Mazda Training manual — part 151

The Importance of Complaints

Curriculum Training

11

2.4 Aggressive

Customers

In the next session we shall examine the best ways to deal with complaints, and agree the
practical steps you can take to calm down difficult situations. These include dealing with
customers whose complaints turn to aggression.

To be able to deal with them you must first understand WHY customers are likely to
become aggressive.

Your Notes

When customers react to poor service in extreme ways, by showing more than just simple
dissatisfaction, do not think rationally.

They tend to be emotional and see the problems they are having as personal to them.

They may even think that they are being treated badly for personal reasons.

What sort of effect do you think that a mishandled complaint can have on your customers?

Your Notes

The Importance of Complaints

12

Curriculum Training

2.5

Review of the Session

In this session we have examined the importance of complaints, why they happen and the
effect they can have on your business.

AC2 – SESSION REVIEW

Your Notes

Dealing with Complaints

Curriculum Training

13

3. Dealing

with

Complaints

By the end of this session you will have:
• explored the Mazda method for dealing with complaints, and seen how customer

expectations can be managed

• reviewed your duty of care to the customer and the results if complaints are dealt with

incorrectly

• examined how complaints can be seen as opportunities to learn for the future
• reviewed the communications you have with customers, and how the right use of the

voice and body can improve them

• seen how complaints can be turned into opportunities to make sales.

3.1 Customer

Expectations

Customers want truth, good advice and good quality.

Complaints therefore arise from:
• Lack of Truth – obtaining a service different from that expected
• Poor Advice – being given information that causes cost or damage
• Poor Quality – not doing the job to the expected standard – including general

customer service.

Whatever the reason, customers have every right to have their concerns dealt with
promptly and professionally.

Their expectations must be managed – we must make sure that customers know exactly
what will be provided to them.

Be honest about this – if we raise their expectations too high, it will end in complaints.

The road to short-term and long-term growth depends on increasing customer loyalty

▼

Increasing customer loyalty can only be reached by mastering customer-orientated processes

Dealing with Complaints

14

Curriculum Training

3.2

The Customer Process

11 Invoicing

12. Customer information

& vehicle return

10. Repair order

processing and

Quality of work

3. Active Customer
contact

4. Appointment scheduling

Service

1. Delivery of the vehicle

2. Introduction of

Service Personnel

6. Complete repair order

with fixed price

8. Customer service

7. Workshop planning

9. Part pre-order

5. Personalised

reception

13. Customer follow-up