10 Tips To Deal With Customer Complaints

Dealing with customer complaints effectively can improve customer retention and help your company gain a reputation for providing good service. Our panel of experts shares their top tips to ensure complaints don’t turn into disasters.

1. Acknowledge their anger and apologize

Whilst you are listening to them, make a note (mentally or written down) of the main points of their grievance. Once they are finished, thank them for their comments, acknowledge their anger and apologize.

When you are being shouted at, it’s easy to feel that they are blaming you personally. It’s extremely rare that this is the case.

But you are representing your company and an apology for the experience they’ve had whilst using your company, should not be seen as you holding your hands up and claiming the fault as all your own! The power of the word, “sorry” is immense. An apology early in the conversation is often the key to managing the call without having to escalate it.

2. Reassure the customer

   

Use the notes you made whilst listening to demonstrate that you have a secure grasp on the problem by giving them a précis of what they have just told you. Mirror some of their (less colourful!) language, keep your tone measured and calm and ask a closed question at the end to check you have a full understanding.

By now, the customer should at least be ready to let you help them. Assure them that is exactly what you’re going to do and explain the realistic options you have available to you. If the customer wants something that simply is not possible, apologize, give reasons why this is not an available option and then tell them what you can do for them.

3. Act

Finally, once you have explained what you are going to do to resolve the customer’s problem, do it. Follow it through and ensure that what you promised is delivered. Hopefully, by this point, you will have a happy customer who will return to your company, not to mention a happy agent whose days are a little less stressful!

Gemma Layton, RSVP (www.rsvp.co.uk)

4. Make it easy to speak to a live agent

Communicate the ease and accessibility of reaching live agents in channels of the customer’s choosing, and prepare and empower your employees to provide first-contact resolution. Most customers who say it is hard to deal with a company said it was because their issue was not resolved the first time they contacted them for service.

Self-service certainly has its time and place, but when issues are complex or frustrating, customers want (and demand) access to live agents. In fact, preference for live web chat has grown in the last year.

5. Aggressively promote the fact that you want feedback

You want to know when you get it wrong. And, make it easy for customers to contact you and get immediate access to empowered and empathetic agents. If customers can’t find a convenient way to give feedback, they may just defect to another company without saying a word.

6. Use proactive communication

Let the customer know about an issue first and connect them to an agent. Almost all customers say it is appropriate for a company they do business with to proactively contact them. However, companies must be sensitive to the reasons and channels they employ, as the vast majority of customers are not open to anything and everything.

You only get one chance, so don’t burn the bridge by not providing the best agent and technology-based experiences your customers want and expect.

Mark Smith, UK Operations Director, Convergys (www.convergys.com)

7. Empathize with the customer

The first thing you need to think about when dealing with complaints is how you would feel if you were the one making the complaint. Empathy and understanding are paramount to giving good customer service whether it is in sales, customer service or customer complaints departments.

Allow the customer to vent their feelings and then remind them that you are here to help them and will do everything in your power to resolve the issue. This gives them the feeling that you see them as more than just a number on a system and can act to calm the customer down especially if it is a difficult or challenging situation.

The fact that you are offering to help them goes a long way to calming them down initially and if you can minimize passing them from department to department this will also help them to remain calm and listen to any options you put forward.

Base the discussions with the customer on facts don’t let emotion drive the conversation.

Ian Jensen, Team Manager, RESPONSE (www.response-uk.co.uk)

8. Make sure you act on social media

Social media is becoming the vehicle of choice for customers, frustrated by poor customer service. But these complaints can be amplified very loudly – particularly on Twitter.

Start by listening to the social media channels. Once you understand what is being said it is time to intervene. This can also be by social media – particularly to try and find out a customer’s phone number – but would probably be better if it is by a proactive follow up call. If this is done in a timely fashion it can go a long way to diffuse any frustration the customer is feeling.

Jonty Pearce, Editor of Call Centre Helper

9. A complaint is an opportunity for the business to learn and grow

As a business, every complaint should be treated as serious and the customer with a small ‘expression of dissatisfaction’ should be given the same courtesy as someone whose complaint is huge.
Remember to be a ‘goodwill’ company. Be thankful that your customer is voicing their problem, but realize that they may still use your competition the next time they need your product or service. You may not gain their future loyalty, but use the situation they bring up to minimize it happening again.

