Good Customer Service = Good Legal Strategy

Posted on | February 10, 2009 | 2 Comments

Chris Brogan posted a story on how well his friend was treated by SanDisk when her mp3 player broke- http://www.chrisbrogan.com/guest-post-the-sandisk-story/.  After you read Chris’ blog, come back here and finish reading this blog entry.

Very few lawyers talk about customer service or quality assurance programs for their business clients.  That’s a shame, because happy customers aren’t going to sue you or your company.  So, shouldn’t lawyers teach their clients ways to make customers happy without (1) incurring other liability risks or (2) bankrupting the company?

Developing systematic ways to field and address customer complaints reduces the risk of getting sued for breach of contract, breach of warranty, products liability and even negligence.  Make your customers and clients happy, and you’ll make more money and get sued less often.  It’s that simple.

The client is NOT always right.  However, you should endeavor to make every customer FEEL like the customer was not wrong.  Angry customers are not simply liability risks.  Unhappy customers influence other potential or actual or angry customers.  In a small town, people talk, and negativity about your business can spread fast.  Ask any restaurant owner/manager if that’s true or not.  For large companies, blogs and chat rooms are where bad will for your company, product or service spreads and spreads fast.  You might lose future business, if an angry customer publicly trashes your services, products or company.  Additionally, unhappy customers encourage other unhappy customers to take action against you.  There is a negative snow ball effect in play here, and that can translate to claims and lawsuits. 

Study how Dell Computers got trashed on blogs and chat rooms for years, until it discovered how to turn all those customer questions and concerns into (1) ways to improve its products and operations, (2) cross-market other products and services  and (3) neutralize disappointed customers.  Dell’s story is another good example of how to identify unhappy customers and turn negatives into positives.  Obviously, you can’t make an unhappy customer happy, if your angry customers can’t be identified and have no way to interact with your company.  So, what are you doing to survey customer satisfaction?  No, seriously- WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT THIS?

If a customer slips and falls in your store or office, go out of your way to make that customer  happy, without admitting fault.  An angry customer with a twisted ankle is far more likely to sue you than a pampered customer with a twisted ankle.  So, call a doctor.  Get some ice.  Send an employee for a bottle of pain reliever.  Move a cushioned chair from the back room to make the customer comfortable.  Comp a meal.  Waive a fee.  Offer a free service.  Ask what the customer wants.  Show concern and compassion.  Assign a key manager to stay by the customer’s side until the situation is resolved.  Etc., etc., etc.

It wouldn’t hurt to call your business advisor, coach or lawyer while the customer is still in the store for additional ideas.

It’s that easy.

In a future blog, I’ll describe how to develop a plan to make customers happy and angry customers less likely to file claims.  They key is to systematize dispute resolution processes at all levels of your business operations.  Avoiding lawsuits starts with your lowest ranking employee.  Business systems make it possible to ensure even the lowest ranking employee is a great tool in making potential lawsuits disappear and happy customers return.

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