Republic of the Philippines

CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES

Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

OAC 1110 CUSTOMER RELATION

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration- 2nd Year
2nd Semester, S/Y 2024-2025

I. Lesson- Module 4 – Dealing With Customers

II. Learning Outcomes:

After completion of module 4, students should be able to:

1. Understand tips for dealing with customer
2. Explain how to build rapport with potential customer.
3. Describe the steps on how to defuse a situation with a difficult customer.
__________________________________________________________________________

III. Lecture Notes/Discussions:

Topic 1- Definition of Customer
A customer is an individual or business that purchases another company's goods or
services. Customers are important because they drive revenues; without them, businesses
cannot continue to exist. Regardless of what industry you're in or what kinds of products and
services you sell, your customer is the most important part of your business. Without
the customer, you don't see any sales. As a result, they are a critical factor when developing
your marketing messaging and strategy.
Your company’s most vital asset is its customers, so you need to make sure you’re
dealing with your customers properly. Without them, you would not, and could not, exist in
business. Sure, you can attract new customers with unique products, free gifts, or reducing
your prices; but if you’re not creating relationships with them, they’re not going to return or
recommend you.
Sometimes it can be challenging to build those relationships. The questions you get
asked in a customer facing role can be in equal parts interesting, monotonous, funny and
challenging. The key is to make each customer feel welcome and helped.
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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

Here are ten tips for dealing with customers and delivering excellent customer service:

Tips for Dealing with Customers

1. Listen to Customers. Sometimes, customers just need to know that you’re listening. If
they’re confused or have a problem, by lending a listening ear, you’re showing that you care
and that you’re not dismissing them.
2. Apologize. When something goes wrong, apologize. It’s amazing how calming the words
“I’m sorry” can be. Don’t engage in fault-finding or laying blame, but let them know you’re sorry
they had a problem. Deal with the problem immediately and let the customer know what you
have done.

3. Take Them Seriously. Make customers feel important and appreciated. No matter how
ridiculous a question may sound to you; it’s important to the customer. If they feel like they’re
being laughed at, or spoken down to, they will not purchase anything. Customers can be very
sensitive and will know whether or not you really care about them.
4. Stay Calm. Difficult as it is sometimes, it is important to stay calm. Your calming approach
will help your customer stay calm too. They will feel like you’re in control of the situation and
that you can help solve their problem.

5. Identify and Anticipate Needs. Most customer needs are emotional rather than logical.
The more you know your customers, the better you become at anticipating their needs.
Communicate regularly so that you’re aware of problems or upcoming needs.
6. Suggest Solutions. Have a menu of calming remedies which you and your employees can
use. Whether it’s purely a refund or return, or if it’s coupons or a free service. By agreeing in
advance the scenarios where you will provide these remedies, and how much you’re willing to
spend, you will be able to speak calmer and more confidently when offering the solution.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

7. Appreciate the Power of “Yes”. Always look for ways to help your customers. When they
have a request (as long as it is reasonable) tell them that you can do it. Figure out how
afterwards. Look for ways to make doing business with you easy. Always do what you say
you’re going to do.
8. Acknowledge Your Limits. Yes is a powerful word but if you’re unable to fulfil a request:
know your limits. You can’t be everything to everyone. If you don’t think you can fulfil the
request, help them find an alternate remedy. Whether that remedy is your business or another,
they will appreciate the extra mile you went to help them, and will recommend your business
to their network.

9. Be Available. Customer service is no longer just about face-to-face contact and telephone.
If you’re working in an industry or marketplace where customers are constantly online, you
need to amend your service delivery to incorporate that. It does not need to be a
dedicated helpdesk Twitter handle, simply make sure you respond promptly and informatively
to clients on your main business Facebook page or to your Twitter account.
10. Get Regular Feedback. Feedback is a great way to grow both your business and your
skills. Provide ways for customers to give feedback, whether it’s a follow up email or phone
call, a suggestions box or something more fun and innovative.

Topic 2- How to Build Rapport with a Potential Customer

When you build rapport in sales, you want to make a sincere connection. Too often, chit-chat
before a sales call seems contrived…because it is.
Ways to Build Rapport
1. Be yourself. Before the first day of school, first jobs, camp, and any family get-together,
Dad always said, "Just be yourself and everything will be fine." This lesson also applies to
generating rapport with prospects and customers.
Be genuine. Be yourself. Don't try to be anything you're not, create a new persona, or
adopt a "sales-like" tone. Relax, smile, and go in with a positive attitude. Good things will follow.
As Oscar Wilde said, "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

2. Be friendly. Chilly people get chilly reactions from others. Approach rapport building with
the intent to be warm and friendly. Smile, give a firm handshake, make eye contact, and
engage. Do so in an authentic way. If you're forcing the friendliness, buyers will notice and your
attempts will backfire.
Most of us know someone who wanted to be liked so he "tried hard," but it didn't work.
In trying to be liked, he appeared needy and conspicuous. You can't force rapport. Show
interest, but don't act subservient, overly friendly, or too pushy. If you come on too strong, you'll
only be seen as inauthentic and turn the other person off.
3. Show real interest. No surprise to anyone, people are self-focused. This is quite helpful to
those of you in sales, since you need to learn about your prospects before you can craft the
best solutions. Buyers want to feel like they have an opportunity to share what they're thinking,
including their desires, fears, and problems. More importantly, they want to feel like they're
being heard. The more you can show you're listening to them and are genuinely interested, the
more likely they are to be relaxed and willing to share.

4. Find common ground. People like people who are similar to themselves. The more you
can uncover shared interests, the greater your ability to build rapport. Maybe you went to the
same school, lived in the same city, have children similar ages, enjoy the same TV shows,
sports interests, or hobbies. Whatever it is, if you can uncover a similarity, you'll be able to
make a connection.
5. Give genuine compliments. Sycophants get nowhere, but genuine compliments are
endearing. If you like the office, the buyer's website, or are impressed with their book, say so.
If your prospect had a recent accomplishment, relay your authentic congratulations. They'll
appreciate it, and this will go a long way towards building rapport.

6. Calibrate the rapport. New sellers are often overly sensitive to the time of a potential buyer.
They may think, "I have an hour for this meeting and she's a CEO of a mid-size company. I
need to use the whole time to get my points across. No time for chit-chat." So, they dive right
in without an ice breaker and it doesn't go well.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

Others can spend too much time chatting, and the prospect might become antsy to get
down to business. Do your best to read the other person and find the right amount of rapport-
focused conversation.
7. Read the culture. It's always best to be yourself, but remember to adjust your approach
depending on who the other person is and/or which company they work for. Don't change who
you are to fit the culture, but be aware of how the culture works and how it best responds.
If you're curious about where to begin with rapport building, the following questions will
help get you started.

Topic 3- How to Make Customer Feel Important

A genuine connection serves as the best way for a business to bolster customer loyalty,
as customers who feel valued keep coming back to use your service. In a world where some
companies are more concerned with closing a sale than with the happiness of their customers,
genuine care is essential. It goes a long way toward establishing the company as a "customer
first" entity.
But for some business owners, the desire to implement strategies to show customers
they genuinely care may come more naturally than the actual know-how of what to do.

Simple Ways To Make Customers Feel Valued

1. Genuinely Thank Your Customers. Showing genuine appreciation by thanking your
customers can move mountains for your relationship. If you are a small business, call every
single customer you worked with last year and say, "I am calling to say 'thank you' for doing
business with us. I truly appreciate it." If you are a medium-to-large business then run a call
center "thank you" campaign.
2. Tell Them You're Thinking Of Them. If you have repeat business, consider a "thinking of
you" strategy to let your clients know that they are in your thoughts, year-round. Keep tabs on
and document important events that happen to them and their loved ones. Collect special blank

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

cards for all occasions. Write from the heart. Your client will feel valued when they receive your
unexpected note and will be touched by your remembrance.

