5 Step Process for Handling Complaints

An easy-to-implement, five step process can manage any customer complaint and customer service crisis situation.

Awhile back, United Airlines had a computer outage that lasted two and a half hours and caused 200 flight delays and six cancellations. Keep in mind, this wasn’t a single unhappy customer complaining to a gate agent at the airport. This situation involved thousands of people who were inconvenienced. I would describe a two plus hour delayed flight as a Moment of Misery™.

There were thousands of angry passengers. Yet, problems like this are bound to happen at some point; just last year it happened with Delta and Southwest. And it may not be a computer glitch, but a weather problem that causes airline delays. Yet every cloud has a silver lining, and in this instance it’s a mini-case study on how to handle a customer service crisis.

I can’t speak to what happened at the airport when passengers approached gate agents for help, or what happened on the phone lines as passengers tried to reach a customer service representative. I’m sure there were long lines and hold times. The individual interactions turned out either good or bad because of the individual employees’ attitudes and how well they have been trained to handle such situations. But, what I can speak to is the general response that United Airlines made, and how it was a perfect example of what to do in a crisis situation.

I teach a five step process to deal with a complaining customer, and for those who follow my work, this is a short review:

1. Acknowledge the problem.
2. Apologize for the problem.
3. Fix the problem – or discuss how it will be fixed.
4. Do it with the right attitude – not just being nice, but acting accountable.
5. Doing all of this with a sense of urgency.

Well, the same way you deal with individual customers is also the way you deal with a customer service crisis that impacts thousands of customers.

First, United acknowledged and apologized for the inconvenience. That’s steps one and two. They responded to media inquiries and tweeted out to all of their followers: A ground stop is in place for domestic flights due to an IT issue. We’re working on a resolution. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Then they fixed it, accomplishing step three.

Step four was that they accepted responsibility. Maddie King, a spokesperson for United, met with the press and told them they were working to fix the problem. No excuses. In other words, United was owning the problem.

Finally, there was a sense of urgency behind all of this. It took just two and a half hours to fix the problem. They worked hard and fast. Urgency is key to restoring confidence.

So, be it an individual complaining or a major customer service crisis effecting thousands of customers, consider the five step process that not only fixes what is broken, but potentially restores the customer’s confidence. And, done well it may restore the customer’s confidence to a level higher than if the problem had never happened at all.

Shep Hyken, professional keynote and customer service speaker, customer service trainer, and New York Times best-selling author, shares his customer service tips. These tips are your how to guide to customer complaints, delivering amazing customer service, customer loyalty, customer service training, customer trust, company culture, customer experiences, sales tactics, and employee retention.

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[christiangab]

Thank you for sharing such a simple guide in handling complaints you are truly wonderful and awesome ^^

[timmer]

You made no mention of "Remedy". companies make mistakes every day and as consumers we're tired of hearing' "Yes, we we know there's a problem and we are working to resolve the problem". This is of no value to me and too often companies use this as a way to avoid addressing the real issue and that's the damage caused by their inequities. I want to know their intention to remedy MY PROBLEM they caused, not their problem, and when they're going to make me whole.

[hamd]

own the problem. Whatever you decline to own - it will end up owning you!

[SAINADH-yxdk]

i attend the one bpo interview they ask me what is customer service....i answered...but they ask me give me example of how to handle the customer....i become a blank face i dont tell the answer...pls reply my question