There will be times in business when you find yourself feeling challenged, facing a difficult situation and being unsure how to resolve it. If you are facing such an issue for the first time, it can become overwhelming – even if you knew that such a challenge would one day occur, actually being confronted with the reality can be tougher to process than you experienced.
While all of these challenges can be difficult to cope with, perhaps the most difficult to deal with is your first dissatisfied customer or refund request. For most businesses, there is little to be gained in contesting this request – you will almost certainly lose the customer for good if you do – so, instead, you should focus on managing the process, and your response, as effectively as possible.
Preparing for your first dissatisfied customer
It is important to have a strategy for managing dissatisfied customers and associated refund requests in place before you actually experience such an issue for the first time. Good preparation ensures there are no unnecessary delays in managing the issue, which can help to ensure you have a chance of retaining that customer in the future. There are two particular considerations when preparing your strategy:
- You must ensure you have the ability to issue refunds quickly and effectively, so take the time to read through guides on how to use BlueSnap or other popular payment gateways to issue refunds if you process payments online. Alternatively, if your business takes payments in cash, you will need to ensure you always have enough money set aside to offer refunds if requested.
- You must also ensure that you have a “dissatisfied customer” strategy in place. By far the most important part of this strategy is the apology; even if the customer is at fault, you should always seek to apologize for their inconvenience. You may also want to consider offering a discount on their next purchase.
By preparing these two elements, when you do experience your first dissatisfied customer, you are ready and able to cope with the issue on a practical level.
Reacting to your first dissatisfied customer
With sound preparation behind you, this stage – putting your plans into action when faced with a dissatisfied customer – should be relatively simple: just activate the refund in a payment gateway or provide it in cash, then go through your strategy in terms of apologies and discount codes. The fact you have been able to do this quickly should mollify the customer, and the matter can be resolved.
The emotional side
With the customer content with the outcome, it may seem like you have your first dissatisfied customer experience behind you – but, for most entrepreneurs, there will be an emotional impact that can be difficult to process. A dissatisfied customer can shake your confidence, and you may even find yourself beginning to doubt how viable your business actually is.
if you struggle with this, try to keep the situation in perspective. Some customers will inevitably be dissatisfied with your business’ product or service; it’s a fact of business life. Try to see your first dissatisfied customer as a chance to test your prepared processes and nothing more serious than that. While it may be difficult to cope with emotionally, this will fade in time – and you’ll be all the better equipped to handle the same scenario in the future.
In conclusion
Your first dissatisfied customer is a challenge that all business owners must cope with at some point. By implementing the right practical preparation steps, and managing your own reaction, you should be able to move on to a brighter, more experienced business future.
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