Even well-loved
businesses receive customer complaints and requests. Don't get discouraged! Some of the most popular statements are:
"Your product doesn't do what I thought"; or, "You didn't do
what you promised." And, it's not unusual for customers to request a
refund or adjustment.
Unless the
claim is obviously fraudulent or excessive, most businesses strive to satisfy
their customers and promote customer goodwill.
When businesses respond favorably to the customer’s request, the message
is called an adjustment.
Adjustment
messages are good news for your customer and should be delivered using a direct
pattern approach. The following writing
plan follows this direct approach:
- Subject Line (optional): Identify the previous correspondence and refer to the main topic.
- Opening: Grant the request or announce the adjustment immediately.
- Body: Provide details about how you are complying with the request. Try to regain the customer's confidence. Apologize, if appropriate, but don't admit negligence.
- Closing: End positively with a forward-looking thought; express confidence in future business relations. Include a sales promotion, if appropriate. Avoid referring to unpleasantness.
It's all a
part of doing business and hopefully doesn't happen often. However, adjust messages give you an
opportunity to correct mistakes, regain customer confidence and promote further
business.
Works Cited:
8 Common
Customer Complaints and How to Fix Them. Ed. Barry Moltz. 14 August 2013. Web.
28 February 2015. https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/8-common-customer-complaints-and-how-to-fix-them/
Guffey, Mary
Ellen. Essentials of Business Communication. South-Western Cengage Learning,
2013.
