11 phrases that make unhappy customers smile again

by Michele McGovern
culled from:http://www.customerexperienceinsight.com
Upset customers present a unique opportunity to customer experience professionals. It’s your chance to shine, turning things around for that person and your business relationship. The best part: It can be done just by saying the right thing.
It’s more likely than not that one of the customers you talk to today will be unhappy. It’s even more likely that you can make the situation right and preserve the relationship, according to customer loyalty expert Myra Golden, author of Beyond Wow.
Choose the correct words right out of the gate and you’ll likely make unhappy customers smile again.

What to say

Here are 11 phrases that work well with upset customers:

1. “The problem you experienced is no more acceptable to us than it is to you.”
2. “It must have been very frustrating for you to get that and discover it doesn’t work properly.”
3. “I understand your concern. What do you think will be fair?”
4. “Mrs. Customer, I’m sorry for the inconvenience we have caused you. Tell me how I can regain your trust.”
5. “Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We appreciate customers who let us know when things aren’t right.”
6. “Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate you giving us an opportunity to correct the problem and meet your expectations.”
7. “As a concrete form of apology, please accept this coupon for your next purchase.”
8. “I hope I haven’t done something personally to upset you. I want to be part of the solution.”
9. “Let me do some investigating on my end and call you back by the end of today with a response.”
10. “Mr. Customer, we want to get to the bottom of this as much as you do. Let me get right on it.”
11. “If you feel I haven’t been able to help you, and if you don’t object, I’d like to call on a colleague who’s an expert in this. She will likely better meet your needs.”

Source: “Myra’s Favorite Phrases for Dealing with Unhappy Customers,” www.myragolden.com