products and services from a brand known to offer good customer service experiences.
• 56% of customers say their satisfaction with an organisation has been influenced by whether they felt it understood and cared for their personal situation and needs.

Being able to handle customer complaints gracefully and effectively is essential for organisations to maximise customer retention, maintain a good relationship with their customers and/or service users, and to improve and enhance the organisation’s reputation.

In this article we will explore effective techniques that customer service professionals can employ to manage complaints with professionalism and empathy.

Active Listening

When a customer has complained, it means that they want their unique problem to be heard. Active listening in customer service is the skill of being attentive and focusing on the customer’s needs and feedback. It can make all the difference between a successful customer service interaction and a negative one. Active listening involves fully engaging with customers and giving them your undivided attention. It is more than just hearing what the customer is saying; it involves truly understanding and empathising with their needs and concerns. 

Active listening helps in resolving customer issues effectively. By fully understanding the problem and successfully utilising active listening techniques, customer service professionals can reduce customer frustration by providing accurate solutions in a timely manner thereby increasing resolution rates. Active listening improves communication and builds trust. When customers’ concerns are fully listened to and taken seriously, they are more likely to trust the organisation and develop a long-term relationship.

Let’s look at some of the techniques involved in active listening:

• Active listening involves being present, avoiding distractions and focusing solely on the customer, whilst avoiding jumping in with judgements and/or advice.
• Smiling, maintaining eye contact and mirroring the other person are all signs of active listening and help to make the speaker feel valued.
• Look out for non-verbal indicators from the speaker. Their tone of voice, facial expressions or body language can often reveal more than words alone.
• Ask open questions to show interest, to clarify and to gain more insight, and to give people the freedom to express their views, feelings and thoughts fully in their own words.
• Empathise by putting yourself in the customer’s shoes, and showing them that you understand their frustrations and concerns.
• Paraphrase what you are being told to repeat back your understanding to ensure that you comprehend the customer’s concerns and confirm your understanding to avoid any miscommunication.
• Summarise the customer’s concerns in your own words and repeat them back to ensure you have understood correctly.

Here is an example of active listening in practice:

The customer contacted customer services by telephone to say that they were annoyed because the gift set that they ordered was expensive but arrived in flimsy packaging, leading to damage. 

The customer services representative apologised to the customer for not meeting their expectations, empathised with their disappointment, and thanked them for bringing the issue to their attention. They asked open questions to establish the extent of the damage and to ask the customer directly what they could do to make the situation right.

The customer stated that they would only accept a replacement if it could be guaranteed that the packaging would be substantial enough not to cause damage.

The customer services representative explained to the customer that the packaging issue might take time to resolve as it would need to be referred to another team. They established whether the customer would prefer to wait a few days for this to be sorted out, or whether they would prefer a full refund.

The customer opted in this instance for a refund.

The customer services representative apologised again and actioned the refund immediately whilst the customer was on the telephone. As a gesture of goodwill they agreed that the customer needn’t return the damaged product. They also thanked the customer for their feedback as it could be an opportunity to improve product packaging. Finally, they checked that the customer was satisfied with the solution. The customer was, and they stated that they would continue to give the organisation their custom as the issue had been sorted out so gracefully.

Showing Empathy

Acknowledging the customer’s feelings and emotions in any complaint situation is a crucial aspect of the communication process. The definition of empathy is the ability to understand what other people are feeling, to connect with those emotions, and to respond with compassion. 

Whether customers contact the organisation about a problem or complaint, the role of customer services is to make them feel heard, respected and understood. Empathy is a key part of resolving any customer problem or confrontation, and showing genuine empathy during the interaction is important to successfully build a rapport with customers and establish what actions would resolve the issue from their perspective. When a customer who is dissatisfied senses that you genuinely understand their frustration and care about their problem, then they will likely be more willing to work with you towards a solution. In this way, empathy will help to identify a solution to a problem.

Whether you are dealing with customers face to face, on the telephone or via letter/email, using empathy statements can be an effective way to demonstrate empathy. Examples of these empathy statements include:

• “I can imagine how upsetting it is to…”
• “I am so sorry to hear that…”
• “I realise how complicated that must have been…”
• “I can understand how frustrating it is when…”
• “I see the problem here….”
• “I really appreciate your patience….”
• “I’m sorry you had to face this…”
• “I would feel the same too in that situation”
• “You are right, it is frustrating when….”
• “I realise how difficult we have made things for you”

Here is an example of showing empathy in practice:

The customer contacted the local authority about yet another missed bin collection, although this was their first call to complain.

Customer: (frustrated) “I want to report yet another missed bin collection. It’s not good enough, we pay high council taxes and the council can’t even collect the bins. This is the height of summer and the bins will attract all kinds of vermin.”