10. Act on the new knowledge you have

One of the most important factors in complaint handling is to demonstrate that the company has acknowledged the complaint for the future. Don’t stop at telling them that feedback such as theirs helps you to grow as a company – make it feel real by telling them how you will be raising this issue with the customer services manager so that (where possible) this is 1) resolved 2) not repeated with other customers.

Finally, after the complaint has been dealt with and is coming to a close, advise them that you hope that this recent situation hasn’t adversely affected their long term relationship with you as a company. Reiterate that you hope the compensation you are offering may go some way to restoring their faith in the company / product or service.

Keith Gait, Founder and Principal Consultant of Orchid Consulting (www.orchidconsulting.co.uk)

http://www.callcentrehelper.com/ten-tips-for-dealing-with-customer-complaints-15982-htm

Find The Right Job For You

FINDING THE RIGHT JOB

If you've decided it's time to move on, consider what you really want from your next role.

Self-Evaluation

Self-evaluation is critical but often overlooked when you start thinking about finding a job. Take some time to assess what you've learnt in your last job, your strengths and weaknesses and what areas you need to develop. Think about the type of role that interests you and what type of organisation will be actively looking for your skill set. This will help you clearly articulate to recruitment consultancies and employers what you want to achieve from your next move. Reflecting on your skill set will also help you market yourself and it's of utmost importance that you differentiate how your skills and achievements make you different from someone else with the same academic qualifications.


Research
Talk to recruitment consultancies about the current market, which sectors are recruiting and how long the recruitment process is currently taking. Ask for any market update and salary information and sign up for job alerts that match your chosen role criteria.

 

Choosing A Consultancy To Register With

Look for an established, specialist consultancy that has a good reputation in the marketplace. Although it is often worthwhile registering with more than one agency it is important not to register with more than two to three agencies to prevent your CV from being sent to the same organisation. Ask the consultancy about the benefits of registering exclusively with them - good consultancies will actively market your CV to their best clients and will also target organisations on your behalf. Another factor to consider is whether the consultants are working on a commission basis - they may not always be objective when assisting with your job search. You should also choose a consultancy that gives every consultant in your specialism access to your CV, if not, you will only find out about the handful of roles that your consultant is dealing with.

 

Networking

By being well-networked, you are not only enabling yourself to tap into the 'hidden' job market, but giving yourself a real advantage over other candidates. Your network should include anyone who can assist you with a job search or career move. It can include past and present co-workers, bosses, colleagues from business associations and friends. Use tools like Linked In to expand your network.

Search Job Boards

Research which online job boards cater specifically for the industry you are looking to work in. Once you have identified which job boards are appropriate use the search engines to locate roles that match your discipline, job type, salary and location. You could also create a user accounts to upload your CV (for companies to find) but this can be a risky strategy as you have no idea whose desk your CV may land on.

 

Read the Trade Press For Your Sector

Whatever sector you work in, it's critical to understand the issues affecting your profession or industry sector and in-depth insight will put you ahead of your fellow job seekers. You can also gain key information on who is moving roles to help you target your job search.

http://www.robertwalters.co.za/career-advice/finding-the-right-job.html

Dos and Don'ts For Young Professionals

Dos and Don’ts for Young Professional Career Success

It’s a process that we all go through – we start out with school, go on to college, and then find a job to help support our future; and when we enter the professional world, we find that it’s a whole new ball game. School and college can only teach us so much and help us gain a toehold in the business world. Some people thrive and flourish while others crash and burn out before they’ve hit their prime. So if you’re a young professional who wants to want to achieve life and career success, you must be aware of a few ground rules:

§  Your work (and the fame and fortune it could bring you) is not the only thing in life that matters.

§  You cannot afford to shirk your responsibilities, on both the personal or professional fronts.

§  Unless you can find a way to achieve a work-life balance, your life is never going to be peaceful and harmonious.

And based on these unwritten rules, let’s take a look at some of the dos and don’ts for young professional life and career success:

§  DO put your best foot forward at your first job – it makes or breaks your career success.

