We’ve all had those moments when trying to get good service or a refund from a company and we can’t seem to get anywhere. Either the customer service reps haven’t been empowered to solve your problem or they are just borderline incompetent. So what do you do?
It can feel great to just get angry and yell at the reps. I’ve certainly taken that approach at times. Which can sometimes work but often doesn’t yield as good of a result as you could be getting.
Recently, I had the displeasure of having a miserable service experience with a company that I was paying several thousand dollars. The short of it was that they suffered from an inability to communicate and keep their commitments. They also overcharged me by nearly $700!
I’m not going to go into who they are because I’m happy with the end result and the objective of this post is to talk about how to work with difficult service organizations, not my one experience.
My result: I was able to get the service level I needed, a refund of my $700 and a 25% discount off the total I had spent.
Let me teach you how to do it.
Step 1: Yell at the wall
This step is super important. I know how frustrating it can be. I’ve been there. I could not have been angrier at the company.
But don’t just start yelling at the company’s reps. It often doesn’t work or gets you less than you want because the person on the other end of the phone is now upset, afraid or angry.
So yell at the wall or into a pillow instead, then call the company.
Step 2: Pin the blame on the company, not the rep
One major mistake that people make is to use phrases such as, “You screwed me over,” or “You did this or that.” The person you’re talking to probably isn’t the one to blame for your troubles.
Instead of saying “you,” just refer to the company. For example, say, “Acme Widgets did this or that.” Put the blame on the company, not the rep you’re speaking with.
Trust me, you’ll get much further with this approach.
Step 3: Be articulate but adamant
One reason I want you to yell a the wall first is to get the frustration out so that you can be clear minded about what you’re saying to the rep.
Be very clear about what has happened and what you need to now have happen to be satisfied as a customer. The rep needs to know that there is the potential for you to be a satisfied customer (even if you never intend to work with them again). A company is more likely to help you if they think they can save you as a customer.
Don’t use vulgarities. Don’t be overly demanding.
But do be adamant. You are, after all, the customer and you have a right to be heard and have your problem resolved.
So don’t back down.
For example, I plainly stated which of the company’s actions were unacceptable and how I expected them to be resolved.
Step 4: Use social media to reach their care team
The 1-800 number will often just get you a random person who doesn’t have the authority (or desire) to fix your problems. To get real results, you need to speak with someone whose job is to fix problems.
Enter social media.
Many companies are now watching social media for customers who are complaining because one tweet can quickly cause a firestorm.
For example, Delta Airlines has @DeltaAssist, which is dedicated to watching and reacting in real-time to passengers in transit who are experiencing a problem. The cool thing is that they are empowered to make things happen.
In my case, I tweeted at the company’s Twitter account and within minutes was asked what had happened. I was then able to send an email outlining the problems that had occurred and the resolution I needed. My complaint was then elevated to a manager up the food chain (someone above a local manager level) and he immediately took action.
So use social media to help you reach the right people in the organization.
Step 5: Document everything
Once I was speaking to the right people, I used email to concisely outline my interactions and experience with the company. I provided names, dates, emails, credit card charges, etc to paint a holistic picture.
And with each subsequent email, I always pasted my prior emails at the bottom so that everything could be found in one place (as much for my sake as theirs).
Where this approach really paid off was when the rep referred to earlier issues that I had completely forgotten about. And those earlier issues ended up leading to a bigger refund.
If I hadn’t documented and provided the company with the history of events, my refund would have been smaller.
So put all relevant information into one place.
Step 6: Stay top of mind by following up often
I knew I had made an impact when I called, yet again, and when the answering rep heard my first name, stopped and said, “Is your last name Williams?”
“Why yes it is.”
“Oh…”
Do not be bashful about reaching out as many times as you need to in order to get results. In my case, it took a lot of calls and emails to finally get everything resolved.
In fact, I only received a refund because I kept following up. Once the service was completed, nothing more would have happened if I didn’t call again.
So keep following up until you are satisfied.
Step 7: Ask for a big refund and be specific as to why you should get it
The rep I was working with offered me a $100 discount off of a nearly $4,000 bill for the nightmare that had been my experience, which was more of an insult than fair compensation.
My response was simple. I reiterated some of the most recent issues I had suffered, stated that I wanted a 25% discount off of the total, and gave a brief reason as to why 25% was a fair number.
The rep then replied, “Okay.”
Nailed it!
In the end, the service was completed and we ended up with a $1,611 refund.
So don’t be bashful about asking for a big refund.
There you have it. A guide on how to get a refund from a difficult company. I’ve used this approach several times with great success.
What tactics have you used when being stonewalled by a company? Help out by leaving a comment below.
Photo Credit: Rene Bastiaanssen via Compfight cc