3. Be There For Them After The Sale Closed. Customers value a true relationship, one that
lasts past the sale. Check in with your customers down the road to find out if they have any
questions or issues. Find out how they are doing personally. Think of ways to promote their
businesses and utilize their services. For example, we have featured our clients on our podcast
and often share content about their business.
4. Listen, Then Remember. Actively listening to people does more than earn trust—it earns
loyalty and even love for who you are and what you do. So, listen. Make sure you hear properly.
Ask relevant questions. Brainstorm ideas. But then, remember. And when you remember,
revisit. Say, "I thought about you today and I wondered how things are progressing since we
were together." And when they respond, listen some more.

5. Always Tell Them The Truth. I get accused of being too honest, but I’ve made it a
fundamental tenet of our business. Clients may not like the truth, they may not have the budget
or resources to tackle the whole truth, but telling the truth enables you to work with them to
make the best decisions and find the best outcomes, based on their resources and priorities.
6. Show You Are Acting On Their Feedback. Tell them, "We heard you and we're doing
something about it." When you ask customers for feedback (or when they share unsolicited
feedback), let them know that it was received, that you heard what they are saying and that
you're going to do something with it. And when you do that "something," let them know what
you did and why. Thank them again for bringing the matter to your attention.

7. Show Your Appreciation With A Handwritten Note. Remember getting a birthday card
with $5 in it from a relative? Just the idea that something came in the mail for you (other than
an invoice) creates an almost unheard-of experience for your best customers. Tell them exactly
what you appreciate about them. Promise to partner with them for greater success. Say "thank
you." You'll have clients for life if you start every year with this practice. -

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

8. Give Them A Gift You Know They'll Like. "I hope you enjoy this scotch" was something I
wrote to just one customer, a gift of appreciation before a sale was even made. The point is to
care enough about your customers that you care to know who they are, what they love and
what would make them know you care. If your budget doesn't allow for a gift, say "yes" to what
it does allow.
9. Get To Know Them On A Deeper Level. To show value to customers, you have to value
what they love. Get to know their family situation, mention spouse and children, refer to aging
parents. Learn how they spend their free time, ask about their night hockey league or their last
hiking trip. If they are only a customer, they will see the relationship as transactional. Value
what they love, and trust follows.

10. Share Your Learning. Coaching is a two-way street. We learn from our clients every day.
Let them know insights and the growth you’ve had as a coach and as an individual as a result
of your work together. Being authentic models vulnerability, builds trust and shows that the
coach and client are equals. Every person wants to contribute in some way, so tell your client
how they’ve contributed to your personal development.
11. Treat Them Like The Hero Of The Story. Are you one of those people who believes you
need to create distance from your client so you can drink mojitos on the beach—be the
superstar, the "winner"? You are not the hero of the story. Your client is the hero. You are their
guide, their Yoda, their Mr. Miyagi. You are there to be a guide to their success.
How to deliver value to a customer

One of the most common reasons for the failure of a business venture, large or small,
is its inability to deliver value to customers. The concept of value is one of those things that is
both simple and complex. Simple because it only has three components; complex because it
can only be defined by the customer, and can include tangible and intangible concepts such
as perceptions and opinions. This article is intentionally simplistic, so as to introduce the
concepts in their most basic form.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

Steps to deliver value to a customer

1. Understand that the first component of value is "utility." It means that whatever you
are delivering to your customer has to be fit for the purpose the customer will give to it. In
essence, for any goods or service you deliver to a customer, having utility means that the
customer can enhance the performance of their own assets, or remove some sort of constraint
that prevents them from receiving more value from their assets.
 If it is a car wash, the car has to end up clean.
 If it is a snow plowing service, the customer has to be able to traverse the path you
plowed as the customer defined.
 If it is a cellphone, the phone must be able to receive a signal, the customer must be
able to dial a number and connect to someone on the other end of the call.
 If a computer report, the customer will have to be able to click on a button on the screen,
the report must come out of the printer and it must be complete and correct.

2. Know that the next component is "warranty." It means that the goods or services that
you deliver to your customer must be fit for use.
 The car wash, for example, has to be open at the time the sign says the business will
be open, and it must be able to handle the demand for its use, otherwise the line will
grow long, customers will tire of waiting and will leave.
 The service must be as secure as the customer expects; no undue risks for the driver
or passengers, for example.
 If the service fails, it should be restored within the period of time the customer considers
reasonable, otherwise the customer will go find another car wash.
 The same concepts apply to all other goods and services. They have to be as available
as the customer considers appropriate, provide the right capacity to meet the customer's
demand, be as secure as the customer expects them to be and as continuous as is
considered reasonable by the customer.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

3. Strive to identify and overcome the barriers of the customer's perceptions. The easiest
way to explain this is to think back to the day you bought your last automobile. Why did you
pick that one? After all, all cars are the same –– four wheels, chassis, engine, transmission,
differential, body, seats, steering wheel, glass, seat belts, etc... Or are they? The job of the
salesperson who wants to make the sale is to identify these perceptions and determine the
best way to present the service –– a car –– in a way that will convince the customer that this
is the vehicle that meets all of the requirements, real and perceived.
 Some customers will buy on the basis of the perception of reliability, created through
personal experiences and/or word of mouth.
 Some will focus on price.
 Some will focus on the capacity, or the comfort of the interior.
 Some will want speed, others think there can never be enough airbags on a moving
vehicle.

4. The perceptions of the customer are what makes or breaks the transaction that
exchanges value for money. For example, most people would not pay $100 for a can of
corned beef, right? However, put a person in a situation where that person has not eaten for
days and that's all to be found, and that person will exchange anything of value for that food.
The art of selling boils down to finding what the customer wants that they consider to be of
value, and convincing them that what you have for sale will deliver that value.

5. Remember that strategy and marketing are two different concepts.

 Strategy is about deciding what you will offer that is of value to potential customers,
how that value will be delivered, and how you will convince the customer that the value
the customer wants should be obtained from you. In short, it's about defining the value
proposition.
 Marketing is about communicating the strategy and value proposition to a customer in
a way that will make them want to buy the service or goods from you.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

6. Pursue positive returns. Where does money come into play in all of this? The customer
must perceive that the total value of the service is higher than its cost, and produces a positive
return. The return can be tangible (as in a positive Return on Investment) or intangible (as in
an increase in the reputation of the customer's brand, or the goodwill of the customer's
customers). Keep in mind that sometimes intangible returns can be much more valuable than
tangible ones!

Topic 4- How to Achieve Customer Delight

Creating customer delight is one of the most productive ways in building trust, enhancing
the good working relationships you have with your clients. Helping to support them and find joy
in the little aspects of your work really helps you go the extra mile.
You may have heard of customer delight before. You may have heard of customer
satisfaction. You might think they’re the same thing. You’re in for a surprise.
Customer satisfaction is very important, but it simply means that you’ve met a
customer’s expectations. Delight is the extra stage, the bonus level you’ve unlocked when
you’ve gone above and beyond what is expected of you.
By focusing on the needs, wishes and interests of a client, we're ultimately able to
provide more than what they need. This may be in terms of top-notch customer service,
turnaround time or a myriad of other things.
If the client is singing your praises, then you’ve hit the nail on the delighting head. We
want to achieve goals that apply to all stages of a customer’s interaction. When they’re a
potential customer - delight them. When they’re currently working with you - delight them. When
you’re in the post-sale/service phase - delight them further still.
Customer expectations are more complex than ever. Sure, they’d love to see their
service needs fulfilled, but they’re also on the look-out for the little details that didn’t come as
part of a contract. We live within markets that offer countless services, so it’s easy for
customers to try other places if they’re not fully delighted.
In all, customer delight is all about creating, promoting and sustaining a remarkable
buying experience for current and potential customers.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

How to create delight

There are tonnes of ways of delighting your client in. A lot of them will be bespoke to
your business. For example, a key way a white water rafting experience company might delight
their customers is by providing something as simple as a towel and hot drink after a fun day
getting soaked to the bone.