§  DO enjoy your job – if you don’t, try and find another one or enjoy the perks that this job provides; you must feel satisfied with yourself and your performance if you want to avoid burning out or feeling disillusioned as the days go by.

§  DO try to get along with your coworkers – your ability to work as part of a team is a significant aspect of career success.

§  DO take the time and make the effort to continue learning in the workplace – no matter how much you think you know there’s always something more you don’t know.

§  DO understand your responsibilities and do them to the best of your ability.

§  DO build networks and stay connected to people in your line of work – if you ever want to switch jobs, you’re going to need their help.

§  DO aspire to learn all you can and gain the maximum experience before you start thinking of going into business for yourself.

§  DON’T behave irresponsibly, in the workplace or in public – it does not reflect well on your professional image.

§  DON’T put up embarrassing and inappropriate content on your social network profiles – they could come back to haunt you at the worst possible time.

§  DON’T neglect your family and friends in the pursuit of your career success ambitions – a climb up the career ladder is important, but not if you’re going to find yourself alone at the top.

§  DON’T misuse company resources for personal reasons – everyone may seem to be doing it, but if you’re found out, they’re not going to step up to support or defend you.

§  DON’T adopt a hostile attitude at work – it only leads to constant friction with your coworkers and creates an atmosphere that’s not conducive to productivity and your career success.

Every profession has its pros and cons – the key to becoming a career success and staying that way is to maximize the pros and minimize the cons.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple. There are several dos and don’ts for young professionals when it comes to creating life and career success. Most are common sense. If you follow the career advice in tips like these, you can’t go wrong. Understand your responsibilities and do them to the best of your ability. Get along with your coworkers – your ability to work as part of a team is a significant aspect of professional success. Take the time and make the effort to continue learning in the workplace – no matter how much you think you know there’s always something more you don’t know. Don’t put up embarrassing and inappropriate content on your social network profiles – they could come back to haunt you at the worst possible time.

Bud

By Mark Davies

http://www.budbilanich.com/dos-and-donts-for-young-professional-career-success/

Building A Career With 9 Important Tips

Building a Career

The 9 most important career planning tips are listed below:

 

1. Never Stop Learning

Life-long learning is your keyword.

The world is constantly changing, and everybody is looking for new ways of doing business.

If you have decided that your current skills are good enough, you have also decided that your current job is good enough.

But if you want a career in the future, you should add regular updates to your skills and knowledge.

2. Ask, Listen And Learn

A good listener can learn a lot.

Listen to your co-workers, your boss, and your superiors. You can learn a lot from their experience.

Ask about issues that interest you, and listen to what they say. Let them tell you about how things work, and what you could have done better.

Most people will love to be your free tutor.

3. Fulfill Your Current Job

Your current job might be best place to start your career.

It is often very little that separates successful people from the average. But nothing comes free.

If you do your job well and fulfill your responsibilities, this is often the best way to start a new career.

Talk to your supervisor about things you can do. Suggest improvements. Offer your help when help is needed. In return ask for help to build a better career. It is often possible - right inside your own organization - especially if you have proved to be a valued employee.

4. Build Your Network

Your next career step might arise from your contact network.

Did you know that more than 50% of all jobs are obtained from contact networks?

If you have a good contact network, it is also a good place to discover future careers, to explore new trends, and to learn about new opportunities.

Spend some time building new contacts, and don't forget to maintain the ones you already have.

One of the best ways to get serious information from your network is to regularly ask your contacts how they are, what they do, and what is new about their careers.

5. Identify Your Current Job

Your current job should be identified, not assumed.

Make sure you don't work with tasks you assume are important. This is waste of time and talent.

When you start in a new job, talk to your superior about your priorities. If you're not sure about what is most important, then ask him. And ask him again. Often you will be surprised about the differences between what you assume, and what is really important.

6. Identify Your Next Job

Your dream job must be identified.

Before you start planning your future career, be sure you have identified your dream job.

In your dream job, you will be doing all the things you enjoy, and none of the things you don't enjoy. What kind of job would that be?

Do you like or dislike having responsibility for other employees. Do you like to work with technology or with people? Do you want to run your own business? Do you want to be an artist, a designer or a skilled engineer? A manager?

