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Hi there.
Speaker:And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.
Speaker:These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and
Speaker:things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.
Speaker:If you'd like to submit a topic,
Speaker:DME, over on Instagram at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped the topic for today,
Speaker:how do you handle a customer?
Speaker:Who's frustrated with you angry,
Speaker:mad. How do you manage this?
Speaker:I've been in business now for quite a few years,
Speaker:corporate three of my own businesses.
Speaker:And there's one thing that I have come to know.
Speaker:There is no way that you can be a hundred percent
Speaker:perfect all the time things are going to happen.
Speaker:Some of them are in your control.
Speaker:Some of them aren't.
Speaker:What I've learned is when you have pre thought and created
Speaker:a plan of how you're going to manage through certain issues
Speaker:that could arise,
Speaker:it ends up being a much better experience,
Speaker:both for you and your customer for you,
Speaker:because you're not caught completely off guard.
Speaker:You already know what your next steps are going to be
Speaker:and for your customer,
Speaker:because they feel like based on the fact that you're guiding
Speaker:them through some sort of process that you're in control,
Speaker:you're going to take care of the situation and it brings
Speaker:their anxiety level way down.
Speaker:Let's talk now about what could be your plan.
Speaker:We're starting at the beginning.
Speaker:A customer has reached out and is angry for some reason.
Speaker:The very first thing is to take a deep breath so
Speaker:that you can stay in control.
Speaker:It's not a life or death situation.
Speaker:You're going to be able to work through this.
Speaker:So take a deep breath.
Speaker:The second thing is listen to what the customer is saying,
Speaker:and then try to determine which category it falls in.
Speaker:There's two different categories.
Speaker:One is I don't have a better term for it,
Speaker:but it's a new year rational frustration.
Speaker:And of course,
Speaker:then that means the other one is a rational frustration.
Speaker:And you handle both of these differently.
Speaker:If the problem is irrational,
Speaker:let me give you an example of something that that would
Speaker:be, they emailed you and within five minutes you haven't responded
Speaker:yet. Okay?
Speaker:It's a little bit of an irrational expectation that you are
Speaker:just available to respond to any email within five minutes,
Speaker:or let's say they were expecting a delivery on a certain
Speaker:date. You got the delivery out in time,
Speaker:but ups,
Speaker:postal service.
Speaker:However you're managing the delivery.
Speaker:Didn't get it to your customer in time.
Speaker:You don't have control over that.
Speaker:So for them to be angry at you is irrational.
Speaker:The way you manage through irrational issues is to listen.
Speaker:They're emotional.
Speaker:You care about the fact that they're in this emotional spot
Speaker:because they've interacted with your business and whether you're responsible for
Speaker:it or not,
Speaker:and it's rational or not.
Speaker:You want to try and help them work through it.
Speaker:And the way you do it is to listen.
Speaker:Hear what they're saying?
Speaker:Not to get defensive.
Speaker:Well, then it wasn't our fault.
Speaker:The postal service didn't deliver it on time,
Speaker:right? Or what do you expect?
Speaker:I can't open the emails.
Speaker:Then five minutes.
Speaker:I have other things to do as well.
Speaker:Or maybe I had to go to the bathroom.
Speaker:You know that one,
Speaker:just put that customer on the defensive and not allow for
Speaker:a good conversation.
Speaker:So the thing is just to listen to what they have
Speaker:to say,
Speaker:acknowledge their frustration.
Speaker:Not that you even agree with it necessarily,
Speaker:but you can acknowledge their frustration.
Speaker:Gosh, I certainly understand why you needed that package and why
Speaker:you're so frustrated that the postal service didn't send it in
Speaker:the timing that they normally do.
Speaker:So you are acknowledging and you're listening to them.
Speaker:And that most of the time with someone who is in
Speaker:that emotional state will help them to calm down.
Speaker:And sometimes after they calm down,
Speaker:they'll jump over into a rational position.
