How To Convert Challenges Into Better Customer Service

In any business, it is expected that a frustrated customer will reach out at some point. In fact it’s not uncommon for customers to have challenging experiences, especially when a business is scaling or changing its products or services.

Trying to resolve customer concerns can test even the best customer experience team. But while a challenging customer experience can be frustrating, it may deliver valuable insight into unknown pain points that need to be addressed.

It’s important to plan for an annual review of your program to improve all of your processes and systems. But listening to the concerns of a customer may also let you know if you’ve remained customer-centric as you’ve grown. Customer challenges can help you red flag bigger issues that extend into your operations or know if your team has gotten lost along the way and is no longer providing a great customer service experience.

Table of contents: 5 tips to improve your customer service

1: Actively listen to de-escalate, document, and resolve promptly‍

2: Take ownership and fix it, if the business is at fault

3: Be transparent about product, service delivery or operational issues

4: Provide courtesy discounts and special offers when needed

5: Monitor and respond to unhappy reviews

Here are five ways to train your team to anticipate, identify and handle challenging customer experiences.

1: Actively listen to de-escalate, document, and resolve issues promptly

Active listening is a key soft skill when dealing with challenging customer experience issues. Customer success teams should have a process in place to train customer service agents on how to carefully listen to customer issues through their communications channels.

Active listening is a great de-escalation technique and shows that the customer experience representative empathizes with the customer. Customers appreciate when they feel heard and seen. Once you’ve addressed and resolved the customer’s concerns, be sure to document the issues internally so you can review or reference if needed.

I encountered a situation like this while working with a reservations department team at a hotel. An upset customer contacted our department because there was an overcharge to a reservation they made for a special occasion that was affecting the funds they’d set aside for their trip. They wanted a fast resolution.

The customer experience representative took the time to actively listen to the issue, including piecing together the reason the customer felt so upset. The team found a billing mistake and corrected the overcharge. The customer was happy by the end of the conversation and we wished them well on the remainder of their trip.  

2: Take ownership and fix it, if the business is at fault

When a customer reaches out about an issue to resolve, take time to assess if the issue is the fault of the business, whether rooted in operations or delivery. If it is, apologize to the customer and work quickly with your team to fix the problem.

If you instead gloss over or ignore customer complaints about a business issue, you’ll likely get the same negative customer feedback down the line. This can potentially affect your brand and potential revenue.

An example of this situation is when the wrong item or a damaged item has been shipped to the customer and the customer reaches out to your business to try and resolve the problem. The damage could be linked to your internal operations or to an issue with a fulfillment partner, depending on how your order processing is done.

Prepare your team to follow the protocols you’ve put in place to confirm the item is incorrect or damaged. Have a clear set of next steps to empower your team to resolve the customer’s concerns. For example, they’d know to send a replacement order or give a credit without having to delegate the issue to customer service management.

This approach leads to efficient resolution and supports the relationship with your customer. Customers will learn that if there’s a problem that arises with their order, it will be fixed swiftly and without complication.

3: Be transparent about product, service delivery or operational issues

The dreaded situation has occurred: Multiple customers are reaching out about the same issue. Here’s one sequence of actions that could help:

• Manage expectations
• Alert all customers affected by the issue
• Send updates about resolution

Manage expectations Proactively notify customers of the issue as they place their order or go onto your website. Have your team send an email, text or notice of what’s going on to prevent getting flooded with the same customer questions. This approach nurtures the relationship you are building with customers who use your product or service.

An example of this is if you provided a digital-based service where customers log in to accounts and a customer reaches out about a technical bug that other customers could experience. Thank the customer for contacting customer service about the issue, verify the problem or bug internally, and let the customer know your team is working on a solution. Include information about when they can expect a fix, if possible.  

Alert all customers affected by the issue Next, take proactive measures. After this initial response, alert all customers affected by the known issue. Send a heads up that it's occurring and that the issue is being triaged and is your top priority. Customers may still wish to reach out, but this way they’ll know you are already aware of the issues.

Send updates about resolution Let all customers know that your team will provide an update and will send automated updates and alerts to the customer moving forward.

These strategies build on the customer relationship and help customers trust that problems that arise with their service will be handled quickly and they can expect to be notified when they are affected.

4: Provide courtesy discounts and special offers when needed

Set up special offers or courtesy discounts for situations where customers experience inconveniences or delays. Acknowledging the issue and offering an unexpected discount, coupon or bonus item may increase customer satisfaction. This also lets customers know their feedback was heard and the company is working to make it right.

For example, how do you respond when a customer complains that a delivery hasn’t arrived within the promised shipping window? A typical customer support reaction is to tell the customer to wait and be patient.

Even if the delay isn’t your fault, proactively reach out to the customer with a shipping update and offer a break on their next order or shipping cost. This is an especially effective strategy around time-sensitive periods like the holidays.

Responding with empathy and including discounts and special offers may buffer a disappointing experience, make the situation more tolerable and shows the company cares.

5: Monitor and respond to unhappy reviews

It’s hard to get customer reviews that point to an issue, but reviews like this are an opportunity to learn and make changes when the critique is warranted. Train your customer service team to monitor all reviews and respond to negative feedback.

Negative reviews could uncover a situation where you can further help your customer or redirect a situation to a more positive outcome. When a customer has had a negative experience with your business, work to make it right and win them back.  

I was once monitoring reviews for a former client and discovered a customer had left a high rating along with a negative comment. There had been an issue with their order and the product they’d received, but they never reached out to the customer experience team to get help with it.

When I reviewed the issue further I discovered there was a known problem with the product and the customer was eligible to get a replacement. The customer was thrilled when we reached out to let them know. We shipped out the replacement item and they updated their review to reflect their positive experience.

Challenging customer experiences flag where improvements can be made

Challenging customer experiences happen and can offer a valuable window into where improvements can be made. These are strategies businesses can use to help convert a negative customer experience into a positive one by using the following strategies:

1. Actively listen to de-escalate, document, and resolve the issue promptly
2. Take ownership and fix the problem, If the business is at fault
3. Be transparent about product, service delivery or operational issues
4. Offer courtesy discounts or special offers when there are product or service issues or delays
5. Monitor and respond to unhappy reviews

Planning ahead to give your customer experience service team these tools and strategies to address disconnects will set you up for improved experiences. This will build better customer relationships over time that will ultimately grow your business.