Before building your future career your goal must be identified.

7. Prepare Yourself

Your dream might show up tomorrow. Be prepared.

Don't wait a second. Update your CV now, and continue to update it regularly.

Tomorrow your dream job may show up right before your nose. Prepare for it with a professional CV and be ready to describe yourself as a valuable object to anyone that will try to recruit you.

If you don't know how to write a CV, or how to describe yourself, start learning it now.

8. Pick The Right Tools

Pick the tools you can handle.

You can build your future career using a lot of different tools. Studying at W3Schools is easy. Taking a full master degree is more complicated.

You can add a lot to your career by studying books and tutorials (like the one you find at W3Schools). Doing short time courses with certification tests might add valuable weight to your CV. And don't forget: Your current job is often the most valuable source of building new skills.

Don't pick a tool that is too heavy for you to handle!

9. Realize Your Dreams

Put your dreams into action.

Don't let a busy job kill your dreams. If you have higher goals, put them into action now.

If you have plans about taking more education, getting a better job, starting your own company or something else, you should not use your daily job as a "waiting station". Your daily job will get more and more busy, you will be caught up in the rat race, and you will burn up your energy.

If you have this energy, you should use it now, to realize your dreams.

http://www.w3schools.com/cert/career_tips.asp

10 Career Tips

10 Must-Know Career Tips

 

 

VISUALIZE YOUR GOALS

Know what you want and set goals. Long term planning helps you keep on track with career objectives.

FIND A MENTOR

Experienced co-workers have a wealth of knowledge to share that you won’t find online or in a textbook.

NEVER STOP LEARNING

Attend seminars and workshops to help improve your skills. What about courses and furthering studies? Most companies welcome this and will sometimes even help pay if it’s relevant to your field.

DON’T SKIP AFTER-HOURS HOMEWORK

Keeping up to date with industry news and developments shows your enthusiasm for your career and gives you a work-place advantage.

 

NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK

Build good relationship with clients, colleagues and mentors. Remember that trust and respect is earned - you have to work hard to get it, but it’s always worth the effort.

KNOW YOUR WORTH

Having a sense of your skills and value helps you justify a raise when the time comes. Keep in mind that you can’t just demand a raise, you need to earn it. Whatever increase you ask for needs to be in line with what you were recruited to do. You aren’t entitled to a raise - you need to earn it.

AVOID LOOKING LIKE A JOB-HOPPER

Holding a job for at least a year (18 months is ideal) makes for a better track record and will give you enough time to get decent experience out of the time you’ve invested.

LEAD A BALANCED LIFE

Devoting enough time to family, hobbies and fitness is good for mind and body and healthy employees are more valuable to companies.

PRACTICE INFLUENCE

Effective influencers have good rapport with others and build ever stronger interpersonal relationships.

ALWAYS DO THE BEST

Get the most from your current job by being a valuable, positive employee and making sure the job gets done.

Do You Know Your Study Options?

Study Options? Know Yours

Matrics have to make numerous stressful decisions during their last year at school, and they are often neither equipped nor able to access concise and accurate information which will have an extended impact on their lives. Dr Felicity Coughlan discusses the options available to potential first year students.

One of these decisions – whether to study at a college, university or private higher-education institution – can be particularly baffling. Especially when students continue to be confronted by myths that certain kinds of institutions are inherently “better” or guarantees employment upon completion of studies.

Dr Felicity Coughlan, Director of the Independent Institute of Education, says choosing where to study is a personal decision that must be taken with care, as the various institutions are not interchangeable and one size does not fit all. When you are making a decision about what to study and where, it is important to note that there is a wide range of different opportunities and that the decision is ultimately a personal one.

“You need to consider what you need, what you can afford and what you would prefer to get from a learning space, and then choose your institution accordingly. “Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande recently encouraged matriculants to not only think of universities when looking at furthering their studies, but to consider all the different opportunities available to them, within the post-school education and training system.

“Our youth must start realising that our post-school education and training system offers far more options than just what our universities have traditionally offered,” he told the class of 2011.