Speaker:And sometimes they won't,
Speaker:but by you acknowledging,
Speaker:showing and recognizing that you understand what they're going through and
Speaker:why they're frustrated is the best way to manage through these
Speaker:irrational conversations.
Speaker:And from there,
Speaker:you just have to intuitively guide the conversation forward,
Speaker:whatever you do,
Speaker:don't tell,
Speaker:take responsibility for something that's not your responsibility for deliveries,
Speaker:not getting there on time.
Speaker:If it didn't have to do with you,
Speaker:you, the only thing that you can handle and manage with
Speaker:deliveries is when you get it into the system,
Speaker:you can't be the ups driver or be at a sectional
Speaker:center in a post office and manage all that work through
Speaker:when you take responsibilities for situations like that,
Speaker:I'll stick with that email example.
Speaker:And then also the shipping example,
Speaker:you're setting yourself up for failure because you're setting yourself up
Speaker:to be responsible for things that you have no control over.
Speaker:And so that just leads you deeper into trouble the next
Speaker:time, if it happens again.
Speaker:So make sure that's a caution here.
Speaker:Sure. Not to take responsibility for things that are out of
Speaker:your control.
Speaker:You can still listen.
Speaker:You can still be sympathetic and understanding and recognize the frustration
Speaker:on behalf of your customer.
Speaker:But that's pretty much all you can do at that point.
Speaker:And what I found is many times they needed somebody to
Speaker:listen and,
Speaker:and the case will be closed and they will move on
Speaker:and they'll be appreciative that you were there to listen to
Speaker:them. Okay?
Speaker:So that's the irrational side of a customer complaint.
Speaker:Now let's get to a rational side.
Speaker:The rational side is they have a legitimate issue with you.
Speaker:You sent them the product.
Speaker:So that's a problem.
Speaker:They need a return refund exchange,
Speaker:whatever it is,
Speaker:their package came and the parts were broken.
Speaker:That's another legitimate complaint or issue when these issues are rational.
Speaker:It's now up to you as a business owner to work
Speaker:through the situation.
Speaker:And the best thing to do is to have a specific
Speaker:step-by-step action plan of what you'll do.
Speaker:So think this through about how you'll manage this before it
Speaker:actually happens.
Speaker:You know how nowadays I'll use Amazon as an example,
Speaker:when you have a return,
Speaker:you go online to initiate the return transaction,
Speaker:and then it asks you a series of questions.
Speaker:There's a process that you work through,
Speaker:what was wrong with the product,
Speaker:the reason for the return.
Speaker:And then are you going to drop it off somewhere?
Speaker:Are you going to mail it?
Speaker:They give you instructions accordingly.
Speaker:And then you get your confirmation and directions for return.
Speaker:It's a whole system.
Speaker:I'd suggest you create a process similar to this.
Speaker:That's very structured and is the same each and every time
Speaker:also, what are your different options?
Speaker:If something is broken or something that they got,
Speaker:wasn't exactly what they ordered.
Speaker:It was the wrong color,
Speaker:or, you know,
Speaker:whatever different from what the order was.
Speaker:Okay. Not that now they've changed their mind.
Speaker:They want the red one instead of the pink one.
Speaker:That's a different story.
Speaker:That would be an exchange,
Speaker:right? But so think through these different scenarios and how you
Speaker:would manage it.
Speaker:So you already have your system figured out.
Speaker:And the reason you wanted to do this is you stay
Speaker:in control and can guide your customer through how you'll fix
Speaker:the situation together.
Speaker:And it's different based on if something arrived broken,
Speaker:because it wasn't packaged properly.
Speaker:Well, that's on you.
Speaker:You need to send out another one for them.
Speaker:Do you want them to return the broken item?
Speaker:Do you want them to just keep it and toss it?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:what's your system,
Speaker:what's your plan.
Speaker:It might be different for different businesses,
Speaker:so, and different types of products that you have.
Speaker:So think through that,
Speaker:if it's an exchange,
Speaker:do they pay the shipping of the other one back to
Speaker:you? Cause that's still a perfectly good product that you can
Speaker:sell. All of these things you look at and figure out
Speaker:what is the right resolution when it's a rational,
Speaker:legitimate complaint.
