Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.
To: pierre_houches@me.com
From: Customer Service Team – TC Insurance
Subject: Your recent policy renewal
Dear Mr Houches,
Thank you for your recent renewal of your insurance policy with Top Car Insurance.
It has been brought to our attention that at the end of your renewal call you registered a complaint and stated that you were dissatisfied with the service you had received.
We value your custom and I assure you that we take all customer feedback seriously. On behalf of the company I would like to apologise for the length of time it took for you to receive your final quote for this renewal. I am also sorry for the inconvenience caused when the discounts you received were not automatically applied.
We have taken your suggestions on board and will review our renewals process for existing customers. We understand your point that the process should not take as long for existing customers as for new customers buying a new policy.
In appreciation of the many years you have been a customer of Top Car Insurance we are happy to refund you the difference in price between your new and your previous premium, i.e. £73.20. I have also made a note on your account to ensure that your next renewals process will run more smoothly for you.
We value your feedback and will use it to improve our service.
We trust that you will find this a satisfactory response to your complaint and that this correspondence will bring this matter to a close. However, should you wish to discuss this matter further, please let us know how best to contact you.
With kind regards,
Rowena Harrod
Customer Service Team
Tips
- Use a formal register.
- Choose vocabulary that is more objective and reduces negative emotions where possible, e.g. dissatisfied rather than unhappy/upset, inconvenience rather than trouble/problem.
- Acknowledge the complaint and show you understand the problem. Focus on the facts and avoid making excuses or placing blame on individual people.
- Apologise and explain what steps will be taken to ensure it doesn't happen again.
- Emphasise the positive relationship with the customer:
We value your custom … / feedback …
In appreciation of the many years you have been a customer …
We are happy to ...
We trust that you will ... - Offer some kind of solution or compensation if appropriate.
Dealing with customers' complaints is definitely one of the hardest jobs ever. First of all, because most people are so stupid and stupidity generates incomprehension and incomprehension again generates complaints.
I often saw how people complained about something they absolutely don't understand at all. Something doesn't work right because the user was too lazy to read the instruction - good point to complain you've been sold broken goods.
You're not a specialist in something and totally don't understand what's going on - just tell everybody that they are stupid and give people advice on how they need to act.
I think all these boys and girls who work in customer service must have a monthly bonus to compensate for intense work conditions.
But of course, telling the truth, not everyone in customer services are good enough to work in such places. There are a lot of unsuitable persons (both technically and mentally).
So, it's good when you try to figure out the problem at first, before calling to service and it's great when you find a helpful service worker to deal with your bad.