– Lucy Glennon specializes in customer service training and recruitment and hiring. She can be reached at 866-645-2047 or lucyg@hireguru.com. www.hireguru.ca.
CUSTOMER SERVICE – In The Art of War, Sun-tzu wrote, “The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities…It is best to win without fighting.” The same holds true in the “art of sales.”
Even though the prospect is not always right, he or she is the judge and jury. So, how do you respond when you are under attack – being reprimanded for something, rightfully or wrongfully? Rather than stand your ground and attempt to explain, justify, or defend your position, fall back.
For example, your company missed a promised shipment date and the customer called to let you know how upset he is. Rather than try to explain about the trucking company’s delay, which was out of your control, you could fall back.
Here is what that sounds like: “Bill, I know that you must be upset about the order arriving a day late. And, I’m sure it wouldn’t do any good to try to explain what happened. I don’t know if you’ve issued a ‘shoot on sight’ order, or if I should show up in your lobby, but I would imagine that you’ve made up your mind never to do business with our company again. Would that be a fair statement?”
It’s hard to fight with someone who surrenders up front. In this case, the customer would likely reaffirm his displeasure about the late shipment, but would just as likely back away from “never” doing business with your company. He might even ask you to explain what happened.
After explaining the situation and the measures you have taken to make sure it doesn’t happen again, you could ask, “Bill, if you were in my shoes, and I know that’s the last place you would ever want to be, what would you do to fix the situation?”
By using this technique, you’ve made the customer part of the solution, and more likely to stick with you.