I was skimming my business expenses on my American Express statement when I came across the $1600 charge for my two day, one way car rental from St. Louis to Kansas City.  It was not simply good fortune that directed me to the exorbitant charge.  There had been ample confusion at both the pickup and drop off locations that forewarned me that something was amiss.  In fact, when I returned the car, the employee who checked me in said that they would have to email me a receipt because they could not locate my car in their system.  I remember fleetingly thinking that I may have just driven a stolen car across the state of Missouri.  The real serendipity in the situation was that I had kept the original rental agreement that indicated the fee would be around $260.  Immediately, I called the rental car company’s customer service number.  Immediately, they made things worse.

Tip number one:  Give your customer the benefit of the doubt.  Look, I cut my teeth as a customer service representative at Marshall Field’s and learned some tough lessons about the behaviors of the public.  Even when I was routinely being screamed at by unhappy customers, one of my fundamental beliefs about people never changed.  The overwhelming majority of people just want to be treated fairly and with respect.  Treating people with respect means that you trust that they are telling you the truth.  The rental car agent told me that the car had been returned four days later and 600 miles away from my arrival in Kansas City.  I explained that was not the case and that I had returned the car when and where my contract indicated.  Her reply staggered me.  “If I am to believe what you are telling me, then that means we lost track of that car for several days.”  “If I am to believe what you are telling me,” punched my brain.  Wow.  Why not just call me a liar.  Before I could assemble a suitably snarky retort, she told me she would need to speak to her manager due to the amount of the requested credit.

Tip number two:  Don’t try to be funny with an unhappy customer.  After about three minutes on hold, the customer service representative returned to the phone.   Three minutes is ample time for me to fully integrate the meaning of “if I am to believe what you are telling me” into my emotional state.  I was ready for the full on, foot stomping tirade that customers use to get there way when they feel disrespected.    The hold music, probably a classical music version of Girl From Ipanema, was interrupted by the representative saying, “are you homeless?”  What the front door is THAT supposed to mean, I thought to myself?  I was so dumbfounded by the question that I replied with, “huh?”  “My manager wants to know if you have a home because you have rented nearly 100 cars from us in the last year,” she said with a giggle.  “Anyway, he approved the credit.  Apparently, the reason this happened…”  She began to explain the logistic failures that lead to the mistake.  All I heard were the echoes of the weak attempt at humor.  Few people are truly funny.  None of them are funny when winning back an unhappy customer.

Tip number three:  Apologize to an unhappy customer.   This should be an automatic.  If a customer is unhappy, then apologize for the fact that they are unsatisfied.  It doesn’t matter why, it doesn’t matter who is at fault; just say you are sorry.  Immediately, the customer’s disappointment is diminished and she becomes more receptive to the solutions that are offered.  A simple, “I am so sorry that you are not happy,” immediately aligns you with the customer and makes the ensuing conversation much more productive.  It sure would have helped repair my negative opinion of the rental car company.

Tip number four:  Thank the customer for telling you they are unhappy.  Keeping the public happy is not easy and eventually even the best; most committed service excellence organizations make a mistake.  Recently, I was writing a glowing review for one of my favorite restaurants on Yelp when I noticed another post that was very negative.   I winced as they shared their experience and felt badly for the owners who I know are committed to the customer experience.  With so many social media outlets for people to share their concerns, it is incredibly valuable to a business when a customer talks directly to management rather than choose the passive aggressive approach of broadcasting their bile on Yelp.  Or Twitter.  Or Facebook.  Or UrbanSpoon…you get the idea.  When a customer tells us they are unhappy, they have done us a favor.  Thank them.

Interacting with unhappy customers is really very easy.  Listen with respect, apologize sincerely, solve the problem and thank them for allowing you to do so.  And save the attempts at humor for the company break room.