Inevitably, we’re going to make a mistake. (I wish that weren’t so!) And we’re going to have an angry customer on our hands. The good news is that a mistake is almost always fixable if you act quickly and decisively. In fact, you can actually increase customer loyalty if you handle the fumble well.

The biggest mistake that companies make in handling an angry customer is not having a carefully designed or documented procedure already in place. Not having one then leaves the employee hearing about the complaint hanging in the wind, forced to respond and make up a plan as he goes along.

That’s not good for your customer retention numbers or your employee retention numbers.

So, what do you need to consider when creating a complaint response plan?

Your customers’ feelings. When someone is angry or disappointed, they need to vent. Listen empathetically. Don’t argue or refute anything they say at this point. Let them just get their complain off their chest. When they’ve started to repeat themselves, then break into the stream of the conversation and move things forward.

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