But there are other ways to delight that any company can strive towards:
 Stay true to deadlines.
 Solve your customers’ problems.
 Listen to customer feedback.
 Be enthusiastic.
 Provide the best quality help.
These are good - but are also a little banal and self-explanatory. They’re the universal
standard of delighting clients. However, there are more bespoke delighting acts you can
undertake to truly create an impact.

1. Create a community. The best businesses create bespoke communities that people can
feel like a part of. They have easily identifiable voices, educational spaces and attitudes that
stand out within fast-paced industries.
A community can be built in many ways. It can be through email communication or
customer forums. Techniques that are more relevant to today’s markets now are ones that use
social media to create a voice and authority that people can follow and interact with.
Customer reviews, useful information, resource sharing - these are all functions that a digital
or physical community can provide. By creating communities, potential customers can see the
trust already developed in current buyers, making them more likely to bring their business to
you.
For example, creating bespoke customer events where people can attend, congregate,
network, learn and have a good time. Think of how useful it is to go to an event all about your
industry, where you can meet other industry names and keep on top of current trends.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

Communities build care and trust. They enhance confidence and think as a dynamic
collective. If your company builds one, customers will be delighted.
2. Anticipate the needs of your customer. Markets and customer demands can be volatile.
It’s sometimes like riding shotgun in a dodgems car - being pushed from pillar to post and
you’re not even in control of the wheel. This is especially true for customers who have genuine
needs that need catering for. By analysing your customer data - we’re talking seasonal
demands, buyer journeys, demographics and preferences - you can accurately determine the
kind of things they want and need. This can even include sending out weekly polls over Twitter
and Instagram. By asking what their progressing needs are and anticipating what they’ll need
in the future, you’re providing a safety harness that will ensure their needs are taken care of.
3. Support and empower your colleagues or employees. Delighted employee = delight
customer. Delighting the customers means providing a working environment where employees
feel secure, respected and are able to grow. An employee needs the right authority, tools and
training to be able to provide the right service and support. Think about creating a culture code
for your workplace for people to believe in. Offer bespoke training for people to progress with.
Even small things like buying cake for everyone can create an enjoyable community for your
employees.

4. Utilise the latest technology. Every company can benefit from a range of on-trend, helpful
technology. Grammarly for your writing, HootSuite for your social media, HubSpot for your
marketing and CRM - there are thousands of options out there to choose from. Not only that,
you should work to provide the latest market trends in terms of content. Today, people want to
see your products and services explained using video. More than 50% of consumers prefer
video over other content. Video will represent 82% of all IP traffic by 2021. In order to delight
your clients, it’s a good idea to capitalise on this growing trend.
5. Personalise your interactions and communications. Personalisation. Within the
marketing world, it’s become a powerful buzzword. It helps in creating customer delight by
providing an understanding of your customers’ behaviour and tailoring your communications
around that behaviour.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

If a customer is not resonating with your online communication, they’re definitely not being
delighted. To combat that, here are just a few ways you can personalise any content you’re
giving out:
 Determine your customer’s personality and create a written tone that matches that. Are
they formal? Informal? Wanting to see humour? Do they prefer longer deep dives or
short and snappy content?
 Have authentic conversations either in real life, over the phone or on social media.
 Send follow-up messages after a purchase to show appreciation.
 Design email workflows that can target clients at specific times in their buyer’s journey.
 Provide personalised recommendations based on their purchase history.
6. Educate your customers. A fantastic way of delighting customers is by providing free,
educational content. Creating educational content, be it in the form of a podcast, blog or email
newsletter helps to keep your customer informed of new products, services or changes to the
industry. By educating them in what you do, they’ll be more confident when it comes to
purchasing time. They’ll even be more confident that you can provide for them as you’ve
explained key processes and proven you know your stuff.

7. Support in real-time. “If I had to think of one thing I loathe doing, it would have to be waiting
in a phone queue. 10, 20, 30 minutes of dull waiting music and finally you’re number two in the
queue.” Only two-thirds of customers are willing to wait two minutes before hanging up. 13%
were shown to find any time on-hold unacceptable. If you adopt up-to-date support techniques
and technologies, your customer expectations are all the more likely to be met and surpassed.
Things like live chat software and live engagement tools are some of the first steps in
combating hold times. Real-time support offered by live chat or call-based tech like Aircall is
great at creating an immediacy to your responses. Similarly, engagement tools such as co-
browsing, video calls and voice chat can create a massive impact when trying to delight the
client. In conclusion, creating customer delight is about maintaining the momentum of positive
interactions enjoyed across each stage of the buyer’s journey. For any marketer, developing a
surefire marketing process is the best way to create trust amongst your clientele.
In order to do this, you’ll want to check out our guide.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

Topic 5- Common Customer Complaints

At the end of the day, businesses exist for one reason: to serve their customers. Without
them, they simply wouldn’t have a business at all. And if businesses don’t serve their customers
well, chances are the customers will take their business elsewhere.
Since no product or service is perfect, it makes complete sense that customers will have
some complaints from time to time. Though there will inevitably be some one-off requests that
require research to resolve, many are fairly routine.

3 types of customer complaints

Though there are a variety of issues a customer may have, realistically there are a few distinct
buckets that a majority of requests fit into:

1. Time based. We all know that time is valuable. It’s the one thing we can’t make more of or
get back once it’s gone. Time-based complaints are essentially complaints based around
something not happening in the timeframe the customer expects. The best way to handle these
types of complaints is by being as specific about times and processes as you can possibly be.
Most people reaching out with a time-based complaint are looking to be heard as well
as reassured. Offering concrete timelines and steps can help on the reassurance front. Owning
delays can also go a long way in letting the customer know you hear and empathize with them.

2. Company based. Company-based complaints are complaints that are about how your
business operates or about direct interactions with your company. For example, this type of
complaint could be someone reaching out after having a less-than-stellar interaction with
someone on your team. It could also be a complaint about a company policy.
In these cases, it’s good to acknowledge the issue. If it’s a personnel issue, then you
can assure them about following up or you can escalate to a manager. If it’s a policy issue, you
could do your best to offer some more insight into why a certain policy is in place.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur

College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

3. Product/service based. The biggest bucket of complaints you’ll get are ones tied directly
to your products and services. These requests could be about things like a product lacking a
certain function, feature or service requests, bug reports, and other things in that realm.
With these types of complaints, it’s good to offer solutions or workarounds when
available. You could even point them in the direction of another provider if it’s simply something
you don’t offer, which can help build credibility with the customer.
It’s good to track these types of complaints as they can provide great insight into
potential future areas of investment for your company. For example, with Help Scout you’re
able to create tags to identify different issues, and then you can review analytics to see how
commonly that tag shows up, which could show how popular a certain request is.

How to Defuse a Situation with a Difficult Customer

One of the most difficult things about working in customer service can be the
people. Whether you work in food, retail, or hospitality, sooner or later, you'll come face to face
with a furious, irate, or unruly customer. Never fear - there are tried and true ways to smooth
over the situation in a way that works for you, the business, and, most importantly, the
customer. This may entail simply satisfying the customer with a "customer is always right"
attitude", being adamant on your position, or simply compromising.

Steps to Defuse Situation with a Difficult Customer

1. Be a good listener. Difficult customers don't expect perfection but want to know that their
problems are being taken seriously. Be attentive and listen calmly and completely to the
customer's problem.[1] Maintain eye contact, and don't smile or grimace. Nod when the
customer makes a point you find valid.

2. Empathize with the customer. Most bad customer interactions escalate because the
customer feels like you're not making an effort to understand his or her concerns.
Communicating that you empathize with the customer can set the tone for the interaction as a
whole, and establish you as an ally who wants to fix the problem.

