Treat every upset customer as though they just had the worst day of their life

While we strive for a 100% customer satisfaction rate at Trackur, there are times when we fall below that.

In fact, there are times where we get such a nasty complaint, we wonder what in the world we’ve done to deserve such vitriol. How we respond to such customers, is in stark contrast to how Walmart apparently responds to its customers:

Last week, the retail giant sent out what seems like a pretty innocuous tweet reading, ”We are honored to employ #veterans & support them and their families in every way we can. ‘RT’ to join us in saluting America’s heroes.” One veteran was having none of it: ”Bullsh*t I put my app in and didn’t even get a call back, walmart sucks a hairy @sshole.” Ouch.

In the past, Walmart would have let this tweet die with the thousands of others directed its way. Instead, its rapid-reaction social reputation SWAT team fought back with information. “Please review our Welcome Home Commitment to learn more about opportunities & support efforts: http://walmartcareerswithamission.com/”

As the article explains, Walmart has apparently stepped up its efforts to protect its brand, by meeting detractors head-on.

Only, they’re going about it the wrong way.

How do they know what kind of day that particular veteran was having? Heck, how do they know what he has to go through in life? [highlight color=”yellow”]While it may be natural to get defensive and curt with someone complaining, what you really need is compassion and empathy.[/highlight]

Back to Trackur.

The last time we had a similar complaint, I replied with a sincere, helpful response. [highlight color=”yellow”]We were technically “in the right” but that’s not the approach to take–that’s like throwing gasoline on a smoking ember that is about to go out.[/highlight] Our response defused the situation quickly and the customer apologized for their tone, explaining that they had been in hospital all night with a sick child. Can you imagine if we had given that father the “Walmart” response?

So, whenever you’re up against what appears to be a hateful and determined customer attack, assume they’re having the worst day of their life. That might just be the case!