You probably won't be in business very long before you get your first complaint. This simply cannot happen: low-end customers pay anything and expect Earth, while high-end customers pay a lot but expect inhuman effort in return. You can't please everyone all the time, no matter how ragged you try - there will always be someone who won't be happy with what you've done. So what can you do about it?
Don't be rude or dismissive.
You may find a customer's complaint silly or even offensive - but that doesn't mean you can respond in kind. You must take every customer complaint seriously and always act as if it was 100% your fault that things were not to their satisfaction.
Remember, every unhappy customer will talk about their experience with your prospects (research varies, but some say they could say as many as 20). These potential customers won't hear your side of the story. Going the extra mile to keep unreasonable customers happy is primarily a defensive technique to prevent them from damaging your business. Don't be afraid of complaints: instead, you should actively raise them so you have a chance to put things right before they tell anyone.
Write an apology letter.
People will appreciate the effort you put in if you take the time to write them a formal letter of apology and say you're sorry things weren't to their satisfaction and appreciate they took the time to tell you. that you can improve. For example:
'Sir,
I noticed that you were not satisfied with the service you received from my company in regards to home delivery. We have now contacted our delivery service and have resolved the issue, although I understand it is too late to bother you.
I would like to sincerely apologize for the bad experience you had with my company and I hope it does not harm our chances of doing business together in the future.”
Make sure you sign the letter with a pen. People hate to see letters with printed signatures.
Offer a partial refund.
The final part of your letter should offer a refund of the amount you can afford to give - in this scenario, for example, if there was a delivery problem, you should offer a full refund of the delivery price plus something extra to cover the inconvenience.
This way, you can turn your dissatisfied customers into some of your most satisfied ones. They will tell everyone they know that there was a little problem that wasn't your fault and they probably complained too hard but you handled it politely and gave them their money back.
Having people know that you respond well to complaints is some of the best word-of-mouth marketing you can get. Plus, that customer you treated well is surprisingly likely to come back and do business with you again - although, of course, they'll be very upset if things don't go their way a second time.
Complain yourself.
Many times when a customer complains about something, it wasn't your fault - it was some sort of problem with your supplier or someone else you rely on. Of course, the customer didn't know that, but you do and you have to do something about them. Write them a complaint like this:
'Dear Sir or Madam,
Due to your service being unavailable this week, we have received the attached customer complaints. I hope you will understand that I am very dissatisfied and am currently considering alternative suppliers.'
Attach a copy of every customer complaint you received from them to this letter. Your supplier will often be keen enough to keep you as a customer and offer some sort of compensation package - which you can then pass on to your customers or use to cover the cost of refunds you've already given them.
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