Dr Coughlan welcomed the increased focus on options outside the traditional offering. However she reiterated the minister’s words of caution that students must ensure they are signing up to a reputable institution – whether public or private - that meets their specific needs, to avoid losing precious time and money.

“Always ensure that the institution is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training, but also speak to students and investigate the reputation of an institution before committing money and time,” she says.

Faced with the baffling choice of post-matric institutions available, Coughlan says the following needs to be understood:

1) There are two key institutional types available to prospective students:

a) Public institutions (subsidised by the state)
b) Private institutions (no state subsidy)

2) Both the public and private sectors also host two different kinds of institutions:

a) Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges
• Qualifications are linked to a specific range of jobs or employment possibilities, for instance from beauty therapy through plumbing to IT and business studies
• Currently qualifications normally go no higher than NQF level 4, and are not part of an academic route leading to higher education

b) Higher education institutions
• Qualifications such as degrees, certificates and diplomas from NQF 5 to 10
• Only public institutions are allowed call themselves universities in South Africa - Private higher education institutions can offer the exact same range of qualifications up to doctoral degree level, but may not use the term “university”
• Private and public higher education institutions are subject to the same regulation and quality assurance

“Each institution – whether public or private, FET College or higher education institution – has a character and focus of its own,” says Coughlan.

“Several are generalist and you can follow a range of study options, while others are very niche and focused and offer a limited range of specialist qualifications. Prospective students, once they have decided what they want to study, must look at which institution best caters to their chosen field of interest, she says.

“Facilities differ based on a range of factors – there are less likely to be science laboratories in a business school and many private institutions are not able to afford large sport fields so work with sports clubs to offer students a work–social balance,” she says.

“Class sizes vary too from institution to institution and while classes in private institutions are normally smaller, this is not always the case.

“It is thus imperative that when you are making a decision about what to study and where, that you recognise that there is a matrix of opportunity available to you. The decision is ultimately a personal one, based on what you need, what you can afford and what you would prefer to get from a learning space.

”These are the considerations that should guide your decision on where to study – not myths and preconceived positions from people who have not fully explored the range of options and are advocating only what is already known to them.”

Follow the link for charts that may assist you:

http://www.thecareersportal.co.za/careers/careers-advice/649-study-options-know-yours.html

Searching For Jobs Online Can Be Difficult...

Tips on searching for jobs online

The whole concept of job searching has metamorphosed in the era the Internet. Today it is a common practice to search for jobs online.

Simply searching for jobs online may not necessarily advance your chances in the job market. According to The Wall Street Journal, it may be beneficial to stay up to date on the latest search tools and tactics.

By taking the time and effort to learn how to search for jobs effectively, you will be automatically boosting your chances of getting interviews. It is important to 'find a hook'.

What does this mean? When an ad is listed online, take the time to research the person’s background. You may be surprised to know that you went to the same school or know the same people.

By finding a connection, you find ‘a hook’. Alternatively, you can research the individuals work and see if he/she is mentioned in any articles online. This is an effective way to reach out on a more personal level.

If the recruiters name is mentioned in a job ad, you could always proceed to make use of LinkedIn in order to see if you have connections in common. You may not always be successful in your endeavours; however it may be worth the effort to simply do an online check.

By searching your niche online, you will be saving a ton of energy. Instead of focusing on many job sites, rather try to find job sites and recruiter websites, which focus on your industry. This will not only save you time but it will also help you narrow it down to your specific skill.

It may be useful to post your resume on websites. This can be done by simply uploading your resume to different websites. These databases are usually a first step for managers and recruiters who want to hire new employees.

If you are currently employed, it may be best to check for an option where you can post your resume anonymously, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Signing up for job alerts and RSS feeds is a good way to receive emails alerting you to new postings which meet your criteria. On many job sites you are able to sign up for emails alerting you to new postings that meet you requirements. Many allow you to choose their frequency such as daily or weekly.

Make use of filters for your job searches. Many websites offer a filtering tool, where you are able to refine your search results. By making use of filters it will save you time from constantly having to select search categories over and over again, according to The Wall Street Journal.

By Lauren Gerber

http://www.thecareersportal.co.za/careers/careers-advice/1281-tips-on-searching-for-jobs-online.html