Why The Complaining Customer Should Be Valued

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Complaints are emotional in nature, people complain when they feel hurt or disappointed, but most of the time, businesses feel and see the complaining customer as a pain, and a burden, and can’t wait to get rid of them. The service rep, apologizes and empathizes and fervently prays subconsciously, for the customer to leave and stop making their day miserable.

But on the other hand, THE COMPLAINING CUSTOMER IS GOLD, if you look at it from the right perspective.

Customer Complaints

How? You ask.

Consider this – Have you ever had any misunderstanding with your significant other, over something small, but then none you is willing to compromise and take the blame. Then that very small misunderstanding degenerates to both of you feeling so emotionally hurt by the other, that it almost jeopardizes the relationship?

This is also what happens when a customer complains to an organization about a perceived lapse (no matter how small) and they fail to resolve it effectively. Businesses need to understand that the complaining customer values their relationship with the company and wants to help improve it. They are the ones who care and give you a chance to fix things.

How does complaining make him/her valuable?

The value of the complaining customer comes from the fact that they help a business in the following ways  –

  • The complaining customer is a good source of valuable unbiased feedback, his complaints point out areas where you need to make improvements.
  • The complaining customer is giving the company another chance to render delightful service (and delighted customers will talk positively about your brand to 4 -6 people)
  • Complaining customers are most likely to remain loyal if their complaints are resolved effectively, and will even recommend your brand to more people, this creates a positive brand perception and makes the complaining customer profitable.
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Bear in mind that there are a great number of customers who don’t bother to tell you about their bad experiences. Research (Lee Resource) shows that for every complaining customer there are hundreds of other dissatisfied customers who have remained silent. Author Michael LeBoeuf describes such customers as being ‘Nice Customers’ who never complain. Most of the time, they simply stop doing business with you.

Make it easy for your customers to complain and have this in mind when next you have a complaining customer. Focus on effectively resolving the complaints, winning back the customer’s confidence and improving your business. 

Kelechi Okeke
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