That complaining customer actually loves your business

there are those days when you go to your bank only to find it had closed 15 minutes ahead of time. On inquiring from the security guard why the bank is closed, he informs you that he was instructed to close earlier than usual without an explanation. You walk away bitterly; and with the bank closed you cannot access the suggestion box to voice your sentiments. So, the best you can do is only rant on social media. Another time you go to a restaurant and for a moment you wonder whether you are part of the eatery’s furniture as all the waiters seem not to have noticed you. After a while, one comes your way but immediately you try to talk to them, they gesture that they are coming to attend to you, but you wait for them in vain. By this time, you are boiling with anger; the situation is not made any better by the pangs of hunger. Since you are too hungry and weak to cause a scene, you continue hoping for better. Eventually, you are attended to but your order is mixed up with another person’s. When you ask them to fix the mess, you are informed that they no longer have the food you had ordered for. You ask to see the manager and the waiter happily informs you that he has just left. I have been in such situations before, too; and one time I wrote an article about it after getting tired of bad service. I went ahead naming and shaming the business where I felt mistreated and, indeed, action and sorted out the mess. The next time I went to one these establishments a worker staff asked me why I only write bad things about them, ignoring the good ones. This is a common and worrying attitude that business people exhibit when faced with a customer who complains. When one complains about poor service, some businesses only see a ‘grumpy, annoying’ fellow who has failed to understand that it is human to err; and ‘they should understand’. What these entrepreneurs forget is that a customer who speaks out about bad service is actually a good person. I prefer this kind of person to the one who walks away quietly and never says anything, but goes ahead to boycott my business forever. It is like a relationship ending without you ever knowing what really happened so that the mistake is not repeated. In business speak, we often say the “customer is always right”. However, these kinds of people are more than right. They genuinely love your business and want better services or products. They have the luxury to go to your competitors, but they do not want to do that. They are like a mother who cannot throw away a child and pick another. They are sticking with you and offering free advice on what needs to be fixed. Therefore, the best you can do is to listen to their grievances and improve where necessary. Such people are actually not customers but your fans. They are addicted to your service/product, but frustrated that it is not meeting their expectations. It is 2014, and few people may think of the traditional suggestion box. Brave ones may want to speak to someone in management, while the tech-savvy will hit at you using social media. I often see telecom companies responding kindly to anyone who rants on social media about poor service. They make an effort to often follow up the complainant on Twitter and asked them to send a direct message and their telephone number and then assisted. In other words, the telecoms embrace criticism and listen. Those who are yet to learn a thing, are the ones who think that because they have many customers, the one complaining about poor service is just the bad apple that can be thrown out of the cart and life goes on. If the complaint was posted on Twitter, such businesses often block the ‘bad apple’ customer without addressing the issues raised. Great businesses strive on innovations that seek to address the needs of clients. A business that leaves no room for those who complain cannot innovate because it doesn’t know what could be wrong with the service or product they are selling. So, the next time you see a disturbed customer ranting about your service or product, listen and take note of the grievances raised. Their anger may harbour a solution to what could give an edge over your business rivals. Blog: www.ssenyonga.wordpress.com Twitter: @ssojo81