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Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

 Say "I understand completely, and I'm so sorry you've been upset. Let's find a
way to work this out." Saying "let's" casts you and the customer as a team
working together to find a solution.
 If the customer reiterates the complaint, turn up the empathy another notch.
Respond with something like, "That sounds incredibly frustrating" or "I'd feel
exactly the same way in your shoes."
 Keep in mind that empathizing doesn't necessarily mean giving the customer
whatever he or she wants. Instead of it being the customer versus you and the
company, it's you and the customer versus the company.

3. Remember that other people are watching the interaction. Imagining that an audience
is observing the interaction can help you to stay calm. You never want customers to see you
behaving badly. Assume that the customer is going to tell other people about the interaction
they had with you.
 Your dealings with customers should never hurt your company, but be an
example of the quality service that your company provides.

4. Speak slowly and lower your voice. Emotions are infectious. Lowering your tone and
speaking slowly will demonstrate that you are in control and calm. This is especially important
if the customer is very angry and talking loudly. You do not want to do anything to aggravate
the situation.

5. Apologize. An apology is within every employee's capacity, no matter what his or her role
in the company is. Look the customer right in the eyes and make sure your expression and
tone of voice are sincere. Say that, on behalf of the company, you're sorry the customer wasn't
satisfied and that you want to do whatever you can to help.
 Never be patronizing. Avoid apologizing in a way that seems like you're belittling the
customer. A good rule is to apologize for your own actions and the actions of your
company, never for the way your customer feels or is acting. For instance, instead of
saying, "I'm sorry you feel that way, but I can't offer you a refund." Try saying, "I'm sorry
we can't satisfy you with a refund. Is there anything else we can do for you?"

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CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
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College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

6. Notify your supervisor. The customer might ask you to do this anyway, but even if he or
she doesn't, it's a good idea. Your supervisor has more authority to resolve issued with the
customer, whether that means a discount, comped merchandise, or some other concession.
Additionally, it transfers the responsibility of pleasing the customer to someone who's higher
up the chain of command than you are, which customers can find reassuring.
 If you need to keep the customer waiting while you fetch your supervisor, provide them
with somewhere comfortable to wait. If you're authorized to offer refreshments such as
water, then offer it. Being treated kindly may calm down a customer.

7. Make a promise you can keep. Offering a solution or a promise that you cannot follow
through with is one of the worse things you can do. This will make the customer more frustrated.
If you are unsure about something, ask your supervisor. Do not make a rash decision under
pressure.
 You can always tell the customer, "That may be possible, let me check with
someone."

8. End the interaction on a positive note. Even if you addressed the problem exactly as the
customer wanted and he or she is still mad, try not to let him or her leave in a huff. Instead,
express gratitude for his or her patience, and promise you'll do everything possible to make
sure the next experience goes smoothly. For example, you might say, "Thanks so much for
being patient while we sorted this issue out. I'd be more than happy to personally oversee your
transaction next time you're here so that I can ensure it goes smoothly - please don't hesitate
to ask for me."
 If you were unable to satisfy your customer, still try to generate a positive
memory a he or she leaves by being kind and professional. The customer may
leave thinking, "Well, they couldn't help me, but at least that salesperson was
really nice."

9. Know when enough is enough. If the customer is engaged in violent behavior or shows
no signs of calming down, call store or mall security or emergency services and ask the police
to resolve it. If your customer is making a scene, verbally abusing you or other employees, or
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College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

being physically intimidating, you have gone as far as you should, both for your sake, and for
the sake of your other customers.
 If a customer is drunk or under the influence of drugs, don't waste time trying to
reason; call security immediately for the sake of everyone's safety and well-
being.

10. Set aside your ego. Be prepared to satisfy the customer even if you believe that he or she
is wrong. You may have to humble yourself before the customer or apologize for something
that you don't think is a big deal. Never be too proud to do your best to satisfy a difficult
customer.
 Think of the old retail stand-by, "The customer is always right." This doesn't
mean that, objectively speaking, the customer's complaint is just and correct.
Handling the interaction with a positive spin that satisfies the customer isn't
meant to humiliate you as an employee, it's meant to maintain that customer's
patronage.

11. View difficult customers as potential opportunities. Keep in mind that a happy
customer means better business. A satisfied customer might spread the word about having a
good experience, but an unsatisfied one will almost certainly complain to other people. This
means less money and less business for your company. As you attempt to cool your customers'
nerves, think of your interaction as an opportunity to save future business that might otherwise
be lost.

12. Do not take complaints personally. Remember that whatever is happening has no
bearing on who you are as a person. Complaints from customers shouldn't be taken as
personal insults, even if the customer insults you as a person. Put aside pride and the desire
to put your ego before the customer's experience. While it is tempting to convince the customer
that you are right and they are wrong, resist this temptation.
 Difficult customers are a natural part of working in customer service. Think of
these situations as a regular part of your job.

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CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
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College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

Topic 6
How to Handle Complaints in Your Restaurant
[Link]

Customer complaints are a fact of life in the foodservice industry, especially if

you're struggling through a labor shortage. No matter how much effort you put into ensuring
guest satisfaction, you can't please everyone one hundred percent of the time. When
something goes wrong, it's how you choose to handle customer complaints that matters the
most. We'll walk you through some simple tips for preventing and handling customer
complaints.

Why Do Customers Complain?

In hospitality and foodservice, customers complain when their expectations haven't
been met. They anticipate a level of service from your restaurant, and if the experience you
deliver isn't on par with their expectations, a gap is created. Customer complaints help you
close the gap and make sure the experience you promise matches the service you provide.

Benefits of Customer Complaints

You can take your business to the next level if you view complaints from customers as
something valuable instead of detrimental. These are the benefits to customer complaints in
your restaurant:
1. Improves Your Menu and Service - Complaints provide you with valuable feedback
about your restaurant and reveal opportunities for improvement. For example, if you
receive multiple complaints that a dish is too spicy, you should improve your menu
descriptions and talk to your servers about communication.
2. Creates a Better Guest Experience - The number of customers who voice their
complaints is very small compared to the number of unhappy guests who just leave
and never come back. When you resolve one customer complaint, you improve the
guest satisfaction for a larger group of customers than you realize.
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3. Reveals Guest Expectations - Guest complaints and criticism help you understand
what your customer base is looking for. This info can be used to shape new menus,
create new services, and enhance your marketing approach.

How to Deal with Customer Complaints

Any time you can handle a complaint in real time, consider it an opportunity instead of
a failure. If a customer walks out your door and hasn't addressed their complaint with anyone
in person, they are more likely to vent their frustrations in a review or to their friends. That's
exactly what you don't want to happen. Handling customer complaints face-to-face gives you
a chance to make it right.

Customer Complaint Procedure

Unhappy customers can range from slightly irritated to extremely angry. It's difficult for
many people to face an irate guest and stay professional in the heat of the moment. That's why
it helps to create a step-by-step response that anyone on your staff can follow.

Five-step complaint handling procedure:

1. Stay Calm - When dealing with a complaint, keep your voice level and calm. Don't let
your tone rise, or you may appear defensive or confrontational. Take a deep breath,
make eye contact with the customer, and keep an open mind.
2. Listen - Listen carefully to the guest. In order to fix the problem, you must understand
w hat happened. It could be multiple mishaps during service, and it could be one big
mistake. Either way, give the customer your full attention.
3. Sympathize - This step can be tricky, especially if you're in the middle of a busy rush
and a complaint catches you by surprise. Put yourself in the guest's shoes and
sympathise with their situation, even if the issue seems minor. Use sympathetic facial

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Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

expressions and body language. Don't impatiently tap your foot or look over your
shoulder.
4. Apologize - This step seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how important it can be.
Don't pass the blame or make excuses, even if the customer's complaint isn't directly
your fault. Always accept responsibility on behalf of the restaurant and apologize
sincerely for the oversight.
5. Resolve - Every complaint will require a different resolution. This is where superior
customer service skills and emotional intelligence come into play. The perfect solution
could just be an apology, or it could require comping (paying) the bill for the entire
table.

