Got an unhappy customer? AWESOME!!

Why is it AWESOME?

Because this is a chance to win them back, and strengthen your company at the same time! Your business relies on consumer confidence and positive reviews, so it’s important to take extra care when one of your customers is unhappy. It can be difficult to win back a customer who has had a bad experience but don’t worry – there are steps you can take to turn the situation around and make them one of your biggest fans.

Here’s how you can win back an unhappy customer in 5 easy steps:

1. First and foremost, listen! Ask questions and really try to understand what went wrong from their point of view. Don’t make excuses or dump your problems on them, “I know my staff member is difficult to deal with…” That demonstrates that you are willing to put up with bad behaviour, and reflects poorly on you.
2. Ask them to explain what happened in detail. Write it down, email it to them, “Is this an accurate reflection of what happened?”
3. Apologize unreservedly for their unsatisfactory experience with genuine sincerity. A simple apology goes a long way in restoring consumer confidence in your business. Nobody does everything right all the time, so it’s ok to say, “Yes we blew it”, if that was the case.
4. Explain your plan of action to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
   • “I had to let that person go.”
   • “I explained to our staff that it’s important to do exactly the work that we quoted.”
   • “We put a new policy in place and explained it to all of our staff.”
   • “All our service vans now carry an EXTRA wobble nut just in case.”
5. Do something that asks for forgiveness in a way that is visible to all their staff. Send over a pizza on a Friday afternoon, send a gift certificate, take them to lunch. Drop by with a box of Tim’s coffee, there’s so much you can do.
6. 5a – Bonus!! Tell them what a valuable lesson they’ve taught you. “I’m so glad that you brought this to my attention, and we can deal with it -this is AWESOME.” They could have walked away mad, and been a lifetime complainer, telling all their friends and family what a lousy experience they had – that is definitely not awesome.

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