Complaints tie in with guarantees. Complaints about a product or service may be resolved by the guarantee but only if you stand behind it. Once again, let's start with small products such as books and disks. 

What should you do when someone complains about the quality of your product? This is a simple situation involving a simple answer. If the person returns the product indicating dissatisfaction, refund their money immediately. If they paid the cost of mailing it back to you, reimburse them. Make the situation as painless as possible for the customer. Let them understand that your main concern is always their complete satisfaction. By doing this you convert an unpleasant situation into a positive experience for the buyer. They lose nothing in the process and will certainly consider other products that you may be selling in the future.

Custom made products create more complex complaints.

Larger, custom made and expensive products make the situation much more difficult financially, but the principal remains the same. It is essential to make the experience pleasant for your customer. This will bring you more business later even if you lose a little money now.

In more than twenty years, one almost impossible customer.

In over twenty years of running a woodworking business, I have had some opportunities to deal with situations that were less than pleasant. In all those years, which involved hundreds of pieces of furniture and cabinets, I can remember only one customer that was impossible to satisfy. And that was not completely my fault although I was certainly a participant. The situation was complicated by the actions of a general contractor. He tried to serve as a middle man and made a real mess of things. Even in this case, the only real disagreement had to do with the price and not the work.

Satisfying the customer brings more business.

All the other cases where problems arose ended with the customer completely happy and giving me additional work. In one case I built a conference table for a law firm and they were not happy with the way the top turned out. I asked them to use the top for the next two weeks while I made a new top that would meet their requirements. After I delivered the new top they commented on my professionalism and gave me another large job. It was obvious that they had been through several unpleasant experiences with other firms.

Many years ago I was asked by a very good customer to build a built-in telephone desk. I made a drawing and they liked the design. I built the desk and delivered it but it was not what they wanted. They had seen exactly what they wanted in a model home. I went to the model home and immediately realized what they wanted. I made them another desk and kept the original in my own office for years. They could not believe that I would simply build another desk without griping and giving them a hard time. Not only did they give me much more work, but they also recommended me to many of their friends. This relationship brought me thousands of dollars of work over the years.

Some customers will try to take advantage of you.

So what happens when someone tries to take advantage of you. Certainly there are people out there who would abuse your honesty. Well, each case must be reviewed on its own merits to determine what is best in the particular situation. Let's take a simple contractor/homeowner situation. 

Many homes have storm/screen doors and the screen portion is sometimes left open when the weather is ideal. What if a homeowner calls you during the one year guarantee period because their screen has been ripped. Obviously you will be responsible for a manufacturers defect. If it seems that the screen is defective, replace it promptly and without question.

How do you deal with product abuse?

What if it is obvious that either a dog or a child has simply jumped through the screen and destroyed it. That is abuse and you are not responsible for the damage. The individual should pay for the repair. These situations are not always clear cut. If there is any doubt as to how the screen was tore, I would replace it without question. If this person has been in the house for almost a year and has never called you about anything else, you might replace it anyway, just as a courtesy. On the other hand, if this person is always calling with problems that are obviously caused by abuse, it may be time to say no. No one can say what is best for a specific situation except the person facing it at the moment.

Listening is always the first step.

The best thing even in uncomfortable situations is to be a good listener. When a customer is upset, they want someone to take the time to listen and appreciate their situation. So even if you can't help, the person will realize that you are interested in their problem. This will often diffuse a situation. 

Next, find out what the person wants. You may think they want something replaced and they may simply want you to patch it for them. It could be that five minutes of work would resolve a serious problem. If that is the case it would certainly be better than a conflict. 

View complaints as an opportunity to prove that you are a reliable and honest professional. Many merchants dread complaints and make things difficult and unpleasant for the complainers. Any business handling complaints in this manner will suffer for it.

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