Working in customer care is not always going to be smiles, sunshine and rainbows, unfortunately. Although it can sometimes happen that a customer will email and say how happy and satisfied they were with your company, more often you’re going to get emails from angry and disgruntled customers.
To start off with, you should know how to format business email and apply that knowledge every time you reply to a customer. A formal, polite, positive, and professional reply is expected from care representatives these days, as customers demand to be treated with respect and courtesy (even if sometimes they don’t do the same!). To answer an email from an irritated customer requires a patient and calm approach. If you do your job correctly, you’ll not only handle their complaint but win them over to continue using your business.
1. Show that you’ve understood the problem
Due to the fact that customer satisfaction is hugely important, knowing that their email complaint has been read and understood by a real human is greatly appreciated. In your reply, state the problem back to the customer and assure them that you’re currently looking into the issue.
2. Get the facts
If you aren’t able to get them yourself, ask the customer for any order number, account number, purchase date, invoice number, etc. This shows that an investigation is underway and you’ll soon determine what has happened to the order (faulty product, wrong item delivered, package lost).
3. Use names and always give good news first
Addressing the customer always with Mr. or Ms. is acceptable, but using their first name is also commonplace. Signing your email with your own name provides a good human touch and gives the customer assurance that a real person is dealing with the situation (i.e. not a bot). When sending a reply, cut to the heart of the issue and state whether or not the customer will be sent a new item or will be offered a refund. Afterward, say that you are sorry for the bad experience and hope that it won’t dissuade them from shopping with your business again. If you’re really nice, offering store credit or a discount code for a future purchase wouldn’t go amiss.
4. Even if it was the customer’s fault, don’t scold them
It might happen 1 time out of 10 that it was actually the customer who bought the incorrect item by mistake or entered the wrong address. If this is the case, politely describe what went wrong, such as: “It appears as if the wrong address was entered at the checkout, which would explain why the package wasn’t properly delivered. Please give us the correct address and we will promptly send the package again.”
5. Email templates are okay, just don’t forget to fill them in
In the past, it has happened that customer care representatives have simply used a standard template form in order to deal with a complaint, but forgotten to remove things like (insert customer name, insert order number, etc.). This is a pretty bad look and quite unacceptable, as it means the business has not bothered to put in any effort. One time, a care representative actually emailed the person she was complaining about!
6. If in doubt, remember H.E.A.R.D
Apparently, it was the Walt Disney Company which made up a rather good acronym for dealing with angry customer emails. H.E.A.R.D stands for Hear, Empathize, Apologize, Resolve, Diagnose. If your company doesn’t like the idea of using templates to help solve issues, then H.E.A.R.D is pretty spot on as a guide for what a customer wants to hear. Use it, and you can’t go wrong.
