<WBR>Terry, et all. <br> <br> No matter how hard we try, there will always be customers who will not be satisfied with the work we did. Sometimes it is our fault, but most of the time, it's because the customer didn't get what he/she thought he/she was supposed to get. The only thing we can do is do our best to resolve the situation. <br> <br> In my book, I have a chapter called Physiological Trouble Shooting. I discuss dealing with angry or dissatisfied customers. (see below). For Terry, he needs to go to step number 5. There have been many suggestions, but asking the customer how to resolve the problem has not been discussed. One suggestion someone made, was to have the customer to "tune" the note she is complaining to where she does like it. I did that with one of my customers, and when he realized that where he wanted it didn't produce the results he was looking for, he finally gave up. <br> <br> <div class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">To avoid loosing the customer, follow these 6 steps on how to handle the angry customer.<br> <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></div> <div class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1. Don't buy into it. Take the call as a professional.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Unless you said something derogatory, the customer is not yelling at you personally, but is complaining about the work you did.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>So take the complaints as a professional piano tuner.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Avoid the dangers of name calling, denying your mistakes, or placing the blame on the piano.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></div> <div class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2. Listen to understand. Try to understand what she is complaining about. Hear the customer out, don't interrupt. Remember that script. Let it be told. This </FONT><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">doesn't mean you have to agree with what she is saying, but until you hear the whole story, you will not know the complaint.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></div> <div class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'">3. Show empathy. Reflect the feelings of the customer. Let her know you understand that she is upset. "I can understand your feelings"</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'">. </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'">I am sorry I didn't provide the service you expected".<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></div> <div class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4. Identify the problem. This is extremely </FONT>important.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Repeat the problem you just heard. If you don't repeat back what you think you heard, there will be a lack of communication. It will assure her that you do understand. Then, make sure the customer understands what you just said.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></div> <div class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">5.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Find a positive solution. Ask how can you help come up with a solution to the problem.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>If you ask the customer to come up with a solution, and work to solve the problem, you will find that she is much more willing to have you come back and fix it, than demand a refund. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></div> <div class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Shruti','sans-serif'"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">6. Thank the customer for calling. As was mentioned before, the complaining customer is your best friend.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></div> <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <br> </FONT><br> <div style="CLEAR: both">Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT<br> Piano Tuner/Technician<br> Honolulu, HI<br> 808-349-2943<br> www.bleespiano.com<br> Author of <br> The Business of Piano Tuning<br> available from Potter Press<br> www.pianotuning.com</div> <br> <div id='u8CACE30A6417668-410-6241' class='aol_ad_footer'><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">It's time to go back to school! Get the latest trends and gadgets that make the grade on <A title="http://shopping.aol.com/back-to-school?ncid=aolins00050000000007" href="http://shopping.aol.com/back-to-school?ncid=aolins00050000000007" target="_blank">AOL Shopping</A>.</FONT> </div>