By now you’ve probably come across some of the fun that can be had with Google’s autocomplete suggestions. I thought it might be interesting to try some terms around complaining.
Looks like bad news for bt:
Customers seem to have a crisis of confidence about their tendency to whinge…except when it comes to shoes.
Actually I was so intrigued by the shoes one that I had to Google it. It turns out to be a proverb – “I complained I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet”.
“Customer is” turned up both “always right” and “not always right”, so I decided to let Googlefight settle it once and for all. Looks like an easy win for “not”:
Which annoys me slightly, to be honest. Of course customers are not always right, but you can’t win an argument with a customer.
You have to let go of your ego, and the natural tendency to be defensive, if you want to handle irate customers well.
Much of the time you’ll find that, even if the customer was wrong, their mistake is understandable…i.e. your fault after all. Too many organisations have lousy processes which inevitably lead customers into trouble, and then react to a complaint by saying (not necessarily in so many words) “We’re sorry you’re too stupid to use our product”. Not an apology.
Start by assuming that the customer is a reasonable person, that the problem is your fault, and that a pleasant outcome is possible if you handle the situation well. Most of the time you’ll be proved right.
