I remember one time when I was trying to get a problem taken care of with a company I had recently purchased from. The first department I spoke to told me I had to go to another, which in turn told me I had to go to yet another, which then direct me right back to the first department I had talked to.
       
I don’t like knowing that I’m just being pawned off on to someone else to deal with when I have a problem that needs to be solved. And guess what, I never shopped at that company again.
       
Someone who has a problem is really the perfect opportunity to establish a really loyal customer if you’re able to handle things the right way.
       
The fact of the matter is, how you handle things when there’s a problem is a wonderful judge of how worthwhile of a company you really are in the eyes of the customer. If I walk into a store and have everything work out great, I’m going to be pleased, sure, but that doesn’t tell me how that company acts when something screws up.
      
How you handle things in a time of crisis is the best way of showing people just how together you really have it, and once they know that, they’ll be much more likely to stick around and continue doing business with you.
       
Of course, the first thing you need to do is be able to handle those complaints successfully. Keep in mind that this is just as important of a marketing tool as any kind of color printing will be. Those happy customers are going to walk away just waiting to tell other people what they know and spread the good word about you.
       
So what can you do to make them happy? Simply listen to begin with. I know it sounds so obvious, but the company I mentioned at the beginning of the article seemed to have ADD when it came to just listening to the problems I had. They were more concerned with getting someone else to handle things than solve anything themselves.
       
Once you know what the problem is, ask the customer what they think the best solution is. I think you’ll come across answers that are more reasonable and easily accomplished than you might think. If what they want isn’t something you can easily do, try to work out a compromise with them, and make sure you’re compromising just as much as they are.
       
There will be occasions when a solution simply can’t be reached, but those aren’t as common as a lot of people think. More often then not you’ll have a happy customer walking away. What you’ll also have is a walking testimonial to let other people know how good of a job your company did. There’s a reason why so many companies use testimonials on their color printing: they work wonders to generate business.
      
I don’t truly trust a company until I see how well they work when things go wrong. You can’t always stop these kinds of problems, so make sure when the inevitable occurs, you don’t try to pawn me off on another department.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit: Color Printing