Getting a guest complaint is always an opportunity to turn an unsatisfied customer into a loyal advocate of your business. Understanding the value of focusing on training your employees on how to handle guest complaints and effectively manage guest expectations to prevent complaints from occurring in the first place does not only boost a customer focused environment, it also fosters a winning culture.

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While we hopefully always have the best intentions in mind when dealing with an upset customer, the outcome may not always be positive. Better understanding the 7 deadly sins of complaint management will help us to be more conscious of the do’s and do not’s when facing an angry customer the next time.

1. Never say it’s not my fault! Regardless if you are perfect and someone else along the line was cutting corners causing this complaint, the guest doesn’t really care about your personal pride and just wants the problem to be solved and be recognized. Don’t say it was your fault, if it wasn’t, but you can always apologize for the inconvenience in the name of your organization. Whatever you do, don’t blame it on someone else, it will only make you and your organization look unprofessional and weak.
2. Never say that you didn’t deal with this. Even though you indeed did not have anything to do with the service breakdown, the customer doesn’t care who is responsible and who not. Instead you should strive to own the problem, and follow-up with the respective departments to get it resolved as quickly as possible and get back to the guest. Never ever give the customer the run around.
3. Never interrupt the guest. This doesn’t sound like a magic secret, but too often we interrupt the guest thinking we know the problem and jump to conclusions… and yes, you may even end up solving the wrong problem. But most importantly, it will only upset your client getting interrupted and chances are that he will start all over again (only more upset this time).
4. Never automatically accept liability. While you can always apologize for any inconvenience caused, you should not accept the blame, if it wasn’t the fault of your organization. Sometimes the complaint is caused by factors and circumstances not within your organization’s control and accepting liability may end up being very costly.
5. Never talk down to your client. You should always treat your customer with respect and be polite… no matter what. Regardless of how irrational the complaint may seem to you, it does not give you any reason to be arrogant or disrespectful. If the customer does start to use inappropriate language you should communicate that you need to end the conversation, if it does not change, and do so, if necessary.
6. Never lose your temper! Sometimes we get emotionally involved when dealing with an upset customer, so it is very important to disconnect yourself from the situation and stay calm. Once you get upset and lose your temper, you really lose… regardless of who was right or wrong.
7. Never appeal for sympathy. It’s not a popularity contest, and it doesn’t help you if the customer loves you and hates your organization. Always keep in mind that it’s your organization that pays your salary.

As always we learn best from our own mistakes, and I’ve made my fair share of mistakes along the way dealing with upset guests trying to learn the most from it.

Question: What is your experience in dealing with upset customers, and what works, and what doesn’t?