The negative impact of an unhappy/noisy client will generally far outweigh the positive impact of many happy/silent ones. It’s worth your time to try to resolve client issues. The effort that you make might just be enough to satisfy the client, even if the outcome isn’t what she wanted. What follows is the story of how my cable company turned a complaint into a success story, almost in spite of itself.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband, Steve, was unable to watch basketball over the weekend because a Spanish language broadcast inexpicably comandeered a major network station- on both the HD and traditional channels. Steve spent a goodly amount of time on the phone with a tech rep from the cable company; sending signal this and that, checking this and that menu setting, etc. At an appropriate point, the rep gave up and scheduled the “first available” service appointment for Monday afternoon.

The problem persisted through the weekend, but resolved itself in time for the Monday morning news shows. We didn’t need the service call. YAY, no waiting for the technician, no interruptions, no barking dog, etc. I reported the problem solved and asked to cancel the service appointment.

The phone rep would not cancel the appointment. My husband is the “primary account holder” and the rep REQUIRED his permission. Incredible. The rep was willing to send a technician to our house rather than cancel the appointment. All I could see is that someone who actually needed a technician would be kept waiting. The  rep didn’t even hear me; she just repeated that she couldn’t cancel. She didn’t acknowledge that it was unfortunate, nothing but rote recitation of the policy.

That type of stupid waste of time makes me crazy, which is what I said on Twitter. I sent a notice into cyber space that I was very frustrated. About half an hour later, a cable rep (Bill) replied via Twitter and said he’d take care of my problem. I sent the information; he canceled the appointment. About 15 seconds of time on my part. No questions. No phone wait time. Done.

VERY COOL! My energy shifted from being annoyed to being intrigued and impressed. The speed and simplicity of the resolution offset the negative emotion. What I came away with is that the company is investing in improving client service in innovative ways. I’m a little more loyal now, because I like to think Bill is out there if I need him. Irrational, but true. 

When your client has an issue, listen to her and acknowledge her concern. Whether or not you agree, look at things from her perspective and try to come up with an approach that works. How you handle an issue can have a much greater impact than the actual issue. If you’re being selective about the clients you accept, every single one is worth the effort!

Keep these tips in mind the next time you’re dealing with an unhappy client.

• Let the client drive the conversation. Listen to her. Don’t think “right” or “wrong”, think “win/win”. Get the facts as she sees them. Make her feel important.
• Be accountable. Even if your dog did eat the paperwork, no one wants to hear about it. That goes for crappy work done by assistants, deadlines missed because of messenger failings, etc.
• Manage expectations. Don’t promise unless you’re sure you can deliver. Give specific next steps and make sure the client knows when she’ll hear from you again.
• Follow up. Give updates, be clear about resolution or the point at which the issue is closed. Use the phone, use email- whatever your client prefers. 
• If the client isn’t satisfied with the outcome, be sure she hears that you KNOW she isn’t satisfied. Walk through what you’ve done to the point where it’s clear no further options exist. If appropriate, offer some “because I value your business” concession on future business.

Being expert at problem prevention is a much better goal than being expert at handling them. On the other hand- great client service is an asset when it comes to protecting your reputation. If you have a client with an issue, there’s no question that the investment you make to turn the situation around will deliver a good return.