How to Stop Customer Complaints Before They Even Happen

It’s a given. As long as you are providing goods and services to clients, be it online or not – but especially when online, you will get through what most local business owners dread: customer complaints. They’re scary; they’re confusing, and they’re not going anywhere.

Without a doubt, paying close and dedicated attention to keeping your customers content and loyal is a big one. But even though you might be investing real efforts into this, you will still find yourself facing customer complaints.

Panic not – it happens!

So When Do Customers Complain?

… whenever frustration shows up! Meaning, whenever expectations aren’t being met. But given that personal expectations are so subjective and prone to bias, actually attending to everybody’s personal vision might just prove to be impossible.

As hard as they might be to attend, learning to deal with complaints can provide you with a great chance to show the commitment you have to your clients’ happiness. Having a great management of customer complaints is proven to strongly and positively influence clients, who will recommend your small business with even more conviction. After all, who doesn’t appreciate a thoughtful response to a complaint?

For all those interested in keeping customer complaints to a minimum, have a look at this list of the most common customer complaints and of the tricks you can use to spot and address them before they even happen:

1. Inaccurate or Not Enough Information

It might not seem that obvious at first, but many clients would like to have as much information as possible before committing to your services – even if the information might not be directly related to what you have to offer.

Providing as much information about your local business that might provide comfort and ease for your clients will bring you many benefits. When you provide what you promise and what your customers expect based on the information you give, then the world is yours.

2. Poor Services and Communication

Not everybody’s always having a great day so from time to time you might find yourself dealing with unhappy customers. When your clients face a poor service as compared to their expectations in regards to either speed, rudeness, attention offered, etc, they will most likely run to your competition in no time.

How can you avoid this?

Ensure that quality service and customer respect are two of the main focuses of your small business so that everyone working for you can understand that nothing beats happy clients. If necessary, invest in training and education that will improve your customer service. Make sure you have enough employees so that each client receives just enough attention and in a reasonable amount of time. The payback you will get in time will be bigger than you think.

3. Product and Service Disappointment

That might be one of the most painful problems a business can have – clients being disappointed in the quality of the products or services you provide. From products being broken or simply not as expected, it can be easy sometimes to disappoint. Expectations can go a wide range, so it just so happen it’s quite impossible to make sure absolutely everybody is satisfied with what you have to offer.

One of the most important things you could do would be to invest in maintaining a proper quality control process and a great customer expectation management. Every client should receive what they ordered, so controlling the quality of your products and services and presenting them as accurately as possible is essential.

Commit to making everything as clear as possible so that every client knows what it means to acquire a product or a service from you. Upload clear photos, add a precise description of your product’s features and make your policies crystal clear for anyone to understand.

4. Delivery Issues

Ordering a product or a service can come with a lot of excitement for many so not receiving it in time usually brings about a lot of frustration and a sense of being misled.

As much as you might try to control the entire delivery process, sometimes delivery issues can occur and disrupt all existing harmony. To avoid this from happening, consider the following two greatest strategies ever: under promising and over delivering.

It’s always best to promise something that you actually know you will be able to provide in even better conditions. What’s best than expecting your order to arrive in one week and having it at your door the second day? Or ordering something and receiving a small little extra? Great, positive surprises go a long way. And so will your customers for you.

5. Hidden Costs or Fees

This one is a big time No-no.  Whatever the situation, the last thing you want is not to make it as clear as possible what the final costs are. Regardless of whether we’re talking about a very low extra fee, you should make sure that you first inform and consult your client before proceeding any further.

If there are certain extra fees that might come up in specific situations (for example, higher delivery fees for certain fragile products), they should all be listed and explained so that customers are informed. There’s nothing you would want to avoid more than having your clients feel they have been misled or tricked: it’s the number one reason many great potential businesses lose customers. Don’t be one of them.

6. Difficult Returning and Refunding Procedure

When having a small business online, it’s important to not only present all your products and services as accurately as possible but also to offer your clients a sense of comfort in this whole process that sometimes might feel foggy to them. Since they rely mostly on the information you give them, it comes as a great relief to know that the returning and refunding policies are easy and comfortable for them – in the eventuality that things don’t match up to expectations. As uncomfortable it might be for you to digest the thought of returns or refunds, it’s always best to keep those clients happy than to make a “forced” sale.

Keeping your customers satisfied and eager to come back goes a long way for any small business. So regardless of how tedious this might sometimes look, always remember: a happy client makes for a great business. Use all chances you’ve got to keep this rolling!