Customer Service Training, CSR Training, Call Center Agent Training,Customer Service E-Learning/title> <meta name="Microsoft Border" content="tb"> </head> <body topmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" leftmargin="0" link="#0000FF" vlink="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" rightmargin="0" bottommargin="0"> <div align="left"> <table border="0" width="700" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="700" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td align="left" width="10" valign="top"> </td> <td width="690" align="left" valign="top"> <table border="0" width="690"> <tr> <td width="690"> <table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="103" align="left" valign="top"><font face="Verdana" size="1"><font color="#808080"><b>PRODUCTS</b></font> >> </font></td> <td><font face="Verdana" size="1"><a href="products%20-%20supervisorywebinarseries.html">SUPERVISORY WEBINAR SERIES</a> | <a href="products%20-%20beyondwow.html">MYRA'S NEW BOOK, BEYOND WOW</a> | <a href="products%20-%20edocuments.html">E-DOCUMENTS</a> | <a href="products%20-%20Do%20It%20Yourself%20Training.html">DO-IT-YOURSELF TRAINING</a> | <a href="products%20-%20supervisorywebinarseries.html">ON DEMAND WEBINARS</a></font></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top"> <table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="41" rowspan="5" align="right" valign="bottom"> <img border="0" src="images/introline.gif" width="30" height="50"></td> <td width="593" align="right"> <img border="0" src="images/introline2.gif" width="40" height="28"></td> <td rowspan="5" align="left" valign="top"> <img border="0" src="images/indexlinetopright.gif" width="30" height="50"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="593"><font face="Verdana" size="1">>> <a href="products%20-%20edocuments.html">EBOOKLETS AND MANUALS</a> | <a href="products%20-%20edocuments%20-%20free%20articles.html"> FREE ARTICLES</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="593"><font face="Verdana" size="1"> </font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="593"> <p align="left"><b><font face="Arial" size="2">Free Articles</font></b></p> <p align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><b>Four Critical Elements of Complaint Response Letters</b></font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><br> <br> One of the best customer recovery letters I’ve ever seen came from American Airlines. The letter was written to me, though I didn’t even complain to the airline. American Airlines staff proactively identified a problem I encountered and immediately followed up in writing to ensure my continued loyalty. The letter had the four critical elements of an effective customer recovery letter: Immediate response, a genuine expression of empathy, an apology, and they added “double for my trouble.” A copy of that letter is included in this week’s eZine, along with an explanation of how you can begin incorporating the four basic elements of an effective customer recovery letter in your letters beginning today. <br> <br> D<i>ear Ms. Golden, <br> <br> Our manager in Dallas/Fort Worth was concerned and asked us to follow up with you regarding your flight with us on March11. We can understand how frustrating this trip must have been. Simply, we are very sorry for the inconvenience as a result of the delayed departure of flight 1808. <br> <br> As a frequent traveler, you know that good customer service sets us apart from the other airlines. So, when we don’t provide it, no excuse will do. Although we will never compromise safety for the sake of on-time performance, we sincerely apologize that your travel plans were disrupted while traveling to Washington, D.C. <br> <br> We don’t want to lose your confidence in us and hope you won’t let this trip do so. Therefore, as an indication of how important your patronage is to us, I have added 7,000 Customer Service Bonus miles to your AADVANTAGE account. You should see this adjustment on one of your next two summaries. <br> <br> Please continue to travel with us often. It is always a privilege to welcome you aboard. </i></font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><i>Sincerely, <br> <br> William R. Hodges <br> <br> Executive Office </i><br> <br> <b>Is that a great recovery letter or what?</b> This letter delivers the 4 Critical Elements of Recovery Letters that I teach in my letter writing labs. Take a look at the four Elements and ensure you are delivering a compelling recovery with each complaint response letter you write. <br> <br> <b>1. Respond immediately</b> - The speed of the response can have more of an impact on future loyalty than the actual resolution presented in the letter. TARP, Inc. found that 95% of dissatisfied customers experiencing minor problems would remain loyal if their complaints are resolved immediately. That number drops to 70% if the resolution is not immediate. When it isn’t possible to resolve the problem and respond immediately, you should send the customer an initial reply within one business day. The initial reply acknowledges receipt of the customer’s letter and explains that problem investigation is in progress. <br> <br> <b>2. Express empathy</b> - Always include a sincere statement in customer response letters that lets customers know you care about the inconvenience they have experienced. A great way to start out your empathy statement is, “It must have been frustrating to…” <br> <br> <b>3. Apologize</b> – Never send out a response letter without an apology. Never. Research has found that when an apology is received as genuine, customer satisfaction increases 10 – 15%. <br> <br> <b>4. Give the customer double for their trouble</b> – It’s always nice to give a token item that expresses your genuine desire to regain the customer’s goodwill. This can be as simple as enclosing a coupon inviting the customer to come back. <br> <br> The goal of complaint response letters is not to simply respond to complaints, but to restore the customer’s confidence in your company and regain their goodwill. Benchmark this great letter and always include the four critical elements and you’ll find that you’re increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. The contents of this article were taken from Myra’s Ebooks <b>How to Write Customer Response Letters</b> and <b>Customer Win Back</b>, available from <a href="products%20-%20edocuments.html">Myra Golden’s Resource Center</a> for just $6.95 each.</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" color="#000000" size="2"> </font> <p align="left"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" color="#000000" size="2"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <p><b>About the Author</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="2">Since 1999 Myra Golden has been providing customer service training solutions for some of the world’s most recognized brands. From Fortune 500 companies to Government agencies, Myra gives clients ground-floor access to specialized measurably effective training and timely market intelligence, helping them completely restore customer confidence in their brands after any service mishap –without giving the store away. <O:P> </O:P> </font></span></p> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font size="2">Myra is the former head of Consumer Affairs for Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, where she led a strategic team that regained the goodwill of unhappy customers and she worked with the company’s loyalty program to create value for the most frequent customers.</font></span><b><font face="Arial" size="2"> </font></b></font><font face="Arial" size="2" color="#000000">She can be reached at <a href="mailto:info@myragolden.com">info@myragolden.com</a> or 866-873-8419. Her website is <a href="http://www.myragolden.com">www.myragolden.com</a>. </font> <p align="left"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top" width="593"> <img border="0" src="images/introline2.gif" width="40" height="28"></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </body> </html>