3 ways to leave CUSTOMERS with a complaint in the cold

There are those moments when you can't believe what an employee does and says. That you stand in a store totally bewildered and feel as if you have been put to shame as a customer. That you would prefer to say something very angry out of sheer impotence. Do you know that feeling?

It was a while ago for me, but last week I experienced it again in person. What happened and what can you learn from it? Read and Weep...

My 16-year-old daughter really wanted to go to Appelpop and camp there with her friends on the festival grounds. That would require someone at least 18 years old to come along, and the ladies persuaded me to accompany them. We used to call it Camping=Cramping at home, so you know I wasn't cheering. But you do anything for your kids! I had no camping gear, so I headed to the Outdoor Sports store for a tent and an air mattress.

I was helped perfectly. Was even lucky that the tent was on sale. So I happily went home with my purchases, where the tent was set up by the two adolescent ladies in no time in the living room. The first test was successful.

The festival

Friday, September 11. We arrived at campsite de Betuwe and were assigned a nice spot, also with top neighbors. Tent set up, airbed inflated and we headed for the fantastically fun festival Appelpop (I'm a fan!). After a musical party, we arrived home in the middle of the night and as I crawled into my tent, I immediately noticed that the airbed was a bit soft. "Had I not screwed the cap on properly?" Fortunately, the pump was within reach and I eventually fell asleep. Halfway through the night I woke up and my bottom touched the cold Betuwe ground. Oh dear, an air bed that was slowly deflating. LEK.

Anyway, it's a festival, "you win some, you lose some." It kind of goes with the territory. Saturday was just such a festival day with several musical highlights. Unfortunately, it had turned rainy and when we got back to the campsite at 1am, it was raining cats and dogs. I quickly crawled into my Wildebeast tent and once I was lying down, I heard "Drip, Drip, Drip." After a brief investigation, the zipper of the awning turned out to be as leaky as a basket. Water was running right into my inner tent. Fortunately it dried up after a few hours, but I was bummed. During the night I had to inflate my airbed twice more, because unfortunately no gnomes had come to fix the leak. Sunday morning I came out of my tent pretty broken and decided to go right back to the store that day. With tent and airbed, because this couldn't be the intention.

Returning

There I stood at the counter. A girl stepped up to me. Asked what she could do for me. I explained the situation and she called a colleague. Did I still have the receipt? Of course! They looked hard and asked if I had set up the tent properly. Whether I knew that zippers in awnings always leak when the rain is on them. I told them I couldn't imagine that. That I wanted a new airbed and my money back for the tent. Because the camping season is really over and suppose if I also get tent with a "flaw" now, I won't find out until next year. They couldn't do that, but they were going to figure out what they could do for me. Turned their backs to me and walked away. "You wait here."

Sure. There I was. Between tents, hiking boots, backpacks. There was no empathy for two broken nights on a leaky air mattress. No "annoying that you bought a leaky tent." I couldn't believe my ears, and because of that broken night, my capacity for empathy wasn't optimal either. But I decided to control myself. Waited and yes there came the Sunday helpers again.

"Hello madam, in principle we don't give money back. But for this time we do". So, could I squeeze my hands for a moment.... And then it came. "But next time you buy a tent, and it's important that the awning doesn't leak? Make sure you inform yourself better. And then buy a more expensive one. " My mouth fell open. I got my money back and now a kick in the teeth that I had misinformed myself. In an angry voice I replied " I was here on Thursday and got advice from a colleague of yours and he didn't ask if I wanted a leaky zipper in the awning. I relied on his advice and therefore bought this tent. Then provide better advice yourself and in all honesty; don't sell junk.".

But I still wanted another air mattress. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. They were sold out in the store, but I could just order a new one at home. In the corner of my eye I saw a tablet, of course they could have done that for me. But no, that thinking and doing was not in the cards. So I got my money back for the airbed and tent. It was a whole hassle with receipts behind the cash register and the money would be refunded to my account. Even though I had my money back, I didn't have a good feeling about it. Lightly sneering, I went home.

How not to deal with a complaint

What lessons can you learn from this? Especially what NOT to do in case of a complaint.

1. Tell customers exactly what they themselves have done wrong

Without any empathy for the two broken nights and the hassle, these ladies told me that I must have set up the tent wrong. That I was so stupid that I didn't know that all awning zippers always leak. My tip: Show empathy. Empathize. Ask through. Nod, hum. But drop all criticism. You'll only make things worse.

2. Tell what is not possible

The moment I indicated, what I wanted in terms of solution, they immediately told me that this was not possible. They didn't give money back in this kind of situation. And they no longer had airbeds. Strange that the solution in the end was that I got my money back. Thinking with me about other scenarios, that was not an option. My tip: Listen carefully to what the customer wants. Ask through to why they want this solution. Then find out what the possibilities are and think along with them. Ask if this satisfies the customer, then you can be sure you are right.

3. Give a kick after

After they explained that I would get my money back, it was also explained to me in great detail that I should do better next time when choosing a tent. In other words, the tent with the leaky zipper in the awning was my own fault. Because I hadn't done my pre-work properly. My tip: when you have come to a solution, ask if this is a good solution. Then take stock of whether you can help the customer with anything else. I would have liked help buying an air mattress.

Is this only about this outdoor sports store? No! Because this happens a lot more often. Unfortunately. The ladies who helped me were weekend workers, earning extra money as students. Sure they could sell well, but were seriously lacking in the service area. Probably had learned nothing about resolving complaints and the importance of empathy. They followed the internal rules and knew how to explain them to me perfectly. Make sure you have qualified staff. Not only in terms of product knowledge, but also in terms of solving problems. Invest in that, because this costs customers and is bad PR.

The nights over the weekend I had gotten through camping pretty ok, despite the discomfort/ But when dealing with my complaint I felt like I had gone CRAMPING. Unfortunate and unnecessary.

What do you most want an organization to do when you have a complaint? What is crucial to you in resolving it? I'd love to hear it in response to this blog!

PS. I took this photo as a selfie while setting up the tent on Friday.

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.