Promptness key when dealing with unhappy customers

By Marilyn Helms

(Second of two parts)

Other projects in the Dalton State College’s class involved Web site problems with on-line retailers and their delivery service partners. One student ordered his textbooks and the on-line seller was unable to ship the book which was destroyed in a fire. The seller claimed she was new to the on-line selling process, hadn’t received payment from the student, and also didn’t understand how to issue a refund. The student’s recourse was to file an “A-Z Guarantee Claim” with Amazon.com. She received a $10 promotional certificate for a future purchase from the Web site and after a month did receive her refund. The seller closed her selling account on the Web site after the money was refunded.

Another student ordered a management textbook which arrived damaged. Her claim was filed with the delivery company and she received a replacement textbook several days after and had a positive experience with the problem resolution. Another product damaged in delivery was also handled in a timely manner by the expedited air express company who immediately admitted they caused the product damage.

This year’s projects also had two health related customer service issues. One student’s spouse had medical procedures from a participating member of their health care plan only to find out after the pre-approved surgery the claim was denied. Multiple calls to the insurance company revealed the physician used an anesthesiologist from outside the network. After several appeals and calls to customer service over 13 weeks, the claim appeal was approved.

Another student lost her grandfather to an illness. They learned of his death from the funeral home director who was en-route to pick up her grandfather’s body from the nursing home. Neither hospice nor the nursing home had called the family first.

After meeting with the director and talking with several nurses, the funeral home director and the hospice center, the group changed their procedures and implemented classes to be taught at the nursing home to prevent the situation from occurring again. The student and her family sent a thank you letter to the group for arranging the meeting to discuss the situation.

For the positive situations, a comment to a bank’s headquarters to brag on an efficient employee at their Rome branch was met with a well-written, personalized letter indicating such comments were appreciated and the comments would be passed along to the employee and her boss.

Another “good” experience involved a car purchase and a well-trained sales person who didn't pressure the student and offered respect and patience. The student also felt she had a good rate on the car and the loan.

A local automobile insurance agency was praised for finding a locksmith to retrieve the keys locked in a student’s trunk and the student was even more pleased to find the charges for the service was covered by her insurance company and they quickly wrote her a check for the $45 charge. Several students wanted the name of this insurance company.

Another class member tried a new fast-food restaurant chain and was pleased with the quality of the food and the service. He wrote them a letter of commendation, but didn’t have any response from the franchise.

Similarly a student who was pleased with flowers she purchased for a friend wrote the florist two letters but didn't receive any reply. The students agreed if a customer takes the time to write a positive letter, the company should appreciate the input and feedback and follow up with this loyal, satisfied customer. They noted too any letters sent should be free of all spelling and grammar errors.

Promptness is also important for companies responding to customers. As expected, students who received prompt responses, even for defective products, were satisfied and likely would purchase from the company again. The bad experiences in follow-through from the customer service division of the companies led several students to close accounts, cancel their memberships and company credit cards, or vow never to return.

Since an unhappy customer tells many of their friends, co-workers and families about the experience and research shows these unhappy customers often embellish their stories, companies should take extra care in handing all complaints and compliments.

• Marilyn Helms is a business professor at Dalton State College. She can reached by e-mail at mhelms@daltonstate.edu.