To be di person wey dey answer well when something spoil na one of di most valuable skill wey small business fit get, and almost everything dey inside di first sentence. No be di refund. No be di explanation. Na di first sentence, wey you send inside one day, for di customer own words.
Plenty people wey dey run dia own business already sabi dis thing face to face. If una dey see body to body, you go nod, you go repeat wetin happen, and you go talk wetin you wan do about am. Na di screen dey remove all three. Di message land, at least one part of am no fair, and di reply wey dey form for your head na court defense.
You fit write di correct sentence instead. You fit learn am, e dey take like ninety seconds, and na one of di cheapest move for dis whole area: one accurate line plus one date wey you keep na wetin go decide whether di rest go be repair or argument.
Wetin exactly I go write for di first sentence?
Talk wetin spoil, for dem own words, no defense attach. “Your order come nine days late and di box crush” na complete first sentence, and e dey do pass any long apology paragraph.
To call di thing plain no mean say you don accept liability and e no mean say you don surrender. Na di move wey dey end di escalation, because plenty of wetin look like vex na person wey no sure say dem don hear am, so e dey raise volume till dem hear am. E get one small neuroscience matter for here. When person put feeling inside clear words, di brain threat response dey quiet down for real. Dat research na about naming your own feeling, no be somebody naming am for you, so take am as pointer no be proof, but e dey point di correct direction: exact words dey do work wey sweet words no fit do.
Use dem own nouns. If dem write “di color no be di photo at all”, you write “di color no be di photo at all”, no be “you get some concern about di shade”. Complaint wey you translate dey read like management. Complaint wey you repeat dey read like human being.
One warning. No open with “sorry” alone. Bare apology wey no name anything dey read like form letter, and di customer go need write you back to find out whether you even understand di problem. Name di thing first, then apologize inside di same message if apology dey owed.
Then stop. No attach “however”. No attach di reason yet. Di first sentence get one job, and to give am second job na wetin dey make people vex pass.
How fast I suppose answer?
Inside one day, even if di fix go take one week. Speed and resolution na two different product: quick holding reply dey remove di fear say dem dey ignore person, and na dat fear dey turn complaint into public review.
You no need get di answer before you reply. “I don read dis one well, na dis go wrong, and I go get plan for you by Thursday” na complete and honest message. E cost five minutes and e buy you three days.
Na di twenty minutes before you write am dey really matter. If your heart dey beat fast, your sentence go long and go worse. Do di body thing first, whatever be your own: waka round di street, lift something heavy, climb di stairs twice. Body wey don burn di adrenaline go write shorter sentence pass body wey still hold am, and na short na exactly wetin you want here. Dis one na di plain reason why you suppose keep small training inside your week when you dey run business alone. E no be wellness detour. Na why you go get brain wey dey work by nine o'clock Saturday morning.
Then write di reply, and read am one more time, delete every word wey you fit delete.
Wetin dey follow di first sentence?
One action and one date, for dat order, and di explanation only if e still dey needed. Most times e no dey needed, because na di outcome customer want, no be di reason.
Di template get four part and e fit enter one message box.
- Acknowledge, for dem own words, no “however”.
- One action. “I dey send replacement.” “I dey refund di shipping.” “I go remake am free.”
- One date. “E go comot Tuesday.” Date wey person keep worth pass promise wey person pass.
- Di explanation, short, last, optional. Two sentence maximum, and never for tone wey dey beg make dem forgive you say you get hard week.
Experiment work on trust repair find say apology dey do im work through two things at once: how trustworthy you now look, and how much bad feeling still dey inside di room. Na why di wording of dis four part matter pass di size of di gift wey you attach.
Refund na di easy answer, no be always di correct one. Refund dey end di transaction. Remake, wey you send for di day you promise, dey end di problem and dey keep di person.
Wetin I go write when di complaint dey public?
Write am for di next reader, no be for di one wey vex. Everybody wey see one star review dey actually read your reply, and wetin dem dey check na whether you calm and specific.
Three sentence for public, maximum. Acknowledge, talk di action and di date, offer make una continue by message. No defense, no history of di order, no dey correct dia version of wetin happen even when dia version no correct.
Public argument wey you win still dey cost you di sale of everybody wey dey read am. Short, unbothered, factual reply wey e look like say you lose dey read like business wey person fit risk 40 dollars on.
Reply di good reviews too, one line, use di customer name. E dey take one minute for one week and e mean say your review page no go be wall of silence with one complaint sitting for middle.
Then carry am go private and dey generous there, where nobody dey perform. Di finding wey strong pass for customer service research no fine at all: no be delight people dey reward, na low effort, meaning say dem solve di problem without di person chasing am up and down. To answer fast and do di thing wey you talk na almost di whole product.
Write your own version now, while nobody dey vex
Open note today and write your own four part template, with your own business inside am and di two or three things wey really dey go wrong for your trade. You no go fit compose am for di morning wey you need am, and dat morning always dey land on Saturday.
Keep am plain. Di point of written line no be script wey go remove you from di conversation. Na to hold you to di same standard for bad day wey you dey hit easy for good day. Change one word for di moment, e still be your own.
None of dis dey lower your standard for how people go talk to you. You fit hold boundary, refuse unreasonable demand and still send di calm sentence, and true true na di calm sentence dey make di boundary stand, because nothing dey inside am to argue with. Di person wey dey answer well when something spoil na di person wey go still dey trade for ten years time. Na one of di few skill for dis whole area wey you fit practice inside ninety seconds.
Sources
- Psychological Science, Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli
- Frontiers in Psychology, Apologies Repair Trust via Perceived Trustworthiness and Negative Emotions
- Harvard Business Review, Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers