You probably won’t have been in business too long before you get your first complaint. It just can’t help but happen: low-end customers pay nothing and expect the Earth, while high-end ones pay a lot but expect an inhuman effort in return. You just can’t please all of the people all of the time, even if you run yourself ragged trying — there will always be someone who’s not happy with what you’ve done. So what can you do about it?
Don’t Be Rude or Dismissive.
The customer’s complaint might seem stupid to you, or even insulting — but that doesn’t mean that you can respond in kind. You must treat every customer complaint seriously, and always act as if it is 100% your fault that things weren’t to their satisfaction.
Remember that every unhappy customer will talk about their experience to your potential customers (research varies, but some say that they might tell as many as 20). Those potential customers won’t get to hear your side of the story. Going the extra mile to keep unreasonable customers happy is, above all else, a defensive technique to prevent them from damaging your business....