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Please take a look at the following case that happened between a customer service representative and a customer over the phone and add your input on what you might have done differently in order to make sure the customer got what he needed from the call and was satisfied by the end of it.
If you’d also like to add notes on what you would have done after the call was ended, please feel free to state your suggestions.
Good luck!
CS (Customer Service): “Hello, this is John speaking. How may I assist you today?”
Customer: “Hi John, I’m calling to make a complaint regarding one of your products.”
CS: “What seems to be the problem sir?”
Customer: “One of your sales guys came to see me and made your product look like it was the best in the market, he visited me multiple times to the degree where I felt I was being harassed, and eventually I bought the product even though it was overpriced.”
CS: “What was the sales person’s name?”
Customer: “Does it really matter what his name was? What matters is that he tricked me and now I want my money back!”
CS: “What makes you say that you were tricked?”
Customer: “I did my research and found out that I bought the product for $150 more than it was worth!”
CS: “Well sir, I can’t give you your money back since the purchase has already been made. Unless it’s faulty, broken, or not what you asked for, then I can’t help you with anything.”
Customer: “This is absolutely ridiculous! Your company is just stealing money right out of people’s pockets without fear of any consequences! I want to speak to your manager immediately.”
CS: *CS proceeds to put the customer on hold for 2 minutes*
CS: “Sir, I’m afraid that the manager is not available currently and even if he was, I don’t believe there’s anything he could have done to help you.”
Customer: “Well, if that’s the case then I’m coming down to your offices tomorrow to speak to him personally.”
CS: “I’m sorry sir, but we can’t accept your visit unless a meeting has been scheduled by the manager’s assistant. So if there’s nothing else I can do for you today, you’re more than welcome to call again and ask for the manager’s secretary.”
Customer: *customer starts yelling and using inappropriate language and then hangs up*
The Customer service Agent should have provided willingness to help and acknowledge the customer's concern and paraphrased the issue, After the call opening spiel,
Example:
Thank you for calling Bayt. com customer service this is Ethel, how may I assist you today?
xxxxxcustomer stating issueXXXXXX
Oh I am sorry to hear about xxxxparaphrasingxxxxx ; let me help you with your concern today.
Please tell me what happened?
The Customer Service Agent should have empathized with the customer for the experience that she had where she felt harassed by the sales person.
The Customer service Agent should have let the customer vent out her frustrations and apologized for the inconvenience that the Sales Rep had caused the customer.
The Agent should have asked pertinent questions that could help pacify the user and identify the best resolution to the customer's concern, like asking if she kept the receipt of the purchase, if the goods/ products are still on their box , in good condition etc.
The customer service representative could have save the sale by informing (Transitioning to the Features and Benefits ) the customer about the Product Value and invest on its Benefits and explain why it was sold a little higher than usual.explain if it comes with after sales support, warranties etc.
If the customer insists on getting her money back, ask the customers permission first and wait until she say yes if you can place her on hold and provide an estimated wait time and explain that you need time to get an approval to be able to accommodate her request.
When coming back after placing the customer on hold, always thank the customer for her time and for waiting on the line, explain to the user about what you have done while she was on hold.
Whatever you have agreed upon, right before ending the call. Always ask if there is anything else that you can do to assist or further clarify for her.
if there is none, always thank the customer for their business and end the call courteousyl (using the closing spiel).
No wonders why he speaks in an inappropriate way at the end of the call !
The most important point in the C.S rules "you have to put your self in the customer situation".
second you have to manage the conversation and lead the customer.
As a customer service representative i have to do:
1- ask the customer about the product type.
2- what is the problem of the product?
3- try to solve the problem. and ask him to accept our regret that we can`t give him his money back, but we can give him another solution like:
- give him another product he need it in the same price.
- give him purchase voucher.
- give him discount at any product he chose it.
4- always try to give Logic solutions and choose words which comfort the client.
5- what was the sales person name?
6- if he asked to talk to the manager, try not to let him wait too much long on the phone, even if the manager is not available. i have to get back quickly and tell him that i will give note to the manager to call him back A.S.A.P.
7- i shouldn't give any decision instead of the manager.
8- after all solutions if the client decide to come to our company and see the manager because he still upset, i have to inform him that he is welcome.
9- after i end the call i have to inform my manager about the whole situation and the client will visit us any time.
