Receiving high-quality customer support through social media is one of the most prominent users’ expectations, judging by the major social media trends of 2020. So, what should business owners do in order to meet these expectations and handle disappointed customers?

Let’s suppose a customer is unsatisfied with the purchase made in your online store.

The reputation of your business will be affected depending on how you handle disappointed customers. If you provide professional customer support even in such a challenging case, this situation won’t influence your clients’ desire to purchase products or services from you. 

How do you not turn this incident from bad to worse? What approach should you take during a dispute with an unhappy customer? And how can you make sure that this situation won’t prevent your customer from coming back for more purchases? Let’s see how you should behave for the overall improvement of your relationship with such customers.

Online business is all about the human factor, especially if we’re talking about customer relations. You interact with people daily and you can never predict how each order is going to play out. 

Depending on the situation, everyone has a different reaction. Some can patiently wait for the problem to resolve, others can ruffle some feathers to get what they want. And no matter how good your business is you will sometimes come across an unhappy customer.  

Knowing how to manage situations with unsatisfied customers is key in the online business world. Your reputation speaks for itself nowadays and information spreads quickly, by word of mouth or through various Internet sources. Your unsatisfied customers will find a way to make themselves heard, so you need to be prepared to handle this situation correctly. 

We have prepared a list of recommendations on how to handle disappointed customers.

1. Respond to customer complaints

Everyone acts recklessly in an argument and can say anything that comes to mind, even something hurtful and offensive. 

While handling an argument with your customers, you need to keep your composure, and not let your emotions get the better of you. Whatever you do, do not respond in the same emotional way as your customers. This will only escalate the situation for the worse. 

2. Don’t blame the customers 

Blaming your customers for something is the last thing you want to do. Even if they are the ones who are in the wrong. Remember that the customer is not always right, but don’t let them know about it.

3. Be respectful towards your customers  

The best way to handle an angry customer is to treat them politely and with respect. Encourage them to tell you what the problem is and that you are more than ready to help. A must-have is an apology for the incident. 

Don’t forget to use the following expressions: 

• We are sorry for the inconvenience
• Please let us know how can we resolve this problem 
• We appreciate your feedback
• We value our clients and wish to help you any way we can

This is what your customers expect to hear from you. Additionally, using these simple phrases will help boil down the conflict and show that you care about your customers.

4. Remember that arguing is pointless 

Your main objective is to make sure the customer is satisfied with the result, even if there is a misunderstanding of some sort. 

Even if they are wrong in the situation, stay calm, ask them to provide you with the most information possible so that you could handle the dispute and make both sides happy. 

5. Provide unhappy customers with satisfying solutions

To make unhappy customers relatively satisfied, you need to offer them a solution that will work both for you and them. 

If the mistake is on your part, it is obvious that you need to refund your customers’ expenses. But, what if the customer is wrong in their claims? 

First of all, show them that everything was done according to the regular procedure and that there were no mistakes made on your part. Try to make it clear that you’re doing everything to fix the problem. 

There might be even nothing to worry about. Logistics companies responsible for the tracking usually do not update the information in real-time, which can result in your customers “losing” their orders. Try to calm your customer down by explaining that there is nothing to worry about and ask them to look at the tracking information after some time. 

6. Find a way to compensate 

Remember one thing: at the end of the day everyone makes mistakes. Even the biggest companies slipped up. But it is important to learn from those mistakes and make sure not to repeat them. 

Although, if you do make mistakes, find a way to fix them 

If the customer received a damaged item and lets you know about it, it is clear that you need to make a refund. 

If by accident your customers received an item of the wrong color, it is highly unlikely that they will be happy with the purchase. Compensate them with some kind of bonus. Along with an apology, provide them with a free item from your Internet store, or give a discount coupon on future purchases. The end goal is to find a way to somehow please the unsatisfied customer.

Providing great customer service is a crucial part of a successful online business. We hope the recommendations mentioned above will help you handle disappointed customers and keep your reputation intact, as you are on your way to build a successful online store.