Your client is growing impatient with the service. How can you defuse the tension effectively?
When a client is growing impatient with your service, it's crucial to address their concerns swiftly and empathetically. Here's how you can turn the situation around:
What strategies have you found effective in managing client impatience?
Your client is growing impatient with the service. How can you defuse the tension effectively?
When a client is growing impatient with your service, it's crucial to address their concerns swiftly and empathetically. Here's how you can turn the situation around:
What strategies have you found effective in managing client impatience?
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When dealing with an impatient customer, start by genuinely acknowledging their frustration and apologizing for the inconvenience. Clearly communicate realistic timelines for resolving their issue, and offer practical solutions to show you’re committed to fixing the problem. Stay calm and professional, and follow up to ensure their satisfaction, demonstrating that you value their business and care about their experience!!!
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When is a client is impatient or unhappy with the service: 1. In case of delay in timeline, explain the challenges behind time taking tasks without getting too technical. Show the planned vs deviated timeline along with key points causing the delay 2. If something isn’t working as expected or is not upto their satiscfaction, hear the client out. Make note of the issues in front of them. Justify what you can if you have the right answers. For the rest, assure them you will get back with an answer and do get back asap 3. Apologize/ Acknowldge the problem - irrespective of the type of issue. Following that, state your justifications. This will cool the client down a little 4. Follow through for feedback after you have fixed the issues
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Some key points I have always applied during meetings with dissatisfied/frustrated customers, 1) I must acknowledge their pain points/complaints 2) Always listing calmly 3) During conversation I must show empty 4) Gathering maximum information which may cause of their pain points/complaint 5) Educate them about the causes of complaints and If possible, discuss multiple ways to solve their problems 6) If I don't have any solution, then politely admit that I am very sorry for my inability to fulfill your requirement 7) At last but Very Important, Never Give Fals Comments/Hope. Thanks
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Communication is key, setting expectations on when more updates will be given, a expected resolution ETA and giving step by step progress updates along the way. A little levity might work but "read the room"
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One thing I have found it's helpful is to be proactive updating to the clients that we are working on the solutions. The service team does not have the solution all the time because of the dependencies. However, the minimum effort we can do is to keep the communication effectively. Put ourselves into client's shoes to feel how they feel when they need something from us. Being silent without updating the progress to your clients will escalate the issues. They may give you a DSAT even though the issue can be resolved later.
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First apologise to the client for this service issue. At the same time immediately find out where you have gone wrong as only apologies won’t help..we need to deliver. Once you identify the issue, take immediate steps to fix and decide by when the problem will be resolved. Be transparent with client and provide the exact timeline and if possible you may share the issue with client. Importantly you need to adhere the timeline which is committed now to the client. Continuously monitor the progress and ensure proper user testing before delivery.Every mistake is an opportunity for learning and put measures that to ensure the issue is not repeated in future.
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One more suggestion is to advise client to contact an assigned Preferred Customer Service person for the next time they contact our company. The client will be assured of quality expedited Customer Service and satisfaction.
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Sarthi Mitra
Supply Chain, Finance & Accounting Operations, and Analytics at Genpact | IIM Ahmedabad
Few ways to address such situations: 1. Set up a communication cadence: Most of the times the impatience is rooted in the time taken to address and resolve service issues. A regular cadence for seeking feedback and updating the action plan goes a long way. 2. Acknowledge and document discussions: Recognising the issues is the very first step, it is important to acknowledge the situation at hand and to maintain clear documentation of the progress of the situation. 3. Communicate clear and practical timelines: Dragging same issues forever is detrimental for the relationship. One must step clear expectation of the practical solutions and the associated timelines.
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