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LAST IMPRESSIONS COUNT 

   What do you do when you have let your customer down, have made a mistake or received a complaint from a customer?
  Even the world's great companies make mistakes. How you fix them is largely determined by company policies and procedures. Does your company have a money back guarantee? If there is a problem with the goods or services provided to your customer you are obliged to repair, replace or refund. This is your choice, not the customer's, but if at all possible try and offer the customer the choice.
  Consider a mistake or a complaint from a customer as a wonderful opportunity to show your customers how well you can fix a problem. You can also send them a gift or provide additional goods or services for free. Your aim is to leave a good impression with your customer in case it is the last one. This may prove costly. You may even make a loss on the order. You may ask yourself, can you afford to preserve your reputation, but you really should be asking, can you afford not to.
  To handle complaints properly, you need to empower your staff so they feel confident to fix problems themselves. Suppose a customer returned a dress and said she didn't like it and would like a refund. Your policy is to offer exchanges but no refunds. You suggest to the customer, she can exchange the dress for another dress or something else. She doesn't want to exchange the dress. All she wants is a refund. In this situation do you allow your sales assistant to offer the customer a refund or does the no refund policy have to be strictly adhered to? By not offering a refund, the customer is unlikely to come back to your store but more importantly she is left with a bad last impression.
  You need to develop procedures and empower your staff to ensure that if a customer no longer wants to do business with your company then the last impression your customer has of your company is a good one.
 

This article is reprinted from Rentons' Business Tips No. 4
© Copyright February 1999 ACS