10- i should till my manager that the sales person shouldn't act like this with clients to degree they feel themselves under harassed !
*notice: never take any upset or inappropriate way from the client side personally.
CS (Customer Service): “Hello, this is John speaking. How may I assist you today?”
Customer: “Hi John, I’m calling to make a complaint regarding one of your products.”
CS: “What seems to be the problem sir?”
*** I regret to hear that but let me assist you with your concern. May I know what happened?
Customer: “One of your sales guys came to see me and made your product look like it was the best in the market, he visited me multiple times to the degree where I felt I was being harassed, and eventually I bought the product even though it was overpriced.”
CS: “What was the sales person’s name?”
*** I understand where you’re coming from, let me take care of this and make sure that this is going to be investigated. May I know the item you bought and when did this happen?
Customer: “Does it really matter what his name was? What matters is that he tricked me and now I want my money back!”
CS: “What makes you say that you were tricked?”
***I apologize about what happened, however, at this time, what I can assure you is that this is going to be taken care of and we will do everything to have this rectified. I’ll also make sure that you’re updated with the steps that are being made.”
Customer: “I did my research and found out that I bought the product for $ more than it was worth!”
CS: “Well sir, I can’t give you your money back since the purchase has already been made. Unless it’s faulty, broken, or not what you asked for, then I can’t help you with anything.”
***Note: if this part is verbatim, I would still have to apologize first before saying this part and assure the customer that it’s going to be solved and personally update the customer.
Customer: “This is absolutely ridiculous! Your company is just stealing money right out of people’s pockets without fear of any consequences! I want to speak to your manager immediately.”
CS: *CS proceeds to put the customer on hold for2 minutes*
***If the call would still progress to this situation, I would try to deescalate once, if persistent, then will look for someone in a higher position (any support will do because a customer like this, in my experience, just needs to be assured that the concern is being handled seriously.)
CS: “Sir, I’m afraid that the manager is not available currently and even if he was, I don’t believe there’s anything he could have done to help you.”
***If no one’s really available, a callback could have been offered.
Customer: “Well, if that’s the case then I’m coming down to your offices tomorrow to speak to him personally.”
CS: “I’m sorry sir, but we can’t accept your visit unless a meeting has been scheduled by the manager’s assistant. So if there’s nothing else I can do for you today, you’re more than welcome to call again and ask for the manager’s secretary.”
***This is unlikely to happen if a callback was offered, otherwise, it must be again, “verbatim”. At this point, apologies and assurance with the appropriate tone of voice is the last resort.
Customer: *customer starts yelling and using inappropriate language and then hangs up*
PERSONAL NOTE:
-Empathizing and acknowledging to what the customer had said would have been helpful.
-Willingness to help and assurance were crucial also to this kind of concern.
-Also, asking who was the person should have not been asked at the first part of the call because the "owning the call' wasn't established.
-Absence of someone in charge in the floor is concerning, unless the agent was lying w/c is also a BIG NO.
Nevertheless, I think a refresher to agents even once in a while would be nice. Do a huddle or QA talk with the team.
Thank you for asking me to participate. :)
(customer think the product is overpriced and he has been harassed by sales).
Result:
Unhappy customer
impact on company reputation/brand
Solution:
- If the product is in good condition, take it back (you can always sell it to a new customer). EU and US at least allows you to return the product within a one month period if you are not happy. Some companies are so confident of their products they expand the return period to three months (e.g. Ikea)
- Explain the value of the product to customer. Convince the customer's value for money. Don't let him think it's overpriced.
- Check if the competitor's product is really $ low and if so, return the difference to satisfy the customer. Think how can a competitor sell the same product for such a low price. If you sell the same product with higher price due to brand perception, then you need to justify the higher price with better maintenance/service etc. Explain this to customer.
· For the CS the golden rule is to listen and gain the callers trust in the knowledge that you will do all you can, as in your business customer’s always come first.
· The first thing I would do is ensure I have all the customer’s details and explain that you do understand his frustration and your process is to gather information to submit an official complaint and you will follow through.
· The CS perhaps should outline why the product is more expensive - after letting the customer has had his say. Perhaps he actually got a good deal and that might need explaining.
· I should be able to track down who sold it (knowing that I can do this in advance) I would explain to the customer, that what I would like to do is take notes about his complaint, and I will confirm with him/her it is accurate.