Customer services representative: (empathetically) “I am so sorry to hear that your bin collection was missed, and I can appreciate how frustrating this is. Unfortunately, it is too late to arrange a missed collection for today as the collectors are all out on their rounds, but I understand that this is a potential health hazard so will arrange for a collection team to collect your bin tomorrow as a matter of some urgency. I really appreciate you raising this with me, as it is clearly not acceptable. Is this OK with you?”

Customer: (calmer) “Yes that’s fine, thank you.”

Customer services representative: “Thank you for reporting this.”

Remaining Calm and Professional

Every so often you will encounter demanding, angry and/or frustrated customers who think that as you represent the organisation then you are responsible for their situation. Stress and tempers can run high, but the key to defusing the situation and being able to offer solutions to customers’ issues is to remain calm and composed, maintaining your professionalism. It is all too easy to take customer criticisms and complaints personally, particularly when their frustrations are offloaded to customer services; however, you should remember that they are angry with the situation, not with you.

The situation is not personally your fault; however, it is your responsibility to address and fix the problem, as you are representing the organisation that you work for. It is your responsibility to fix that problem and turn the customer’s dissatisfaction into satisfaction. 

In many situations the customer isn’t always right; however, the objective of customer service interactions is to help to solve customer issues so that they feel satisfied with the solution offered. Actively listening intently to their views and perspectives with empathy and sticking with a calm, collected approach will help troubleshoot even the toughest complainant.

• As we have said, don’t take it personally; understand that most angry customers are not angry with you personally, but rather the situation in which they currently find themselves.
• Let them ‘vent’, as sometimes people just need to be heard. You can always do that. Don’t interrupt them, pay attention and clarify that you understand what they are saying to you. It helps to take notes. Let the customer get it all out before you propose a solution. Offer reflective comments to show that you have heard what their concerns are.
• Remain calm and focus on understanding the customer and the situation, and not reacting to their tone of voice, words or body language. Keep your voice and tone composed, and in face-to-face situations display open body language.
• Apologise for the situation – apologising does not mean that you are taking responsibility for the action, simply that you are sorry that this situation occurred. A well-meaning apology will recognise poor products or service, or recognise the customer’s dissatisfaction. Take responsibility where appropriate and provide reasons for failings, offer regret for a product or service that has fallen below the expected standard and offer a resolution or redress where appropriate.
• Empathise with them – empathy is essential to communicate in challenging situations. Use empathy phrases such as “I understand”, “I would have felt that way too”, “I can see why you are upset” so that the customer feels that they are being heard and that they are valued and respected.
• Find and propose a solution – you may or may not be able to do exactly what the customer wants you to; if you can, ensure that you action this as soon as possible. If you can’t, explain to the customer the reasons why, e.g. you can’t arrange another delivery for today, but offer an alternative remedy that will be a good fit for the customer and the problem.

You cannot stop a person from feeling angry, but these steps may help to make the person feel calmer and listened to, which is usually one of the goals of the complaint.

Resolving Issues Promptly

Customers want fast answers to their problems and complaints. Some of the biggest complaints about customer services are that customers are either kept on hold waiting for someone to deal with their issue, or that they are passed from pillar to post having to retell their problem to numerous people, or that they are promised a follow-up communication that never happens. 

Complaints are best resolved as soon as possible. Dealing with customer complaints in an efficient and timely manner prevents the issue from escalating, and the customer from becoming more frustrated and dissatisfied with the organisation.

Problem solving in customer service is so important, because it allows organisations to resolve customer issues in a satisfactory manner. After you have identified the root cause of the customer’s complaint, communicate with your customers and colleagues to set realistic expectations and deadlines for resolution. If you need time to investigate, to fully understand the issue and to find possible solutions to fix the problem, it is paramount that this is explained to the customer and that they are given realistic timeframes for updates. A customer should not have to chase for an update on how their complaint is progressing. You should always keep the customer fully informed about what is happening to resolve the problem, even if you don’t have a solution ready. Lack of communication will cause additional issues.

Resolving a complaint does not need to mark the end of your interaction with the customer; following up with the customer after the resolution of a complaint is important to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty. Contact the customer to ensure they are satisfied with how things were resolved. This step demonstrates your commitment to excellent customer service and allows for any additional concerns or feedback they may have.

Offering Solutions and Compromise

When handling customer complaints your objective must always be to resolve the customer complaint and to do this you will need to offer a solution. Ideally, you want to offer a solution which is a win/win scenario. This is achieved by turning the complaint into an opportunity and striving for a positive outcome. If you offer the right solution then you should be able to leave the customer satisfied. It is not a good idea to presume that the solution you think of is always going to be the right one for the customer, or for the organisation. You must make every effort to gauge the customers’ expectations. The best way to do this is to ask the customer for suggestions of what they believe would be a good resolution. 

