Dealing effectively with disappointed customers is an important ...

[kfurse]

Dealing effectively with disappointed customers is an important skill for business communicators. List three of the four strategies that business use to control damage and resolve problems when customers complain. Then, cite two reasons that online complaint sites are gaining momentum.

Question 2

List three situations when the direct organizational pattern can effectively be used to deliver negative bad news; then give an original workplace example of each.

[snackralk]

Answer to Question 1

(1 ) Most business professionals strive to control the damage and resolve such problems by:



Calling or e-mailing the individual within 24 hours to reply to his or her online post.
Describing the problem and apologizing.
Explaining why the problem occurred, what is being done to resolve it, and how it will be prevented from reoccurring.
Promoting goodwill by following up with a message that documents the phone call or acknowledges the online exchange of posts.
(2 ) Online complaint sites are gaining momentum for many reasons, including:

Consumers may receive faster responses to tweets than to customer service calls.
Airing gripes in public also helps other consumers avoid the same problems and may improve the complainer's leverage in solving the problem.
Sending a 140-character tweet is much easier than writing a complaint e-mail or letter to a customer service department or navigating endless telephone menus to reach an agent.



Answer to Question 2

When the bad news is not damaging

Example: You must tell your staff that the parking lot is being repaved and that they'll have to park on the street for three days.



When the receiver may overlook the bad news

Example: You know your reader receives numerous messages every day, usually just skimming them, and you have an important notice about a procedural change that must be communicated immediately.



When the organization or receiver prefers directness

Example: You work for an organization that expects all internal messages to be straightforward with no frills.



When firmness is necessary

Example: You are writing the fourth letter in a series of collection letters to a customer whose account is now severely past due.

[kfurse]

Excellent

[Laurenleakan]

Gracias!