Starting an article with such a title, which means in itself a “strange“, “particular” question which could cause laughter to most, has, actually, a specific basis which we will try to explain.
Why would we thank for a complaint?
Each of us was a customer, or is one now or will be one and you’ve had a chance to have “first-hand experience” the unexpected eventuality, the incomprehension, the problem caused by several reasons.
In that moment, it could originate angriness by the customer who risks loosing a holiday or the delay in the delivering of a new vehicle or the failure to notify of the delay of the car reparation, which remains disassembled.
In all these situations, if the company, whatever it may be, had cared about each its customer, would have started a proper Complaint Marketing, which allowed the customer, very easily and quickly, to make a grievance.
It is to underline that, if a client makes a complaint it is, basically, still interested in that product, service or in that company.
If there was no more interest, the customer wouldn’t waste his time making a complaint and the company wouldnÕt have any details/explanation to limit the loss of customers.
That’s why we should say THANK to the customer not only when we can improve a purchase but, especially, even when, for any reason, a problem occurs; we should care about the customer dissatisfaction and thank him for the complaint even more so, when, for any reason, it happens a problem not related to our action/responsibility as well.
Thanks because, without his complaint, we wouldn’t understand, or we would spend more time to understand that there are errors in the process or tasks to modify and/or human resources to set up.
In any case, however, the complaint will have to be analysed and examined and an answer will have to be provided as soon as possible.
A well structured COMPLAINT Marketing allows recovering unsatisfied customers on the condition that you gave them the possibility, very easily, to complaint and provide, immediately, an answer which exceeds the expectations, always related to the topic and the kind of grievance.
In this way we will recover those who were unsatisfied customers, if they receive a quick answer and an unexpected Customer Experience they will become the most loyal customers and they will tend less to abandon the company due to the final positive experience.
According to a recent survey made by a well-known consulting company, a customer on two is unsatisfied because the traditional customers care and the company result aims to introduce a sort of “Facebook of the assistance“.
This brings us back to the previously reiterated concept, that is the client easy way to use and communicate his disappointment which, today could be integrated in the use od the social networks; extremely direct but even easy to use for many.
A current example of what was described by this article happens some time ago at the Egyptian Museum in Turin.
A children coming from Rome went for a school trip to the museum and he bought a sarcophagus as souvenir.
Unfortunately he was disappointed because, when he came back home, he found no mummy in it.
The mum, seen the child’s despondency and sadness, wrote an email to the Museum and, soon after, she received a new sarcophagus with the mummy and another talisman to add in the old sarcophagus.
This story clearly summarizes what I tried to explain before that is the negative experience, the disappointment, the written complaint, the listening of the client, the sending of “something expected” added to an unexpected one.
Needless to say that the children will want to come back to the Egypt Museum and will be the first “sponsor” of it.
Basically, a customer, who faced or believes to have been victim of a problem, if is satisfied with an uncommon Customer Experience will bring to a greater Customer Loyalty.
That’s why any time we will face a complaint, a client’s disappointment, first of all we should answer “Thank you“.
Translated by Federica Izzo