1. Product is out of stock
Complaint: While a product being out of stock can be a positive sign (it’s popular!), it can also annoy customers hoping to buy that product here and now. This situation is made worse if supply issues mean that the product is out of stock for an extended period.
How to handle it: Transparency is key to handling this issue. You need to speak with your supplier to understand when the next shipment will arrive, you need to pass this information onto your customer service and sales teams, and they must in turn pass it on to customers. Be proactive in your customer service, offering to call customers as soon as the next shipment comes in.
2. Broken/defective product
Complaint: When a product breaks or doesn’t perform as it should, you can expect to hear about it. This may not be your fault – it could be that the customer chose the wrong product or used it incorrectly.
How to handle it: If the blame rests with you or the product, apologise and offer a refund or replacement. If an investigation suggests the blame rests with the customer, gently point that out and consider offering a gesture of goodwill to smooth things over.
3. Product doesn’t meet expectations
Complaint: Sometimes complaints arise not from an issue with the product or service, but with the customer’s expectation of it – they thought it would be better or somehow different to the reality.
How to handle it: This is one of the most difficult complaints to deal with. You’ll need to listen to the customer to understand how they developed this expectation, then do what you can to adjust the future expectations of this and other customers. Again, a gesture of goodwill may be worth considering.
4. Preferred payment not accepted
Complaint: You’ve all but made the sale, but there’s a problem – you don’t take payment in the way that the customer wants to make payment.
How to handle it: Apologies, then work with the customer to check if they are able to make payment in any of the ways you accept. Attempt to offer simple solutions. Moving forward, try to accept as many forms of payment as possible.