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Everyone makes mistakes. However, the most important first step for anybody confronted by an angry customer is not to attribute blame or even to be too quick to apologise – it is first to focus on what will satisfy the customer.

Managing Director of KiwiHost New Zealand, Simon Nikoloff, advises employees and business owners to be sparing with saying ‘sorry’ straight off the cuff – however, apologising for the inconvenience the customer is experiencing is always going to be a good move.

“If you, or your company, are to blame, then you must apologise, but later. If you are not to blame, you should still focus on making the

customer happy, but do not apologise for the problem because that is accepting blame for something you did not do.”

Simon says a hasty apology is not helpful when it comes to managing customer expectations, which can sometimes be unrealistic and damaging. Be prepared to manage the customer’s expectations with a sound explanation and to offer alternatives, if possible and practical.

“Recently a small part in our fridge broke down. My expectation was that it was a small component and therefore would be cheap to replace. As it turned out, this component was part of a larger ‘module’ which had to be replaced in its entirety – that’s just the way the fridge is built. This is not the service provider’s fault, but he did have to manage my expectations.”

Simon says KiwiHost’s advice – besides training your staff in how to deal with conflict – is to give them a written set of process and procedures to follow in this situation, even scripting some of the things they should say, and empowering frontline staff to take ownership and exercise initiative when solving a customer’s problem.

He says that while there are many statistics being bandied about, the experience of KiwiHost – which has been involved in customer service in New Zealand for more than 17 years – is that two thirds or more of customers would rather stay with a company than move, provided that they’re treated with respect and, most importantly, appreciation.

KiwiHost has a ‘Four F Formula’ that can be applied when things go wrong. Often a customer just wants to be heard, so let them speak. Often it’s not to do with your product or service, so just letting off steam resolves the problem. But when this isn’t enough, tactfully apply this handy formula: