The Most Common Customer Complaints and How To Deal With Them

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As a business owner, customer satisfaction should be at the top of your list of priorities. When the customer perception of your business is positive, customers are more likely to want to buy from you. Having happy customers means that you can increase your sales and build a loyal following who will return to you, time and time again.

To build this reputation, it’s important that the customer journey is positive at every touchpoint: from a varied product offering, to a smooth delivery service and effective handling of any complaints. Yes, we said it. The dread “C” word.

Unfortunately, handling complaints is something that you will have to deal with. It may be that the customer is not satisfied with a product, or is confused about how to handle a return. Learning customer service skills is a key step to increasing customer satisfaction. It will allow you to deal with problems swiftly when they arise, and will put you streaks ahead of your competitors.

Our team is on hand to give you guidance on dealing with issues, but as the face of your business, you will be responsible for the communication with the customer. To help you out, we’ve put together a list of common queries and a quick guide on how to deal with these issues.

Question: Where is my package?

There’s no denying that as soon as a customer orders an item online he is eagerly anticipating its arrival. This is likely the most asked question, but what is the right way to respond to a question like this?

Response:

Ask your customer to provide you with details including their order number, order date, if they received a tracking number and confirmation email.

Once you have the necessary details, look up the SKU and order number in your system. If you can find the tracking number, simply pass on the details and reassure the customer that the package will be with them soon.

If you see that the tracking number is indeed missing from your system, reach out to your customer and offer to replace the missing item or refund their order. Make sure to inform the dropshippingXL B2B support team of the situation.

Question: Am I allowed to return the item?

As a customer you sometimes order an item online and end up disappointed by the real thing. If your customer has asked to return an order, we offer solutions for depending on the circumstance.

Response:

Take all of the necessary details regarding the order, including:

  • Order number
  • Reason for the return
  • Date received
  • Desired solution
  • SKU
  • Quantity ordered

Liaise with the dropshippingXL team to arrange the return. The team will provide a label to pass onto the customer. A return can be arranged either by Pick Up or Drop Off (the customer will need to take the package to their local drop off point).

Question: My order is missing some parts. Can you solve this problem?

Sometimes a customer might contact you because a part is missing from their order. This is not ideal, but easily solved.

Response:

Reassure your customer that this will be corrected straight away.

Collect the necessary information from your customer (order number, SKU number, quantity, missing part). Inform with the B2B team, who will then give you a list of parts to share with the customer. The customer can then identify which part number is missing.

Once you have the details, arrange to have the missing parts sent over to your customer.

Question: My order is not working/damaged. What should I do?

In unfortunate cases, your customer might receive an item that is damaged or malfunctioning. It can be difficult to know how to deal with this, but keep calm - we have a way to salvage the problem.

Response:

Ask your customer to send you a video or image of the damaged product, clearly displaying the defect. Also ask for further details (were there damages visible on the box, did the item arrive drenched in water, did it break a week after it was put together, etc.). While your customer describes the state of the item request for a photo or video of the damaged item. Based on the information and physical evidence that you have received decide whether the damage was caused: During transit, factory damage, weather conditions, customer handling, etc. Once you have decided the cause of damage, present your customer with a solution (replacement, return or refund).

The important thing to remember when you are dealing with customers, is to be friendly, patient and informative. Make sure you reply in a timely manner and if in any doubt, contact our B2B support team!

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