What to do When you Make a Customer Service Mistake

Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, but what do you do if you make a mistake that affects your customer? In customer service, mistakes happen, and how you respond to them can make or break your business. Here’s what to do when you make a customer service mistake.

Listen to your customer’s complaint

You messed up, so the least you can do is listen to your customer’s complaint and let them be heard. Often, once an angry customer has had a chance to vent, they feel a little better about the situation. Make sure you are actually listening to their concerns, so you can address them appropriately.

Use empathy

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. How would you feel if you were the one who had been treated badly? Let your customer know that you understand by using phrases like “I’d be upset, too.”

Apologize for your mistake

Own up to the mistake, and then make it clear that you accept responsibility for making it right. Make sure that you are sincere, though, or you could end up pushing your customer further away. Some customers will be satisfied with just an apology, but you should never leave it at that. After you apologize, you need to try and rectify the mistake.

Resolve the issue

What can be done to make the issue right? Is there something that can be done? Can you offer compensation to placate the customer, or is there something extra special you can do to show them that you really are sorry for the mistake?

Make sure it never happens again

Diagnose what went wrong, and why. Learn from your mistakes so you can continue to offer the best customer service in the future. Refrain from placing blame or feeling sorry for yourself; no one is perfect, but we can all learn from our mistakes.