Who Should Handle Complaints?

The best person to handle a complaint in your restaurant is the front-of-house manager.
When the manager-on-duty steps in to handle a customer complaint, it helps diffuse the
situation. It shows you value the guest's opinion and you appreciate their business. Not only
that, if the complaint revolves around customer service from your server or host staff, a neutral
party should intercede and represent the restaurant.

Some restaurant managers empower servers or hosts to handle minor complaints as

they come up. However, not every member of your staff is going to be an expert at handling
customer complaints, and that's okay. If there's no management presence involved, you may
never know the scope of the complaint or how many complaints you are actually receiving.
Train your servers, hosts, and customer-facing employees to recognize when they need to
notify a manager about a customer complaint.

What About Social Media Complaints?

Today, there are many online avenues where guests can share negative and positive
feedback about your business. It happens on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter
as well as review sites like Yelp and Google Reviews. Since your online presence is very

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important, you should be proactive about monitoring any complaints and respond to online
reviews as soon as possible. Handling social media complaints takes time and effort, so make
this a job responsibility and not just an afterthought.

Common Restaurant Complaints

Check out these customer complaint examples and tips for responding in the moment:

1. Uncleanliness
One of the most common complaints in a restaurant is uncleanliness, whether it's dirty
bathrooms, soiled utensils, or a server with stains on their apron. Expectations for workplace
hygiene are higher than ever, and it's crucial that you maintain a consistent sanitation program
in your business. Prevention is the best solution for this issue, which can be achieved by
following a restaurant cleaning checklist.

How to Respond to an Uncleanliness Complaint

If you have to deal with an uncleanliness complaint during service, it's crucial to jump into action
right away. Apologize to the customer, explain how you are going to fix the issue, and then do
it. This could entail sending a clean-up crew to the restroom, asking a team member to tidy up
their appearance (per your employee dress code), or rewashing and polishing your flatware.
Depending on the scale of the issue, you may need to comp the customer's bill. Many diners
lose their appetite when they think a restaurant is unclean.
2. Poor Customer Service
Customer service can slide if you're dealing with a staffing shortage. Unfortunately, one slip-
up from an employee can hurt your restaurant's reputation, especially if the customer takes
their complaints to social media. Some examples of poor customer service are ignoring guests,
having a bad attitude, or rushing customers through their meal.

How to Respond to a Customer Service Complaint

Rude customer service makes your guests feel like they're not wanted and their business has
no value. When you respond to a customer service complaint, it's important to listen and show
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that you care. Apologize to the guest, explain that rudeness is unacceptable in your
establishment, and assure them you will take action with the employee. If the issue is with a
server, you can diffuse the situation by assigning a different team member to their table. At the
appropriate time, sit down with the employee to hear their side. The complaint could be a
misunderstanding or an extreme circumstance. Supporting your staff through situations like
this improves your employee retention.

3. Order Mix-Ups
Order mix-ups happen when a guest receives the wrong order, a dish is made incorrectly, or
something is missing from the order.

How to Respond to an Order Mix-Up Complaint

Order mix-ups can be easy to fix if you act quickly. It's simple enough to retrieve missing sauces
or sides, but remaking a new dish takes time. Send any missing orders to the kitchen with a
note to make it "on the fly." If a guest has to wait for their dish while the rest of the table is
eating, bring a complimentary soup, salad, or side dish. Since the meal did not meet the guest's
expectations, it's best to remove it from the bill.

4. Slow Service
In a perfect world, every customer is seated quickly, receives their drinks right away, and
doesn't wait long for their meal to arrive. But we know that in the middle of a busy shift, one
little thing can cause a domino effect and slow down the steps of service. It could be running
out of ice for drinks, no more clean dinnerware to plate orders, or too many orders entered at
one time. When service slows down, the manager-on-duty should be prepared to talk with
guests.

How to Respond to a Slow Service Complaint

If the kitchen is backed up, it potentially affects the whole dining room. Be ready to do table
touches (check-ins) with all guests who are waiting. Offer complimentary drinks, snacks, or

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sides to hold customers over until their meal arrives. You may need to offer to box up meals
to-go if the customer is on a time constraint. If a guest isn't able to enjoy their meal as they
expected, you should remove it from the bill.

Topic 7- Preventing Customer Complaints

Preventing customer complaints in your restaurant is the first line of defense. There are
specific actions you can take to avoid making mistakes in your dining room and kitchen. If you
focus on prevention, you can put a stop to customer complaints before they happen.

1. Customer Wait Times

No one likes to wait, especially hungry customers. If you have a line at the door, it's time
for your host staff to jump into action to prevent any complaints. Use these tips to keep guests
happy while they wait for a table:
a. Use a guest paging system - Guest pagers let customers know immediately if their
table is ready. With a pager in hand, they can sit at the bar or wait outside without
worrying they will be skipped in line. When a table is ready, your host staff doesn't have
to waste time calling out names or hunting down guests.
b. Give a realistic wait time - If you tell a customer the wait is fifteen minutes, and they
end up waiting twice as long, they are bound to be unhappy. Give an honest estimate,
even if it sounds too long.
c. Keep track of wait times - Don't lose track of how long customers are waiting. During
a busy rush, time moves differently for employees than it does for guests. To hungry
customers, ten minutes may seem like thirty minutes. To you, it goes by in a flash. If you
record the time each guest arrives, you'll know exactly how long they've waited.
d. Greet every new customer - Greeting customers seems like a simple task, but it's
actually very important. Ignoring guests or waiting too long to greet them when they walk
through the door sets the tone for the rest of their experience. Make sure every customer
feels seen, even when you are busy.
e. Keep guests informed - Customers notice who is being seated in the dining room and
in what order. Sometimes they don't understand that a party of two gets seated faster
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Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

than a party of six. If there is a reason that one party is waiting longer than other groups,
keep them informed of the situation.

2. Menu Descriptions
When dishes aren't described accurately on your menu, it can lead to an unsatisfied
customer. You can meet and exceed guest expectations by using these menu tips:
a. List out all the main ingredients - You can't list out every single ingredient in a dish,
but you should include the main components. Gravies, sauces, and toppings should be
clearly identified and all included side dishes listed. If the dish comes with fries and the
customer doesn't know, they might be upset if they order an extra side. Also make sure
to call out ingredients that inspire a love-hate response, like onions!
b. Menu labeling - Today, it's very important to use a menu labeling system to help guests
identify items that are kosher, gluten-free, or vegan. Calling out spicy dishes is very
helpful too.
c. Use photos - One of the best ways to manage guest expectations is to include pictures
of your dishes on the menu. Keep in mind that the food photos must be accurate or it
could lead to more complaints.
d. Educate your servers - Finally, your wait staff should be able to describe dishes in
detail when customers ask questions. If a customer mentions they don't like cilantro, the
server should be able to steer them away from certain dishes. The best way to educate
your servers about menu items is to hold tastings. Every time a new menu item is added,
prepare samples for your staff and hold a discussion about the flavors and ingredients.

3. Keep Hot Food Hot

Getting hot food out of the kitchen and into the dining room requires cooperation
between several employees. These are some steps you can take to make sure the food
reaches its destination while it's still hot:
a. Hire an expo - An expo, or expeditor, works on the server's side of the window and
trays up orders of food to be delivered. It sounds easy, but the expo takes responsibility
for making sure orders are right and that they're delivered in a timely manner.

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b. Food running policy - It's common for servers to focus on their own orders coming out
of the window and ignore the rest. If an order comes up and the server is busy getting
drinks for another table, it could potentially sit in the window for several minutes. Create
a food running policy that requires all staff members to help deliver hot food, no matter
which server placed the order.
c. Don't remove food from the window too soon - Heat lamps do a great job of keeping
food hot, but if a plate is removed from the window before the entire order is ready, the
plate will get cold much faster. Make sure servers know not to tray up food until all the
plates are ready.

