It's normal for e-commerce businesses to handle complaints related to product delivery. It's part of the package. When your business is about delivering products to different people, you can expect some issues along the way. These are some useful tips to handle complaints efficiently.
Listen attentively
The first thing you need to do is to listen. Show that you acknowledge the issue by repeating the statement. You can also clarify information if you didn't understand it. Some customers already feel good about having someone listen to them. Avoid being too defensive. Sometimes, that attitude will turn off these customers. They want someone who can listen attentively and make sure that they don’t immediately get dismissed.
Learn to apologize
While some complaints aren't legitimate, some of them are. Therefore, you need to learn how to apologize. In doing so, you prevent these people from running away from your business. Your apology is also an acknowledgement of the problem. Some customers may decide to stay and purchase products from your store in the future. Make sure that your apologies don’t have legal repercussions. If they do, you need to consult with your legal team first. Otherwise, you can be in trouble.
Provide solutions
Customers want to know that the business is doing something to address the needs. You have to be honest about what you're doing to solve the problem. If it's not the first time that someone raised a complaint, you can also mention it. If the problem is about the late arrival of the order, you can discuss the partnership with a fulfilment company like www.cannonpacking.co.uk/fulfilment. Inform your customers that you already changed partners and they can expect better services in the future.
Highlight the company policy
If you have a policy related to the complaints raised, try to review it first. Companies usually have return and refund policies that everyone signed up for. When the customers decided to purchase the products, they also agreed to the terms. If they raise the issues during the phone call, you can highlight the company policy. However, you have to be diplomatic in saying it. Otherwise, they might think that you don't care. Sometimes, these rules are too rigid, and others believe they're unfair. Worse, no one reads the policies before signing up. You can’t blame them if they didn’t know what the policies are.
Do better than promised
During the initial phone call, you can say that you will look into the problem and solve it. However, when it’s time to deliver, you can go beyond what you promised. For instance, if you said that you would replace the damaged order, you can include more items. It will surprise the customer. Going beyond expectations is always a good thing to do.
Return the call if you promised
There are times when you can’t immediately respond to the request. You don’t know what the policies are, or your representatives aren’t sure about it. Once there’s a promise to return the phone call, you have to do it. You should also avoid letting the customer hold on the line for a long time. It can be annoying. You also know how it feels if you tried calling other companies for their services. You don’t want anyone to go through that process.
Responding to complaints can make or break the business. If you continue giving people what they deserve, they will stay loyal. Otherwise, they will look for other businesses that can deliver better results. They will also jump ship if the other choices have excellent customer service.