Quite often as we have already highlighted, the dissatisfaction the customer feels is not from the original problem, but from the way that their complaint has been handled. The key to dealing effectively with complaints is to, where possible, try to put the complainant back in the position that they would have been had the fault/issue not happened. If you have found that something went wrong, what has been the impact on the complainant? That is what you need to try to put right.

You should take account of the complainant’s views, but you will need to exercise your own judgement, as any remedy should be appropriate and proportionate to the harm suffered. In complaint resolution there will be occasions when compromise on either or both sides may need to be reached. Compromising looks to find a solution that feels like a middle ground for all parties, for example “I am sorry that I cannot divert the delivery driver to redeliver today, if I arrange that your order is first on the delivery schedule tomorrow morning, will that be OK?” Compromise could be used when the type of complaint needs a quick response, or if you are looking for a short-term solution to a problem.

When using the compromising complaints resolution style, you need to be quick in determining what the middle ground is. When you have recognised what it is, wait until there is no longer an option of negotiating further. This is usually when the issue could become a lose/lose situation, for example, the customer states that they will do without the product/service and cancel their order. In this instance, both parties are going to lose. 

An example of a compromising complaints resolution style might be:

A hairdresser contacts the client to say that they need to change an appointment as the stylist is double booked. The salon explained that they had made their decision based upon who booked first.

Client: “This is really not acceptable, I booked this appointment ages ago and I am going to an event tonight so will not remake the appointment, I will cancel if my stylist can’t fit me in.”

Customer service representative: “I am so sorry that this has happened. I can understand how you must feel, it is important that you look and feel at your best for your event. I can arrange for another very qualified stylist to do your hair at the arranged time and would be happy to offer you a 20% discount; would this be acceptable to you?”

Client: “I don’t have time to find another salon, so OK.”

Customer service representative: “I’ve rebooked you in and look forward to seeing you this afternoon.”

The salon retained the client as they were happy with the compromise.

Closing on a Positive Note

On the successful resolution of the customer complaint, you should thank the customer for bringing the issue to your attention. Most complainants say that they make a complaint as they want to make sure what happened to them doesn’t happen to someone else. By thanking them it will reassure the customer that the same issue is less likely to happen again. By doing this you will:

• Build brand confidence
• The customer will very likely continue to buy your products and/or use your services in the future
• Even more importantly recommend your organisation to others

By thanking customers for bringing complaints to your attention you are also influencing how they feel about the situation as they will now feel as though they have been helpful and that you genuinely cared about their satisfaction. All of this will play a part in the lasting impression they have of you and your organisation. 

Organisations should use this experience to make a lasting change to the business’s processes and procedures to prevent this from happening again. Why was the customer unhappy and what can you do to prevent another customer from having the same negative customer experience? Your complaints process should help you to find the root causes of problems and make improvements to systems and processes where they haven’t worked properly. This can include changing policies and procedures or improving staff training.

A good customer relationship goes beyond simply providing a product or service; it involves creating a connection and fostering trust. Perversely, engaging with customers during a complaint is an opportunity to strengthen customer relationships as long as the customer’s experience of the process has been a positive one. 

Soliciting customer feedback demonstrates that an organisation values their opinions and wants to improve their products or services. Organisations should regularly ask customers for their feedback, particularly following a complaint encounter. They can do this through surveys, online reviews, or even a dedicated customer feedback portal. They should actively engage with this feedback by responding promptly, acknowledging customer input, and taking steps to address any issues raised.

Conclusion 

Handling customer complaints gracefully and effectively is a skill that holds immense importance in a wide range of occupations and industries. The ability to handle complaints with professionalism and empathy is crucial. It not only ensures customer satisfaction but also helps in maintaining a positive reputation for the organisation. 

When a customer is dissatisfied their immediate need is for someone to listen to their complaint. Sometimes just getting it off their chest can have a big effect on removing the anger and frustration they may have. When handling a customer complaint, it is important to:

• Remain calm and empathetic
• Listen carefully to the customer’s concerns and acknowledge their feelings
• Apologise for any inconvenience caused and assure them that their complaint will be addressed promptly
• Offer a solution or propose alternatives to resolve the issue
• Follow up with the customer to ensure their satisfaction and take steps to prevent similar complaints in the future
• Express gratitude for their feedback and provide an opportunity for them to provide further input
• Use feedback from complaints to make necessary changes to products, services or policies and processes

By employing these techniques, customer service professionals can turn challenging situations into opportunities to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.