DEALING WITH UPSET CUSTOMERS AND COMPLAINTS 1. Look at this list of things that customers complain about.

Which three things annoy you the most as a customer? Compare answers with a partner. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. Being put on hold when you call somebody Having to wait before someone answers your call Being transferred many times when you call Unhelpful staff Tech support agents with little or no knowledge of their products and services Not enough staff to help customers Receiving too much junk mail or advertising

2. Read this email from a customer service manager to her staff. Work with a partner to write an action checklist for the meeting. Hello everyone, Recently we have been getting a lot of complaints from customers who are annoyed of with the quality of our customer service. Here are just three of the comments we've received. 'I had a problem with one of your products. When I told the salesperson about it, he was arrogant and acted like my problem was stupid and unimportant. He even suggested that the problem was my fault.' 'The person on the phone didn't even listen to what I was saying, I had to repeat myself two or three times. The she just said, 'Well that's our company policy. I can't do anything about it.' She didn't even apologize!' 'I realize I was angry and perhaps spoke sharply, but the agent didn't have to yell at me. He told me it wasn't his fault, and that I should speak to the person who made the mistake, not him.' At our next staff meeting, I want to discuss our complaints policy and how we can improve our customer care. I would like you all to make an action check list on how to improve the way we handle customers, and present your ideas at the meeting.

3. Here are some of the ideas presented at the meeting. Work with a partner to decide whether they belong to the do or don't list. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Let the customers show their anger. Say the problem was the customer's fault. Tell the customer there's nothing you can do. Listen carefully to the details of the problem. Push the customer to accept your point of view Take the customer's anger as a personal criticism Offer a more expensive product or service to replace the first order. Summarize and make sure the customer agrees to the plan of action

4. Three customers are making complaints. Complete the table. complaint Bank Airport Shop response

5. Listen again and complete these sentences from the dialogues. Bank 1. I'm _ to _ that. 2. What _ to be the _ ? 3. First of all, _ _ _ for the poor service Airport 1. We've got a lot of people in the same position _ _ , but don't worry. 2. _ _ we'll _ _ _ . 3. So, _ _ _ _ _ _ . Shop 1. It _ that our shop assistant made a _ . 2. I'll be happy to _ your money. 3. That's no _ . I'll _ _ to help you.

6. How to soften bad news In problems and complaints we often soften bad news by using phrases such as I'm afraid (that) we've made a mistake. It seems (that) there has been a mix-up with your order. It appears (that) they forgot to enclose the instructions. There seems/appears to be a misunderstanding We can also combine these phrases with the passive tense to acknowledge the problem without saying who exactly made the mistake. It seems/appears (that) the order was not handled promptly enough. I'm afraid (that) a mistake has been made.

7. Write a customer-friendly statement for each situation. Use phrases from above. 1. You're wrong. Our information is right, not yours. (seems/misunderstanding)

2. It wasn't my colleague's fault that you didn't get the order. (afraid/mix-up)

3. The agent didn't put some of the parts in the shipment. (appears/include)

4. I didn't get your email, so it's obvious that you didn't send it. (seems/get through)

5. You won't get the order this week. (afraid/delay)

6. That's a mistake, but it's your fault, not mine. (appears/mistake)

8. What is wrong with these answers to a customer's complaint? How do you think the customer would react in each case? 1. 'I don't really deal with that. That's not my department.' 2. 'Well, I've never done that before, but I'll try it and see what happens.' 3. 'We can't help you with that. We don't carry that product here.' 4. 'I don't know.' 5. 'We don't give refunds - as soon as you leave the store, it's yours.'

9. Look at these more effective answers. Match them with 1-5 above. a. We have an exchange policy, but I'm afraid we don't give refunds. So, please make your selection carefully before buying. Could I help you decide which product is the best for you? b. I could give you some general advice, but it's better if you speak to my colleague. He is the specialist in this area. May I transfer you to him? c. I'm really not certain about that, but I'll find out for you. I'll ring you back by 4 p.m. today. Is that OK? d. I'm afraid this isn't something we carry. I can recommend that you contact T&C. I'm sure that they carry that product. e. That sounds like something we could do for you, but I need to make sure. May I ask my manager about it and call you back?

10. Complete the dialogue about a problem-solving situation in a hotel with phrases from the list. Then listen to check your answers. Excuse me make sure Guest Receptionist Guest I can see how seems to be I'd be glad straight away I'd like to say understand inconvenienced Would you mind

_ _ , I have a complaint about your hotel. Oh, you look very troubled. What _ _ _ the problem, madam? Well, we're regular guests at your hotel, but I'm about to change my mind about ever staying here again! The service is terrible. I've had to ring housekeeping every day to ask them to clean my room. My company pays good rates for me and my colleagues to stay at your hotel, so a dependable cleaning server is the least we expect! First of all, _ _ to say how sorry I am. _ _ _ this must have ruined your stay with us. So, if I _ you correctly, you had to phone each day to get your room serviced? That's right. _ _ _ giving me some details? If I could just have your name and your room number and what time you called and who you spoke to exactly

Receptionist

Guest Receptionist

Receptionist Ms Jones, I'll speak to housekeeping _ _ . I want to _ _ this never happens again. Since you've been so _ by this incident, _ _ _ to offer you two free nights for your next visit at our hotel. In fact, I'll give you a voucher right now. You can use it any time you wish. Oh, that's just great! I am so glad that we could work this out. We do want to keep coming back here.

Guest

11. How did the hotel receptionist deal with the problem? First complete the statements with the correct actions from the list. Then write down the phrases she used. apologized offered compensation asked for more information repeated listened took action

What the receptionist did: She _ to the guest carefully. She _ after hearing the guest's story. She _ the problem back to the guest. She _ about the problem. She _ to help the guest straight away. She _ for the guest's trouble.

What the receptionist said:

12. The importance of information You don't want customers complaining over and over again about the same problem. Make sure you ask for as many details as possible to deal with every complaint effectively. Show the customer your intention to take care of the whole problem, not just bits and pieces. This is key to customer satisfaction.

Dialogues Dialogue 1 Customer Excuse me. I'd like to make a complaint.

Bank manager Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. What seems to be the problem? Customer Your bank service is just awful. I was here last week to take care of some banking. The line was very long since there was only one teller. I asked a bank employee to bring in another teller, but he said they were too busy with more important work. So it took me over an hour to get my business done. I'm going to change to the Clyde Bank!

Bank manager First of all, let me apologize for the poor service and unhelpful member of staff. It seems that you went through a terrible time getting your business done. Why don't you come into my office where we can talk without any interruptions ? Dialogue 2 Customer Excuse me, I've just noticed the flight to Manchester's been cancelled. Is there anything you can do? I've got to be there by 10 tomorrow. It's really important. I use your airline all the time. Is there anything you can do? Go via London or something? We've got a lot of people in the same position I'm afraid, but don't worry, I'm sure we'll sort something out. So, let's see what we can do.

Airline agent

Dialogue 3 Customer Excuse me, I bought this jumper at your shop yesterday. When I got home, I looked at the receipt and saw that you had overcharged me ten euros.

Floor manager Oh, I'm so sorry. It appears that our shop assistant made a mistake. I'll be happy to refund your money. Customer Actually, I've also decided that the jumper is not really the right colour, so I'd like to exchange it for something in red or yellow.

Floor manager That's no problem. I'll be glad to help you.