Today I was out running errands and worked up a pretty good appetite. I decided to stop at a restaurant that I had never been to but had been wanting to try for quite some time. I knew I wanted to order my food to go, so I went to the area of the restaurant that was clearly marked for to-go orders and stood in line behind two other people.
The restaurant was busy, but to my delight, there were two employees at the counter taking orders and ringing people up, so the short line was moving pretty quickly. Once they finished taking the order of the man directly ahead of me, I proceeded forward to place my order, but as I did, both employees walked away to do other things — without even acknowledging my presence. As I stood there, annoyed at this point, I watched at least 6 more employees walk by me without speaking, looking at me, or asking to take my order. Not good.
Now, I’ve had things like this happen before in situations where no one else in the restaurant looked like me, but that wasn’t the issue in this case. It was clear to me that these people just had poor customer service. While I didn’t complain or make a scene, the time that I stood there without acknowledgement gave me just enough time to leave.
That experience made me think about how so many companies miss small opportunities — like this one — to shine with great service. It would have only taken a second for someone to look up at me and smile or to say that they’d help me soon. I also thought about my dropshipping business, and how I always went above and beyond to avoid getting customer complaints but to handle them with the best service I could provide when they occurred. In business it’s inevitable that you’ll get them, and honestly, it’s nothing to be afraid of.
Every so often, I would get an angry email from a customer. Sometimes they would be questioning where their order was and why they hadn’t received it yet — even though the estimated shipping time hadn’t passed, or they would be angry because they didn’t like whatever it was they ordered from me.
Unfortunately, when you’re not a giant company like Wal-Mart, some people feel the need to use threatening tactics with their complaints, because they’re afraid of getting ripped off. So I’d get emails that said something like, “Where is my order? I’m opening a complaint with BBB if you don’t send it now”. I’d read an email like this and facepalm, because it was always someone who had just placed their order and hadn’t even bothered to track their package.
I always, always, ALWAYS responded to these emails as quickly as possible with an accommodating and understanding tone. The first thing I’d do is thank them for their order. Next, I would address their concern without being condescending and let them know that I understand their frustration. Lastly, I would thank them again and reassure them that if they needed anything at all, they could reach me directly by email.
In every single case, I got a response from each customer that was the exact opposite of their tone in the initial complaint. They were always appreciative and gracious about the customer service I had provided. I even had a few customers with whom I had had that kind of interaction with on their first order, return and place additional orders.
So it’s important that, as business owners, we do what we can to get it right the first time. It’s equally important that we don’t take customer complaints personally. It’s a part of doing business that you will inevitably have to deal with. Address any issues head on and as quickly as possible. It costs us nothing to be courteous and as accommodating as possible when a customer has an issue. It could cost us everything if we’re not.