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Can Customer Service Software Help Turn the Angry Customer Into Happy Advocate?

TMCnews Featured Article


June 29, 2015

Can Customer Service Software Help Turn the Angry Customer Into Happy Advocate?

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor


What is your process for handling poor customer reviews? Do you take them down off your site? Do you argue with the individual who posted something negative? Do you leave comments off completely so no one can actually post anything at all – positive or negative? This is a challenge if you’re in an industry where third-party sites are more famous for capturing the true customer experience.


For a number of organizations, managing the customer experience is easily done with the use of customer service software. It helps align information on the customer with the account in the customer relationship management (CRM) platform and all activities within the contact center. It’s not necessarily designed to help you avoid the unhappy customer, but it does give you insight into how you can turn an unhappy customer into one of your top brand advocates.

A recent Groove HQ post by Jessica Malnik explores how you can leverage the tools within your customer service software portfolio and the skills of your agents to turn even the most unhappy of customers into your best champion. The scenario that needs immediate attention is the crisis scenario, one where outages, security breaches or major product bugs may be the norm. In these situations, you should have a crisis communications plan. This plans needs to include empathy for the customer, a sincere apology and a demonstrated effort to make things right.

If the customer is calling because they have a product or support issue, there’s five-step de-escalation process that Malnik recommends. The steps include listening to the customer, repeating back the problem the customer is having to ensure clarity, classifying the type of problem internally, responding back to the customer in a timely fashion and following-up after the resolution. Doing each of these things with respect for the customer in mind will lead to a much better outcome.

While the two mentioned scenarios above definitely need immediate attention, there’s another area that’s easy to forget – product feedback and feature requests. Those who take the time to provide you with information in these areas should be considered your power users. They know your product well and they rely on it to solve a problem or fulfill a need. By ignoring the information they are readily sharing with you, you’re missing out on key opportunities to improve the product. Do so for too long and the competition may just produce what the customer needs.

Finally, you’re bound to encounter those regulars and you need to be sensitive to their interpretation of their experience. I once managed a retail clothing store and one customer in particular would come in once a week and buy quite a bit. But, she also returned most of it by the end of the week. Her requests often included ordering something from another store (which she would always return) and she expected quality treatment each time she was in.

Knowing her habits, I once let it bug me to the point I wasn’t willing to provide her with the same level of service to which she had grown accustomed. She took it upon herself to call our district manager and complain, calling me racist in the process. My frustration with her had nothing to do with her race and everything to do with her shopping habits – but that shouldn’t have mattered and I should have delivered the same level of care each time.

Putting your best foot forward each and every time you interact with a customer is hard, but it’s necessary if you want to ensure they come back. Put a plan in place and it’s much easier to meet the needs of the unhappy customer. 




Edited by Maurice Nagle







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