Speaker:And then you fix it based on whatever your system and
Speaker:you move on.
Speaker:Now, heavy said that maybe you're fortunate at this point,
Speaker:not to have ever encountered this,
Speaker:but I've encountered this several times where you have a customer.
Speaker:What they are asking for and requesting is completely out of
Speaker:line either.
Speaker:It's totally off course from what you actually offer.
Speaker:So they're virtually asking you to create a product that you
Speaker:don't even offer or the product that you offer.
Speaker:Doesn't do what they want it to do.
Speaker:Let me give you a couple examples.
Speaker:So here I own another company called the ribbon print company.
Speaker:You might know that depending on whether you've been with me
Speaker:for a while or not.
Speaker:And from time to time,
Speaker:we'll have people buy a printer and then be angry that
Speaker:it can't do what they want it to do.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:I had one person who wanted to Mount the printers on
Speaker:the ceiling of their facility because they had no more space
Speaker:and run the ribbon and the printers and the accessories through
Speaker:that way,
Speaker:like the computer would be on a desk and the printer
Speaker:would be bolted to the ceiling.
Speaker:Like I'm not even kidding.
Speaker:That was what someone wanted to do.
Speaker:We had to explain to them that that wasn't possible.
Speaker:You cannot work the printer that way you can't load the
Speaker:materials that way.
Speaker:It's just not going to work.
Speaker:Obviously we took the return.
Speaker:Thank God they hadn't started drilling into the printers or something,
Speaker:but that's an example of where it's not a fit for
Speaker:what your customer wants versus what your can do.
Speaker:The ribbon print company.
Speaker:Again, we had a customer who makes clothing labels,
Speaker:and she's still a customer of ours now,
Speaker:by the way.
Speaker:But she was testing out the ink that we use for
Speaker:washable clothing labels,
Speaker:but she was washing it in that soft soap.
Speaker:And the soft soap also has lotion in there.
Speaker:The combination of that soap and the lotion takes the print
Speaker:off the ribbon.
Speaker:Now our system has been tested for going through a laundry
Speaker:machine with laundry detergent,
Speaker:but it doesn't work with that.
Speaker:Hand-washing soft soap.
Speaker:So again,
Speaker:an example of not a right fit and stent that you're
Speaker:being honest and telling them what is possible and what isn't
Speaker:possible. And not trying to create things just to get a
Speaker:sale is important,
Speaker:right? For your credibility and alleviate a lot of time and
Speaker:energy later,
Speaker:making sure that they're getting what they need or not purchasing
Speaker:at all.
Speaker:If it's not the right thing fit,
Speaker:there were also some times where people will blame you.
Speaker:You for something,
Speaker:no matter what,
Speaker:it's not your responsibility.
Speaker:It's not,
Speaker:your control had nothing to do with you.
Speaker:And I have had,
Speaker:I can only think of one customer.
Speaker:Who's been like that.
Speaker:Being very rude to my staff,
Speaker:to the point of swear words,
Speaker:being demeaning,
Speaker:insulting. I just said,
Speaker:you know what?
Speaker:This is not a good fit.
Speaker:We're not going to be able to work together.
Speaker:And we had to take a pass,
Speaker:let them go.
Speaker:They were just not nice,
Speaker:not nice people.
Speaker:You don't want to work with not nice people.
Speaker:So you have to acknowledge that there will be times when
Speaker:you'll encounter things like this.
Speaker:And as the owner and leader,
Speaker:you need to decide how much we'll put up with and
Speaker:take actions accordingly.
Speaker:And all of this just goes along with what is your
Speaker:process? What is your step-by-step reasoning on how you manage through
Speaker:these things and thinking through it beforehand versus after is always
Speaker:the key.
Speaker:The worst thing that you can possibly do is ignore them.
Speaker:If you don't return an email when someone's really mad or
Speaker:you don't reply on social media,
Speaker:oh, I'll get to that in a minute.
