The vast majority of consumers encounter new brands because they already have an interest in the products or services a company offers. In other words, they’re looking for you. Some may stumble across your retail location by accident, and others may be referred by trusted family members or friends, but most will find you when seeking what you have to offer.

Generally speaking, this means you’re already ahead of the game since you hold the missing piece in their transactional puzzle. If your products are superior, you offer competitive pricing, your store is attractive and welcoming, and your customer service is outstanding, you’re probably going to create a positive customer experience, potentially gain loyal patrons, and—if all goes well—convince new customers to recommend you to others.

Of course, into each life some rain must fall, as the saying goes. You can’t please all the people all the time, and there are going to be occasions when customers seem hell-bent of finding fault in everything you do. Perhaps they’ve had bad experiences with competitive brands and therefore have preconceived notions about your brand.

Maybe they’re just having a bad day, or it could be their complaints are entirely valid. Regardless, you need to go out of your way to provide a satisfying experience if at all possible. How can you do this when customers don’t want to give you a chance?

Practice Active Listening

When a customer is upset about something, the last thing they want is lip service or someone telling them they’re wrong. Diffusing the situation calls for active listening that allows the customer to voice frustrations. Most customers just want to know that they’re being heard and understood, so if your sales associates cut them short or try to offer solutions before fully understanding the problem, they may make the situation worse.

To deliver the best possible service and make customers feel like your company really cares, sales associates must instead listen closely, make sure they understand the problem, ask questions for clarification, apologize if it seems appropriate, and then offer potential solutions to solve the problem, turning a negative experience into a positive one, and resulting in customer satisfaction.

Avoid Justification

Your employees take pride in their work and they may naturally feel inclined to defend your brand, your store, your products, or your practices when confronted with angry customers, but telling customers they’re wrong is not the best tactic when trying to ensure their satisfaction. It doesn’t really matter if you’re right, when you try to justify or even explain your position, you’re telling customers that their position isn’t valid, and that will only serve to further anger them.

Offer Suitable Solutions

Customer concerns are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. If a customer feels mistreated in some way, a refund or discount might not help. If sales associates have made attempts to fix a situation without success, the next step should be to escalate to management so that other potential solutions can be explored.

In some cases, the customer will virtually tell you what they need to feel satisfied, and in others you’ll have to work it out. With the right approach, however, you should be able to solve any customer service dilemma.

If you are interested in purchasing Retail Store displays and accessories for your retail store, shop our website, Specialty Store Services.  We have everything you need to be a profitable retailer.  If you have a question that you would like answered immediately, you can Live Chat, or phone us at 800-999-0771.