4. Food Delivery
Once the hot food leaves the kitchen, it has to make it to the right table and the right
person. You can prevent a lot of complaints with these food running strategies:
a. Use seat numbers - Try to avoid calling out food when you deliver a table's order. It
can lead to a lot of confusion and it's not the best way to make sure a guest receives
the right order. Use a seat numbering system so that no matter who delivers and order,
every dish goes to the right person.
b. Train better food runners - Food runners deliver orders, but they don't always stick
around to help with requests from the table. It leaves a bad impression on your guests
when a runner delivers their food and then sprints away. Even worse, some food runners
will try to pass off customer requests and say it's not their job. Train your food runners
to go above and beyond to help guests, whether it's grabbing a bottle of ketchup or
refilling a drink.
c. Pause after delivery - Remember this tip because it's one of the best ways to prevent
a customer complaint. After each dish is placed on the table, take a pause. Observe the
table and make sure each guest is happy with the meal in front of them. This is the
moment you can tell if a guest received the wrong item or if they are missing something
important. If you run a steakhouse, this is the perfect time to ask guests to check their
steak doneness by cutting into the middle. Too often a server or food runner will drop

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off plates and then rush away, missing an opportunity to correct a mistake at the right
moment.
d. Check back rule - Sometimes customers don't notice a mistake right away. They might
take their first bite and realize the dish has onions in it when they specifically asked for
no onions. Or they might cut into a grilled chicken breast only to find that it's been
undercooked. It's extremely important to use the "check back" rule and follow up with a
table of customers shortly after they've started eating. This gives your guests a second
opportunity to communicate any potential issues to the server.

Complaints from customers are inevitable, but if you manage them the right way, you
can turn an unhappy guest into an ambassador for your business. You can also gain important
feedback about your menu and the level of customer service your staff provides.

How to Solve the 13 Most Common Restaurant Complaints

1. Subpar food and drink quality

The complaint:
Naturally, some of the most common problems faced by customers in a restaurant are
related to the food. From the food being cold to a drink advertised as ice-cold being
lukewarm, trouble ensues when customers don’t receive what they were promised.

The solution:
The way to solve most complaints related to food in a restaurant is to ensure that each
member of your staff is doing their job. It’s enough for one person to ignore their
responsibilities for the entire system to crumble.

Ask yourself, “Why did the food arrive cold to the customer?” Was it ready and sitting in
the kitchen for the server to collect it? In that case, talk to the server and hold them
accountable.

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Perhaps the problem is that the thermometers or the appliances you’re using to heat
the food aren’t working correctly. They might require a checkup.

It might also happen that guests complain about dishes tasting strange. Get to the
bottom of the reason to find out whether there’s an issue with the meal or the person
doesn’t like it for subjective reasons.

Sometimes, you will get picky customers who can’t be pleased by anything. If the
complaint has a solid basis, offer to replace the meal for free or get some drinks on the
house.

2. Poor customer service

The complaint:
A close second to food issues, customer service problems in restaurants are relatively
common. The complaints can be that the server was rude, didn’t calculate the check
correctly, or was unable to answer basic questions.

The solution:
The best way to solve a complaint about restaurant service is to talk to your staff and
make sure they’re all properly trained to represent your business.

Your employees are the face of your restaurant, so it’s crucial that you spend time and
effort training them and listening to their concerns. Happy employees make for a
successful business.

If you believe you’ve done everything you could to train them and the issues persist, it’s
clear they are not the right people for the job. You can’t afford to risk customer
satisfaction for an employee who doesn’t want to learn.

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You can resolve most complaints in a restaurant through proper training. That’s where
the staff learns everything there is to know about the restaurant and their
responsibilities. If the issue stems from rude behavior or a bad attitude, that may be
something not even training can solve.

Look for warning signs of that in training so you can nip the issue in the bud and
hopefully avoid any customer complaints related to staff rudeness.

3. Order mix-up

The complaint:
Not getting what you’ve ordered is one of the most disappointing and frustrating
customer problems in a restaurant. The same goes for the server forgetting to bring you
something after you’ve requested it more than once.

The solution:
Mix-ups with orders is something that will occasionally happen in a restaurant. As long
as it doesn’t become a regular occurrence, there’s nothing to worry about.

However, you have to learn how to avoid it in the future and calm down the customer to
which it has happened.

If it happened because employees weren’t doing their job, this is a problem that proper
training can solve. It might, however, also be because the staff is swamped.

In that case, make sure you aren’t understaffed and that the workload isn’t too much for
your current employees to handle. Talk to them openly and ask whether they need help.

To calm down the disgruntled customer, offer to bring them what they initially ordered
for free. Train your employees to keep a close eye on the tables to spot any signs that

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customers are getting impatient or angry. They might be able to avoid a scene if they
learn proper prevention.

4. Lack of cleanliness and other safety concerns

The complaint:
Eating in a clean and sanitary environment is vital to customers when visiting
restaurants. That is why a large majority of the most common restaurant complaints are
related to the food utensils or the table not being clean, the bathrooms not being properly
disinfected, and so on.

The solution:
Your restaurant needs to have a handbook that lists all the essential health and safety
regulations like employees’ handwashing and hair rules. This will avoid incidents like
food contamination.

Even though there are surfaces you know you have to clean daily or even multiple times
a day, it’s easy to let less important things slip through the cracks. But customers notice
these things.

If you have fake plants in your restaurant, dust them often. Don’t forget to clean the
windows or the ceiling fans, although they may not be your priority.

Create a restaurant cleaning checklist with daily, weekly, and monthly items to keep
track of all these minor things you need to clean. That way, you won’t ever forget
anything, and your restaurant will look spotless.

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5. Long wait time

The complaint:
When you’re hungry, the last thing you want to do is wait a long time for the food to
arrive. Depending on the food they’ve ordered, customers expect a specific time frame
for the order to be ready. The same goes for the time they’re willing to wait until being
seated or getting a menu.

The solution:
First, train your servers to provide an estimated wait time for different dishes, so
customers know what to expect. Of course, this also means the rest of the team should
work like a well-oiled machine to make sure they respect that time.

Second, consider adding entertainment to your restaurant to make wait times more
manageable, like a TV, live band, or free WiFi. That way, customers will have something
to do while they wait.

If the order is unnaturally delayed for reasons like a busy restaurant or an employee
who called in sick, apologize to the patrons and offer free drinks or a dessert on the
house for their troubles.

6. Overpriced menu items

The complaint:
Most often than not, customers are willing to pay a more significant sum of money for a
nice meal. But when the dish is pricey, and the quality isn’t what they expected, they will
feel like they’ve been taken for a ride.

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The solution:

Setting the prices at your restaurant is a tricky business. You have to do a lot of research
and also check out the competition to see if there’s any way you can beat their prices
without sacrificing quality.

There are many factors that you have to consider when pricing your menu items. Menu
pricing should look at raw food costs, food cost percentages, and gross profit margins.
For the customers, the entire dining experience matters, including food presentation.

An excellent tip to lower food costs and implicitly menu prices is to use seasonal
ingredients that you source locally.

7. Issues with seating and general atmosphere

The complaint:
Common restaurant complaints also include poor positioning of the tables, a crowded
area, being seated near the kitchen service door, loud music, and other complaints
related to the atmosphere.

The solution:
Design your restaurant trying to anticipate these complaints. You can maximize even
the tiniest of spaces if you have a vision or hire a professional to do it for you.

When designing the seating area, consider the restaurant’s layout and don’t overcrowd
it with tables and chairs. You also need space for customers and staff to move around
without bumping into the furniture and each other.

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Regulate the temperature in the restaurant using a climate control system and ensure
proper ventilation for hot summer days. Also, keep the music down so customers can
talk to each other.