Speaker:How you manage issues like this on social media,
Speaker:but just ignoring and pretending that they don't exist.
Speaker:What is that going to do?
Speaker:What does it do to you?
Speaker:If you were on the other side,
Speaker:it's going to make you angrier and angrier and angrier.
Speaker:So that is the one thing that you do not ever
Speaker:do. Now.
Speaker:I hadn't thought of talking about this,
Speaker:but since it's just come up in my mind,
Speaker:I think I will.
Speaker:Social media.
Speaker:If someone bashes you on social media here is what you
Speaker:do to handle that whatever the post is,
Speaker:you respond to them.
Speaker:One time you acknowledge that they're frustrated.
Speaker:If it was something that you did wrong,
Speaker:say my gosh,
Speaker:we're sorry.
Speaker:We'd like to correct this DM me.
Speaker:Or you say,
Speaker:I'll message you so that we can get this resolved.
Speaker:So one way or another,
Speaker:you take the conversation offline and then resolve it.
Speaker:Now, some people just like to cause trouble.
Speaker:You reply to a post.
Speaker:Let me message you.
Speaker:And we'll talk offline and figure out how to manage through
Speaker:the situation.
Speaker:But instead they want to put this whole drama on social
Speaker:media. Don't do it.
Speaker:You respond one time saying that you're interested in working with
Speaker:them offline,
Speaker:everyone else in the world.
Speaker:Doesn't have to be part of that personal conversation about how
Speaker:you're rectifying the situation.
Speaker:And if they just want to keep talking and talking and
Speaker:talking and talking and being mad or whatever they're doing,
Speaker:or let them do it.
Speaker:There are some times in this,
Speaker:you just need to use your best judgment,
Speaker:where it does make sense to come back and say so
Speaker:glad you brought this to our attention.
Speaker:I'm glad we were able to solve this to your satisfaction.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:that may be another thing that you would put online,
Speaker:but don't whatever you do start engaging with this back and
Speaker:forth nitpicking with someone on social,
Speaker:you will not win in that case.
Speaker:And honestly,
Speaker:I think you'll feel the same way when you see people
Speaker:doing that to another business on social,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:that this person is just out to be a pain.
Speaker:They have a bone to pick.
Speaker:Maybe it doesn't even have to do with you.
Speaker:And they've just decided you're going to be their outlet.
Speaker:All right?
Speaker:So this is the way we work through any issues that
Speaker:we have with customers.
Speaker:Take a deep breath so that you stay in control,
Speaker:determine whether this is a rational,
Speaker:true issue,
Speaker:or they're just being emotional.
Speaker:And if they're being emotional,
Speaker:be there to listen.
Speaker:Sympathize have some conversation.
Speaker:Don't claim responsibility of this had nothing to do with something
Speaker:that you could control.
Speaker:If on the other hand,
Speaker:you see that it's a rational problem,
Speaker:wrong product scent.
Speaker:Cause it was a mistake on end own up to it
Speaker:and then direct them through the system.
Speaker:You have set up already to resolve the situation.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:we all want to be perfect in our business,
Speaker:right? We want everything to run smoothly.
Speaker:That's always the goal.
Speaker:Unfortunately, that conflicts with reality,
Speaker:the more time you're in business,
Speaker:you're more susceptible to things happening.
Speaker:And even if you were 100% perfect,
Speaker:you never,
Speaker:ever sent out the wrong product.
Speaker:Things always were delivered on time.
Speaker:Everything was delivered without any damage ever.
Speaker:You're still going to end up having that random customer who
Speaker:lashes out at you for some reason that may not have
Speaker:to do with your business at all.
Speaker:And it's how you manage through that will either detract that
Speaker:customer from you where they'll never work with you again,
Speaker:which might be okay if they're a crazy or it's going
Speaker:to make them an even more loyal customer moving forward.
Speaker:That's a wrap.
Speaker:I'm a get to the point kind of girl.
Speaker:And this is what you can expect from these quick mid-week
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn.
Speaker:Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.
