We cannot please everyone all of the time and even the most careful, dilligent home business owner who is known for fabulous customer service is bound to get a complaint now and then. How we handle complaints says as much about our integrity and our businesses as how we avoid them.
Sometimes, the complaints are justified–we really have slacked off, or provided poor customer service; or there is an actual problem with the product or service delivery. Taking the time to fix these problems and make apology may be all that is necessary. Other times, the complaints seem completely unjustified–it may seem personal or flaky or uncalled for–but it is a complaint nonetheless and the customer or client is requiring our attention (whether we want to give them the time of day or not).
My advice is to take every complaint seriously, but to not take any of them personally. Often people really just want to be heard and treated special and that is what the complaint is about; other times it is because there really is an issue–regardless, as long as you take everyone seriously and attend to them promptly, even asking them how they would like to see things resolved satisfactorily, you will be able to fix most complaints. However, it is important that you are able to remain somewhat objective by not taking things personally. That way you can make adjustments to your business if you need to, change your service delivery or improve on a product. By not getting emotionally enmeshed with complaints, you can use them to make your business better and your customers happy–and then move on. Look at complaints as just another way to grow and improve your business and they won’t seem like such a headache or something to be dreaded. Of course, we want to do what we can to avoid customer and client complaints, but we can face them positively when they eventually come our way.
Also: Consumer Complaints That Work
How to Deal With Air Travel Complaints