Lighting is also an essential factor to consider. You want to create an ambiance that
resonates with your target audience. If you’re targeting couples, you need softer, more
romantic lighting. If you own a fast food, bright lights are better.

8. Absence of certain services or products

The complaint:
Let’s say a customer wants to pay with their credit card or pick up their food to eat at
home. If you are unable to meet these expectations, some customers might complain.
Missing ingredients for the meals or drinks they want to order is also a reason to
complain.

The solution:
You can quickly solve the missing ingredients debacle by keeping a close eye on your
inventory and restocking before ingredients get low. Consider using restaurant inventory
management software to ensure you never run out of ingredients.

Even so, it might sometimes happen that you are out of an ingredient and you can’t
prepare some of the dishes on your menu. In that case, to avoid complaints, you should
temporarily hide them from the menu.

Regarding complaints about the absence of certain services, consider branching out into online
payments and order fulfillment options like home delivery and pickup.

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9. Food poisoning or indigestion

The complaint:
One of the most common restaurant complaints that restaurant owners never want to
face is a customer having health issues after eating at your restaurant. Food poisoning
and indigestion are serious concerns that could give your restaurant a bad reputation.

The solution:
Since this is the type of issue that usually arises after the customer is no longer at the
restaurant, they will likely write a bad review or post on your social media for the other
customers to see.

At that time, it’s crucial not just to get to the bottom of the situation and find out if the
customer really got food poisoning or indigestion at your restaurant but also to do some
damage control.

Since you want to keep accusations like these out of the public eye, respond to the
complaint and move it over to email, where you can discuss more at length about what
happened.

Be empathetic and understanding with the customer and do your best to ensure that
this won’t happen again. Customers like to see you take action in these situations, so
explain precisely how you’re going to solve the problem.

10. Website not working properly

The complaint:
A website can help with restaurant recognition and increased profits as long as it
provides a good user experience. Bad UX is a common complaint when users access
restaurant websites to check their menu or place an order.
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The solution:
If you have a website for your restaurant, treat it as an extension of your brand. Make
sure whoever lands on it finds what they were looking for and leaves the website with a
good impression.

If you are selling food on your restaurant website, you have to make sure the menu is
visible and easy to access. Moreover, users should be able to place an order even if
they’re not technologically savvy.

Include all relevant information such as your address, opening hours, menu, and contact
information on the homepage. Learn how to spot and avoid the most common restaurant
website mistakes.

11. Delivery-related issues

The complaint:
Adding delivery to your restaurant is an excellent idea but a huge responsibility too.
You need to make sure that your ordering customers are happy. Delivery-related
complaints include:
 The food arrived late and cold.
 There was a mix-up with the orders.
 The delivery rider was rude.

The solution:
In this case, the solution is a hands-on approach to your delivery business. Set up an
in-house online ordering system, hire and train your own delivery drivers, and control
the entire process from start to finish.

Most complaints related to delivery are directed at the restaurant. In reality, if they use
third-party delivery apps, the delivery is no longer in their control once the food leaves
the restaurant.
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By taking control of the ordering and delivery process, you minimize the risk of
complaints. Moreover, suppose a bad customer service complaint does still occur. In
that case, you can get in touch with the customer directly and solve it.

12. Dietary restrictions not accommodated

The complaint:
Some customers complain when a restaurant they visit doesn’t have vegetarian, vegan,
or gluten-free options. There are many types of diets and restrictions that people have
to follow, and it’s expected that they want as many restaurants as possible to
accommodate them.

The solution:
So, what is there to do in that case? Changing your entire menu or adding many new
items to accommodate everyone is most likely not feasible. And that’s okay. If you’ve
created your restaurant with a specific diet in mind, that doesn’t mean you have to
change it.

A middle ground, in this case, would be to try and add at least one menu item that
accommodates multiple diets. You can also do vegetarian/vegan options for your most
popular dishes. If you decide to do that, don’t forget to state that in the menu descriptions
clearly. If that’s not feasible either, the most you can do is be nice. Try to suggest other
establishments in the area where you know they serve the type of food the customer is
looking for. They will appreciate you trying to help.

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Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

13. Discrepancies between the menu and the food

The complaint:
Finally, more common restaurant complaints ensue when customers see something in
your menu which doesn’t reflect reality. A good example would be a dish looking
delicious in the photos on the menu but disappointing in real life.

The solution:
Avoid using stock photos in your menu and on the website because customers will be
disappointed when they see the real thing.

Take professional photos of your food, even if it means investing more money. In the
long run, the investment will pay off. You can use these photos everywhere, from your
menu to social media.

If you can’t afford professional photos just yet, try checking social media and seeing if
anyone has tagged you in their photos. If you find beautiful images of your food, contact
the person who took them and ask for permission to use them on your menu or for
marketing purposes.

Topic 8: Best practices for responding to customer complaints

Although all customer complaints are different and should be handled on an individual basis,
there are a few best practices to keep in mind no matter what type of complaint comes your
way.

1Acknowledge the issue

So much of the time people simply want to be heard and validated. By acknowledging the
issue, you’re showing the customer you care and that you take their request seriously. There’s

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College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

a saying that goes, “Anytime you argue with a customer you lose.” Even if you’re not at fault,
a simple acknowledgement can go a long way to keeping you in someone’s good graces.

2Lead with honesty

Sometimes it’s tempting to bend the truth or be a bit vague to avoid upsetting someone further.
No one likes to deliver bad news, but sugarcoating often doesn’t do much for you in the long
run. Be upfront with customers about what you can and can’t do. Otherwise you run the risk of
misleading someone or needlessly dragging out an interaction, both of which can leave a bad
taste in a customer’s mouth.

3Offer a solution
You won’t always be able to do exactly what someone wants, but it’s very rare you’re not able
to do anything at all for them. Instead of getting bogged down by what you can’t do, do your
best to find what you can. Even if it’s not perfect, it shows initiative and a willingness to help.

8 customer complaint examples (and how to respond)

Below we cover eight common customer complaints and offer some example emails on how
you could respond. These are written to be a bit on the general side of things, but with a little
editing they should be useful for most teams.

1. Product issues
One of the most common types of complaints are issues with your product or service. Generally
these complaints have to do with a product not functioning as expected, or perhaps something
was damaged during shipping.

The best way to respond to these requests is to let the customer know exactly how you’re going
to remedy the issue and the steps involved in doing so. If you can offer timelines, that’s always
a nice touch, but be sure you can meet them if that’s what you commit to.

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Here’s how that might look in an email response for a broken item:
Hi <customer name>,

Thanks for the message and I’m sorry to hear about the trouble. We do our best to pack products carefully, but
sometimes things happen in transit. I’m happy to get you a replacement — you’ll just need to ship the original item
back to us. I’ve attached a prepaid shipping label to this message.

In the meantime, I’ve already put a request in for a replacement. It should ship within the next <x> days. Assuming
normal shipping times, it should get to you no later than <x> day. You have <x> amount of time to ship the original
item back. In the case the original item isn’t returned, we will charge you for the replacement.

Again, my apologies for the trouble, and if you have any other questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to let me
know.

All the best,

<agent name>

2. Long wait times to get a response

Waiting to get a response about an issue is usually a very frustrating experience for customers.
And over the years, customers’ expectations of how long a response should take have steadily
increased. In fact, one study found that 31% of customers expect a response within an hour.

Tools like Help Scout’s saved replies can help agents respond to routine requests quickly.
Automation tools like workflows also help speed up responses by automatically sorting and
assigning requests to the right teams and agents. Autoresponders can also be powerful tools
to direct requesters to self-service tools like a knowledge base or an FAQ page to help them
resolve their issue on their own.

That message could look something like this:

Hi <customer name>,

Thanks so much for the message. Our team strives to respond to every email request within <x amount of time>
during the week, but we have limited availability on the weekend. If you need assistance sooner, you’re welcome to

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College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Business Management

Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

contact us at <list other contact options if available>. You can also check out our knowledge base or our FAQ page
<here>.

