Bad customer service reaches twice as many ears as praise for good customer service.
When you find yourself in the middle of a conflict with an unhappy client, don’t be defensive or make excuses. Do your best to offer solutions to ensure your client base grows and your quality of work continues to improve.
Sometimes there’s no clear right and wrong. You’re dealing with a matter of opinion and it’s emotional for both people involved—you’re passionate about your work and they’re concerned about their money, memories and/or personal image
Unhappy people will always share their negative opinions more readily than those who are happy, so do your best to fix the situation and satisfy the client – especially if it was a misunderstanding or miscommunication that you should take ownership of.
Listen
Write down specific points about what they did and didn’t like. Properly identify your unhappy client’s issue.
When it’s your turn to speak, you should summarize what the client has told you and ask further questions to clarify. Also, take a moment to think about what is below the surface. Try walking in their shoes. Empathy is key to helping you solve the problem on both sides.
- Wrong question: “How can I let them know that they are wrong?”
- Right question: “Why?”
Communicate
Send a quick response. A long delay in your reply can fuel the fire and make the situation worse. This will also give you some time to deal with your emotions (if you need to), calm down, and reply in a professional manner.
“I’m sorry to hear you’re unhappy with the service/images. Let me discuss the issue with the photographer and our team, and I will get back to you as soon as possible to come up with a solution.”
It might feel more comfortable to hide behind a keyboard but emotions and misunderstandings tend to escalate when you’re going back and forth by email. Instead of typing it out, make an effort to set up a meeting over the phone or face-to-face.
Respond & Present a Solution
Try to suggest a few solution options. This makes the client feel as if they have a choice. A couple possible examples for Local Lens photography:
- Provide additional photos
- Re-edit the photos
- Give access to the full gallery or extra prints
- Free re-do if they are still in town?
- Offer discount code, partial refund or full refund
Feel Felt Found
Say that you empathize with them, mention that others have felt the same way, and explain how the solution you’re suggesting worked for them. A couple of scenarios from Local Lens could be:
- We understand how you feel about the final digital photos because they are supposed to be treasured memories for you and your family. We’ve had other clients who have felt that their photographer did not properly capture their vision, but they found that we will go above and beyond to help solve any issues.
- The photographer recognized that the landmark was not captured as you requested, so he has personally gone back to photograph it. We will also re-edit the photos to help improve any lighting issues.
- I hope this helps. We will follow-up with you tomorrow as well to ensure everything is to your satisfaction.
Consider Their Happiness
Consider their happiness important for your business goals. If you’ve offered several solutions and they’re still unhappy, try asking them what they feel would resolve the issue and then consider their response.
- “What can I do to make this right for you?”
- “I would love to be able to discuss this issue further with you. Would you be available for a call on MONDAY at 1:30 PM?”
- If the response is unreasonable: “I can’t do that, but I can do _, or _.”
You should also be prepared to realize that occasionally there is no resolution to the issue. Beware of those rare situations, when a client is just looking for an argument or a freebie. Be fair but firm in handling the situation.
Follow Up
Once the work has been revised or a resolution has been put in place, make sure to follow up and get feedback from the client. In most cases, the client will be happy with a carefully thought out, collaborative solution, but you want to double check.
Ask customer what could we have done to avoid this issue?
OVERCOMPENSATE – It could mean that you throw in a free print, extra downloads, or discount code for next time. Thank them for their patience while this issue was resolved.
Learn
What did you learn from this experience? What can you do differently next time to make sure this situation doesn’t arise again? Each piece of negative feedback should be a positive learning experience for you as a photographer. Use the complaint or feedback to improve your service.
- Figure out where everything went wrong.
- Were our packages unclear?
- Was the customer’s vision not discussed before the shoot began?
- Were you willing to cave to the client’s demands instead of standing firm in choosing the best locations or times?