gritted our teeth, though, and thought hard. We tried to be self-critical: perhaps we had had an off-day? Perhaps we should have changed those flowers a day earlier, not slipped up on our table settings, and properly explained our room servicing policy rather than assume that everyone knew what to expect?
We wrote a long and, we think, fair letter back in response, and redoubled our efforts to keep an eye on the smallest detail. We also set out our policy on changes of linen and towels( which are in accordance with the 2006 five-star B & B VisitBritain standards) in our room information sheets.
Lessons: This one shows that the most difficult complaints are not about any one thing, but are a litany of minor things. What is the underlying cause? Perhaps the real reason they were unhappy had more to do with the weather, or having had a marital row, than with our B & B keeping. Even so, always make yourself see things through the customers eye and – as in this case – there are usually positive lessons to learn which will help you in future.
How to handle complaints
This very limited experience of difficult B & B customers, and a combined 30 years or so of experience dealing with difficult customers in other industries( including hotel and holiday customers), has taught us a few fundamental“ rules” it is best to stick by:
➢ Listen sympathetically
➢ Don’ t justify or be defensive
➢ Buy time; don’ t commit immediately to specific recompense
➢ Analyse the complaint carefully and dispassionately, putting yourself in the customer’ s shoes
➢ Get back to the customer as soon as you can, and explain your response and your reasoning carefully; rationally argued and quantified explanations carry most weight
➢ Don’ t get angry or emotional
➢ Try to avoid entering into a negotiation
➢ Be polite and respectful – even if the customer is not!
➢ Try to learn from complaints, and improve your service
And to reassure those who have never dealt commercially with the public before: it is not as bad as you fear. As we have said before, the vast majority of people are like you: nice, polite and reasonable. A tiny minority is not.