We’ll be in touch soon.

Regards,

<agent name>

3. Incomplete or lacking support resources

Customers today are more than willing to try to help themselves. Around 70% of people will
actually try to find an answer on their own before contacting support, and not being able to find
the answer they’re looking for can be really frustrating.

In these cases it’s important to route the customer to the needed resource if it exists. If not,
you could create a quick guide using screenshots or a screen recording tool like Loom. Those
can be very impactful interactions and also could be a good way to start building a support
library. At the least, it’s important you let them know the different ways they can contact you if
they need support in the future.

Here’s how this type of message might read:

Hi <customer name>,

I’m happy to help with <x issue>. While we don’t currently have documentation for <x issue>, I’ve created a quick
guide for you to follow:

<put guide resource here>

If you have any further questions, you can contact me directly through this message thread at any time. We also have
<x channels> where you can get in touch if you need us in the future.

All the best,

<agent name>

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Or:
Hi <customer name>,

Sorry you struggled to find what you’re looking for! Here’s a link to <documentation for their issue>. It’s a great guide
to help with the specific issue you’re facing. If anything in the guide is unclear, or you have any further questions,
please let me know.

Regards,

<agent name>

4. Having to repeat information

Being bounced around and having to retell an issue multiple times is a bad experience. Period.
It’s why 72% of people say having to repeat their issue to multiple people is poor customer
service.

The remedy in this scenario is to make sure it doesn’t happen in the first place. It’s common
for help desks to have some sort of internal notes capability. For example, with Help Scout,
agents can quickly create conversation summaries with AI Summarize as well as add notes to
a conversation so anyone taking over the case in the future has more context.

If you’re taking over a case for someone else, it’s always good to let the customer know you’re
aware of what the issue is. You can even ask for confirmation before getting into the details of
a resolution to ensure you’re delivering all the most relevant information.

If you’re doing it right, it might look like this:

Hi <name>,

My name is <agent name> and I’ll be handling your request moving forward. I see you’ve had trouble with <insert
brief summary of their issue>. I just want to confirm that’s correct so we can move toward a resolution as quickly as
possible.

Looking forward to your response,

<agent name>
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5. Difficulty connecting with a live agent

Even though people do want access to self-service tools like a knowledge base and an FAQ
page, they also still want access to live agents when struggling with an issue. Sometimes
customers have to jump through hoops and endless IVR phone menus to get to a live person,
which creates a less-than-ideal customer experience and often leads to customer complaints.

When you receive these types of complaints, it’s important you empathize with the customer
and acknowledge their frustration. If there is a live channel available, let them know how to
access it and what the associated hours are (for example, maybe you’re only staffed 9 a.m-5
p.m. Monday through Friday CST).

Some modern teams shy away from traditional live support options like phone support, but
many help desks offer live chat solutions, which aren’t as resource intensive. Research found
that millennials actually prefer chat support over any other form of support, so it could be a
very worthwhile investment.

If you get one of these complaints, here’s how you might respond:

Hi <customer name>,

Thank you for the message. I’m sorry getting in touch with us was a frustrating experience for you and I completely
understand wanting to get a problem solved ASAP. We do offer live support through <insert channel> on <x days>
and during <x hours>. For any issues outside those hours, <x channel> is usually the best option to get a response
quickly.

Again, my apologies for the frustration, and if there’s anything else I can help with, please let me know.

Sincerely,

<agent name>

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6. Bad agent experience

Though it’s certainly almost never intentional, sometimes customers don’t have great
experiences with a support agent. Most of the time it comes down to some sort of
miscommunication. But, as the saying goes, “perception is reality.”

When you get one of these types of complaints, it’s important you let the customer know you’re
taking it seriously. Acknowledge their message and offer reassurance that it won’t happen in
the future. You should also review these cases to see if there’s a learning opportunity for the
agent. Last, it’s probably best if someone other than the original agent responds.

You might respond to a complaint about an agent interaction like this:

Hi <customer name>,

We sincerely appreciate your feedback and apologize that the interaction didn’t go as hoped. We take pride in offering
great service and take it seriously when we don’t meet expectations. We will be reviewing the interaction as a team
so that we can learn from it and provide better service to our customers in the future.

While I have you here, I also wanted to check in with you to ensure that your original issue has been fully addressed.
If there’s anything I can do to help set things right, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Regards,

<manager name>

7. Feature/product request
It’s common for customers to ask for new features or products. If you get these, you should
take it as a great sign. When customers make these types of requests, it shows they’re invested
in your company and engaged with what you’re doing, so it’s good to show gratitude.

For these responses, it’s good to acknowledge the idea. If it’s something you’re working on
and can talk about, share it with them. If not, you can let them know you’ll pass the message

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CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
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Bachelor of Science in Office Administration

along. Also, if there’s a workaround that would help them accomplish what the feature they’re
requesting does, share it as it could be a big win.

Some help desks also offer the ability to integrate with certain software that make tracking
feature requests even easier. For example, Help Scout has a Jira integration that allows you
to create feature requests or link to existing ones all without leaving the message.

A response for a feature request might go like this:

Hi <customer name>,

That’s a great idea! It’s not something we’re working on currently, but I’ll be sure to pass it along to the team. In the
meantime, there is actually a workaround that could let you do something similar.

<insert workaround>.

If there’s anything else I can help with, please let me know.

All the best,

<agent name>

8. Out of stock item

It’s a total bummer when you’re excited about a product only to find out that it’s out of stock. In
these cases it’s pretty normal for customers to reach out and inquire about when something
might be back in stock.

For these types of requests, it’s best to give any information that you can. For example, if you
know when a restock will happen, tell them. If it’s something that won’t be back, it’s good to
share that information. Also, if you have a waitlist, offer to add them to it. No matter the case,
be sure to err on the side of caution. If you promise something will be back and it doesn’t
happen, you’ll only compound the issue.

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These responses tend to be pretty simple, but it might go something like this:

Hi <customer name>,

You have great taste 🙂 Unfortunately, at the moment that item is out of stock. We don’t have a specific timeline on
when that item will be back, but we are collecting a waitlist and I’m happy to add you to it and you’ll be notified when
it’s available.

Also, I know it’s not exactly the same, but <other item> is also a great product and could help fulfill your needs. You
can learn more about it here <link to item>.

Cheers,

<agent name>

Moving forward
Customer complaints are a reality for every business. How you handle those requests can
directly affect the viability of your business. Be thoughtful and solution-oriented, and you’ll be
on the right path.

Final Words
There you have it; the most common restaurant complaints and solutions on fixing them and
keeping customers happy. Remember that complaints are not always indicative of you doing
something wrong. Regardless, it is your responsibility to investigate them.

There will be times when no matter what you do, someone won’t be satisfied. In that case, it’s
important not to let it drag you down. All you can do is your best, and most customers will
appreciate that.

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IV. Additional Data or Looking Ahead

‘Suggested readings’ and ‘additional sources’ (These are just additional information/input/knowledge that you
can search/read AND is not a required activity to answer/read/research)

[Link]
examples/
[Link]

V. References
 Customer Relationship Management, Concepts and Technologies, 3rd Edition
Copyright 2015 by Francis Buttle and Stan Maklan
Additional References:

 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]
your-business/
 [Link]
 [Link]
value#:~:text=value%20(CLV.)-
,What%20is%20customer%20lifetime%20value%20(CLV)%3F,of%20an%20average
%20business%20relationship.
 [Link]

Supplementary Resources/Reference
[Link]
[Link]
make-customers-feel-valued/?sh=31919dac6bed
[Link]
Customer Relationship & Management, Copyright 2018 by Bertram Smith
Customer Relationship Management and Profitability in business, Copyright 2014 by
William Watson
Prepared by:

MELANY C. FEDERIS, MBM

Assistant Professor IV
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