· I would give him my name and some information so he can contact me at a later date. I would not make any offers or suggest he is not entitled to a refund so quickly.
· Once I have documented the complaint I would then ask him to let you investigate and you will call him back shortly.
· That way you as a business have a chance to consider how you would respond and the customer has the chance to calm down and give him confidence that you will do your best to come to a satisfactory resolution that is mutably acceptable.
· The customer had ample opportunity to research - he notes the salesman had made several visits. He may not know why it is more expensive, so I would suggest there is a reason he is unaware of (eg: high quality etc) – if not and the salesman misrepresented the product and value, the customer may actually might be entitled to some sort of refund - or options like an offer of a discount on his next purchase, a refund, or an offer of accessories to provide the addition value he perceives he has lost.
Most people in this situation simply want to be heard, and want to feel empowered.
The last thing you want to do is make him feel powerless and tell him upfront he won’t get a refund.
In This case , I will note down the customer contact details e.g. Name, Contact and location etc. I advise him to keep calm and instead of visiting the branch make a written complaint first on company's email ID or Fax Number. Meanwhile I will bring this matter in the management notice for doing the needful.
Adjusting the general tone of the CS responder is the first line of attack to diminish customer outrage.
Although manuals suggest that repeating back information that the customer stated in the form of a question should make them feel listened too, that type of response signals an unwillingness to remedy the customer's problem over the phone. CS has become too formulaic and unresponsive.
If a company has a mass system for consumer complaints, and the complaints are vetted by pedantic responders, the company is at fault too often in egregious areas. The company expends financial resources on CS to appease regulation boards, while the complaints departments actually serve as a sham and do nothing.
An overhaul of regulations is probably required to eliminate things like a a CS on behalf of a sham company changing the subject to lead a complaining customer astray: no answer to the following should not be followed by a different question.
“What was the sales person’s name?”
The CS responder should have persisted to get conclusive information on the harassing salesperson. Aggressive sales people making a bunch of purchasers feel uncomfortable is not good for long - term corporate viability.
Short - term corporate gains with poor customer service and swindling tactics is tantamount to black market thug gangland anarchy and actually crashes markets.
Arguably, it is the CS department's job to not further confound the customer and discontinue leading them astray rather than befuddling them more. The person was harassed by an aggressive seller and bought an unwanted product. The price of the product was far in excess of a reasonable market rate for like products. Further confounding the person with pedantic dead-end questions on a phone line makes the company appear desperately cheap.
These types of CS interactions result in the company looking like a boiler room and not legitimate. Although markets can slightly absorb such product sales and global markets do not begrudge people from doing business, preying on unawares people and then wasting their time with more red - taping CS during efforts to extricate themselves from being swindled is abusive.
Solutions to this must occur at a company level. Although companies cannot be made to "do the right thing," their long - term viability and the viability of global markets require just actions and business integrity.
Business integrity sufficiently intact would not include pedantic, dead - end phone call CS departments.
Imposed here would not say I can not help you .. but upon request from the client or customer to give him the opportunity to repair the defect in the product that he bought or refer the matter to senior management to look at the customer's request to return the money .. Here the problem it is, however, management and the conversion subject to the management to consider the matter Is it worth the return of the amount or not .. as well as after the termination of the problem with the client management review delegate who frequently visit the customer's gig and why repeat visit to the same client ..
CS - Seems fresher
1) His role to listen and polite and to the point to know more about the purchased product
2) CS - should ask more about the Sales person details - name and when he sold the product
3) CS - Must inform the customer rules of refund policy as per the invoice raised
5) CS - Shall inform the Customer that he will verify all the records and inform to the senior manager to look in this regard
6) Once all the information collected with some regret note CS should apologize for any inconvenience caused and company/CS after verification
7) wish for the Good Day Sir etc
Customer - Not polite and not specific
He should raise the complaint and argue for the quality of the product. As no one compares the prices after its sold in the market.
No one will sale the product as declared ( MRP - Maximum Retail price)
Once Customer can make claim for the replacement or best quality product.
Generally, no one gives money back unless its policy to do so.
What was sold is not a product but MISTRUST. Not pardonable. You can only turn the bad experience into positive one, by making all efforts to arrange to buyback to demonstrate the honest way of the company approach. Neither call can be kept on hold for an immediate internal inquiry or remedy. We can assure the customer to get back with a timeline for addressing her concern.
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