Dealing with unhappy customers

Any venture, commercial or not, is likely to face unhappy customers at some time or the other and a pool cleaning business is no different. There will be times when as a pool cleaning business owner you might feel that the job has been executed well while the customer may disagree completely. If the pool cleaning business is to flourish, then it is very important that you know how to service clients and deal with unhappy customers as well.

When dealing with unhappy customers, remember that the idea is to not only eliminate their problem but to try and convert them into loyal customers. However, this is much easier said than done. While some unhappy customers have complains that can be solved, others might be unhappy about a situation out of your control. In either case keeping a few tips in mind will help conquer the situation immensely.

1) Calm and dignified – The golden rule when dealing with unhappy customers is to never loose your temper with them. Irrespective of how unjustified the complaint sounds to you, always hear it out and honor it with a calm and dignified response. Combating anger with anger will make the situation much worse. Such instances can also lead to legal battles and loss of goodwill. In a pool cleaning business where a larger part of the advertising is done by word of mouth, having a customer bad mouth you could translate to more than the loss of just that one unhappy customer.
2) Identify the problem and lay down the solutions – Once you have given a composed hearing to the unhappy customer, assess it in your mind. Get to the root of the problem. Once you know exactly what the customer is unhappy about, let the customer know that you have understood the problem and offer the various possible solutions (if any). Incase there is a deadlock let the unhappy customer know that the situation is out of your control and that you are sorry for not being ale to solve his particular problem. All the time make sure that you do not offend the unhappy customer by making him feel alienated.
3) Go that extra mile – Never try to hush up the matter and end it just because payments have been made. If an unhappy customer is complaining about algae which was not disposed of properly, then go that extra mile to ensure that the job is done free of cost. Goodwill is difficult to come by and satisfying an unhappy customer can lead you to a fair amount of goodwill. A satisfied customer will surely turn loyal and bring other along too.
4) Make offers – If you find that the problem, which the unhappy customer is facing, is not one that you can solve, let the customer know that. Offer compensation in kind, in some other way. You can say “that though we are unable to do much for this particular problem, we would like to offer you a free filter clean up to show you how sorry we are.” This helps authenticate your sincerity towards the unhappy customer.
The customer is the main link between success and any business and therefore it is important to keep clients happy and satisfied with the service provided. However achieving 100 % client satisfaction is completely impossible. So when you do encounter unhappy customers do not loose faith, but learn to minimize the damage as much as you can.

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