I really hate it when things dont go as they should and you have to spend time and effort sorting it out. I have hanging onto a phone line being told that my call is important, when I have far better things to do.

Many companies are turning away possible loyal customers, because they do not know how to turn a complaining customer into a thankful customer who will come back to buy from you again. Heres our suggestion.

Firstly, I think that you have to put yourself in your customers shoes why do they consider it necessary to come into the store to complain? Then ask yourself, what will resolve your customers problems?

If someone is angry or upset, it is because they feels injured or cheated in some way. Your job is to let the customer vent and to listen attentively in order to understand the source of that frustration. When you do that, you send the message that you care about then and their problems.

If you treat the customer politely, understand what their problem is and give some kind of resolution to their woes then you will have a happy customer again. Realistically though there are always some people who just like to complain or are complaining in order to gain something.

Firstly the No Nos

1. Dont lecture or talk down to your customer. I was once turned from annoyed to absolutely furious when instead of a refund for a fault on their side I received a lecture on what I should have done instead.

2. Dont promise things that you cannot produce this will only escalate the problem.

3. Dont be a jobsworth that is dont suck the air through your teeth and say cant do that its more than my job is worth. Your role is to find a solution to the problem that your customer has.

4. Dont stand over your customer especially if you are a man talking to a woman or anyone talking to an elderly customer. This is intimidating.

5. Alternatively dont be too timid either they want to know that you are empowered to solve the problem. Also bullies will only feel that they can be more demanding.

6. Do not lose your temper, become abusive or difficult, no matter how tempting this will only escalate the problem.

7. Don't try and cut them off, don't urge them to calm down, switch off from what they are saying, instead, listen carefully to what the problem is.

8. Anger is a natural, self-defensive reaction to a perceived wrong. If there is a problem with your companys product or service, some frustration and disappointment is justified. Dont fuel their anger by not understanding the complaint or not seeming to want to solve it.

9. Do not question their understanding of the problem or question as to whether they have the correct dates/time/figures etc. Seeming to place blame onto the customer will only inflame the situation.

10. Do not blame your company, or say its a common problem, not only will this annoy the customer more, but you open your company up to litigation or bad press.

    Now The Must Dos

1. Be polite at all times.

2. Move to a quieter area of the store if possible letting them know it is so that you can give them your total attention.

3. If possible sit down with them it is much harder to be annoyed when sitting and it also shows that you are there to spend time talking to them.

4. Give them your name and assure them that you are able to solve their problem.

5. Be confident and project a confident, caring attitude.

6. Put yourself in the customer's place and try to see the situation from their perspective.

7. Spend the first minutes of the conversation listening and being seen to listen.

8. Once they have given you the details summarize them back to them to show that you have understood.

9. If you do not understand what the problem is ask leading questions so that you do.

10. At this point your customer should be a little calmer and understanding that you are there to solve the problem for them.

11. Apologize, emphasize and solve the problem.

12. If it is a problem that is easily solved such as a faulty item then offer a refund or exchange (depending upon your store policy) then solve it very quickly and with good grace and an apology!

13. Offer a solution to the problem giving details of what you can do, when you will do it by. If it is not an immediately solvable problem then give an estimated time as to when it will be solved and take your customers contact details.

14. If store policy states that you cannot refund, make good or exchange, then find some other way of compensating them such as priority service, gift wrapping, credit notes etc. If this is not possible politely explain why you cannot resolve the problem.

15. SOLVE THE PROBLEM. Make the calls, contact the staff etc.

16. Follow up with the customer as promised, giving updates as necessary.

17. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Make the customer feel important, cared for and looked after. Let them know you are working hard to get their problem fixed.

18. Thank them for their patience and understanding and assure them that you would love to see them back as customers.

Lee Lister

Lee Lister is Management Consultant and Program Manager with more than 25 year's management and consultancy experience and more than 20 year's program and project management experience in projects for Banking, Finance, Insurance, Leisure and Government bodies. She also have more than 10 years bid management experience ranging from bids for medium companies to large international and infrastructure bids.

British born, Lee received her BA(Hons) Financial Economics from the University of Essex. She went on to work in or for a considerable number of countries within Asia and Europe as well as Australia and the United States. While building a name for herself through helping company restructure, change management and project management consultancy, Lee became a well-known figure for her skills in analyzing, problem solving and trouble-shooting. She has consulted for many major industries, including banking, telecommunications, insurance, transportation, leisure and governments from many different countries. Some of the companies who have benefited from Lee’s expertise are Hewlett Packard, Siemans Nixdorf, Electrolux and the Philippines government.

Whilst working in the Far East she became a recognized expert on preparing and evaluating large World Bank Proposals (infrastructure projects within developing countries). These accomplishments called upon the skills of bid and project management, risk assessment, contract negotiation and supplier management and required dedicated work to very tight time scales. This expertise was acknowledged by an invitation to be the principle speaker at an International Business Development Conference in Washington, USA. She has also consulted at very senior level in several countries.

She owns and manages two companies, Biz Guru LLC in the USA and Biz Guru Services Ltd in the UK as well a considerable number of profitable web sites. She works almost entirely via the internet, visiting clients on site during major consultancies and training. Her Internet skills span from when major companies first started to consider obtaining their own web sites. During these years, she has kept up to date with the rapid changes on the internet, including the dot com boom and the resulting bust – which her own web based companies survived.

She regularly consults, writes and lectures on business, bid management and marketing and has published numerous courses and books.