Even if you’re the highest rated service company on Angie's List, sooner or later a customer is going to be less than
satisfied with your company. Maybe a company representative was late, missed an appointment or misquoted a job.
Whatever the predicament, the way you handle the situation will determine whether you can regain their trust and keep
them as customers, or lose them and all their referral business as well.
The best way to manage your company’s reputation is to stay active with Angie’s List and regularly monitor the reports
being filed. We encourage all service companies to respond to both favorable and unfavorable reports as many members
use the company’s response in their own hiring decision. Many of our members have told us that even with a bad report,
the willingness of the company to address the situation directly and offer an explanation reflects positively on their
business practices.
Here are some more tips on managing and maintaining your customers’ trust.
- Have a plan. Anticipate what might go wrong and empower your staff to offer an immediate resolution. Remember, speed counts here so make every effort to respond as soon as possible.
- Be humble and apologize. The “customer is always right” is still a weighty sentiment. Don’t be afraid to say, “We
made a mistake, and I’m sorry.”
- Display excellence in your response. A coupon for a free service call or product followed up by a written apology
from your company’s leadership is the benchmark of a sincere apology.
- Communicate, communicate, communicate. Keep the customer updated as to the status of their complaint and what
is being done to correct the problem.
- Make sure it doesn’t happen again. Use the complaint and remedy as a training technique so your employees can
avoid the situation in the future.