5 Pivotal Tips for Managing Complaints in Your Contact Center

Those of us who have had responsibility for complaints management at one time or another will have experienced a full spectrum of complainant behavior.

For many, this is one of the motivations for taking on a customer service role. Making a real difference by sorting out a problem and seeing a fellow human being move from anger to gratitude is something that reminds us why we took on the job in the first place.

It’s not always that easy, though, and complaints can be an emotionally challenging experience for staff. How can customer service managers and their teams cope with the complex challenges of customer complaints?

Here are five tips for you and your teams to discuss at your next team briefing. They'll help you manage your personal performance from the simplest to the toughest of complaints.

1: Customers are human too: respect their feelings and situations

We often hear the phrase "put yourself in the customer's shoes". This is more than just a catchphrase when it comes to complaints management - it's a make or break first contact rule.

Brushing up on your interpersonal skills - particularly around active listening - will help you give the angry customer the space they need when they contact you with their complaint. Empathy is more than just a word, it's an attitude that will come through in your voice and tone.

Give your customer the time to explain, let his emotions dissipate and you will move more quickly to the rational, adult conversation you need to have. Your first reaction to a complainant, like no other 'moment of truth,’ has the potential to either calm or enrage a disgruntled customer.

Tip 1: Active listening skills are essential for building rapport with a complainant. It is hard to reason with emotions.

2: Understand people's reasons for complaining

People have a range of motivations for complaining and you can't assume every customer's motives are the same. Your customer is an individual and his feelings are unique, even if the circumstances of his situation is something you’ve seen before.

Behavioral research by Richens (1982) has identified six common motivating factors for customers typically complaining – from complaining to solve a problem to achieving ‘societal benefit’ by fixing the problem for other people.

You’ll need to understand the customer’s individual situation and what it is he wants to see happen to create a successful resolution.

Tip 2: Keep your assumptions to a minimum. Ask the customer what it will take to successfully resolve the complaint in his personal view.

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3: Manage your own reactions - it's professional, not personal

All this empathy can be tiring! It's a skill - and a challenging one at that. This is why complaints management can be such a rewarding step in career development. You'll need to learn how to manage your own reactions in all sorts of tough situations.

If you're facing a persistent complainant, this becomes even more complex and can test your emotions to the extreme. Research by Lester (2004) has identified a typically higher incidence of threats of violence, retribution and suicide from persistent complainants. In this situation, there’s no limit to what you might be faced with.

Tip 3: Understand your own behavior and how you react to situations. What support do you need to cope with complex and emotional complaints and manage your own wellbeing?

4: Prepare your support networks - how do I solve the tricky problems?

Many complaints, whilst individual, may not be a surprise to you. Your organization should have a way of dealing with complaints and resolving known problems. Being familiar with the policies and procedures that are in place to help you is vital to handling complaints effectively.

For the tricky complaints, where do you go for help? What if you need to escalate a caller to your supervisor or another senior manager? How can you get a hold of them when you need to?

Make sure you have the tools, referrals, support tools and networks in place so you're ready to give the complainant as smooth an experience as possible. ??

Tip 4: Be prepared! Remember the six P's. Have your networks, processes and personal coping strategies ready in advance of dealing with complaints.

5: Don't let the last customer's problem become the next caller's concern

Dealing with a difficult customer is tough, and it’s been shown in research by Dallimore, Sparks & Butcher (2007) that customer service staff pick up on the anger of a customer. This concept of ‘emotional contagion’ can lead to the next customer picking up on the anger that an advisor has ‘caught’ from the previous customer.

When you've finished dealing with a difficult customer, think about how you'll prepare yourself for a new caller with a completely different situation. Give yourself time to re-set your emotions, so you give the next customer a positive ‘first moment of truth.’

Tip 5: Pause. Don't let the last customer's situation inadvertently spill over into forming the next customer's first impression. Handle your emotions after a difficult call.

Making sure you have these issues addressed will ensure your contact center advisors are ready to deliver a professional experience to some of your most challenging customers.

Dr Jason Price is an independent consultant specialising in business change in complex customer service environments in the public and private sector. For more, visit PricePerrott.com

Citations:

JP Dallimore, K., Sparks, B. & Butcher, K., 2007. The influence of angry customer outbursts on service providers' facial displays and affective states. Journal of Service Research, 10(1), p.78.

LESTER, G., WILSON, B. & GRIFFIN, L., 2004. Unusually persistent complainants. The British Journal of Psychiatry.

Richins, M.L., 1982. An Investigation of Consumers' Attitudes Toward Complaining. Advances in Consumer Research, 9, pp.502–556.