Archive for February 6th, 2008

Managing Customer Complaints With Your Business

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008

Managing Customer Complaints With Your Business

By: Zachary Thompson

Part of owning a home business is providing customer service to your clients. There is a great deal of information that can be helpful when providing customer service. One issue that should be addressed is managing customer complaints for your home business. There is no way to keep everyone happy all of the time. When you market products and services, there is sure to be someone that is going to have a complaint. Complaints are fine for a home business as long as you manage them well and turn the experience into a good one.

A customer may be in a bad mood and end up taking it out on you. No matter how belligerent, rude or nasty the customer may be to you, it is important to not take it personally. You have no idea what happened in that person?s life that day or even week. Unfortunately, for whatever reason they may end up taking their anger and frustration with life out on you without even realizing it. Even if you know that they realize it, you still cannot take it personally. Taking customer complaints personally will create a volatile situation that you want to completely avoid. Remember that no matter what the complaint, it is not personal toward you specifically.

After the customer has calmed down, try and ascertain what the exact problem is that has upset them. Was the product different than they expected? Was the shipping delayed? Find out what the actual problem is that has upset the customer and caused them to complain. Immediately apologize to the customer. The best way to apologize is to tell the customer that you are sorry that they feel blank. For example, if the shipping took too long. You can say to the customer that you are sorry that they feel the shipping took too long to get the product to their house. This is not admitting fault because you are simply acknowledging their feelings.

For a complaint that there is no solution try and offer something to the customer. For example, if the shipping took too long in the customer?s eyes, offer a discount on their next purchase. Offer to provide them with free shipping next time if you charge shipping for your wellness products. As the last resort, you can give them a partial refund for their product. When determining a refund, calculate how much the product cost you. Make certain that the product is cost is covered and refund the profit. This will enable you to refund them a bit without losing a great deal of money or completely giving the items away for free.

For a complaint that there is a solution, fix the problem immediately. For example, if the product arrived in poor condition. Go ahead and ship another product to the customer and ask them to ship the poor condition product back to you. Don?t wait until you receive their item to replace it. The majority of time people will not keep both products. Let the customer know what solution you offer for fixing the situation immediately. This will let them know that you care about their happiness with your wellness products and services.

If the customer cannot be satisfied with any solution that you offer for the problem, ask them to give you a suggestion. In a calm voice ask them what they recommend that you do to rectify the situation for them. Often if they don?t have a solution they will be more willing to accept one of your previous suggestions. Remember that a happy customer is going to repeat sales and spread the word about your products and services for your new home business.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_9076.shtml

Finding The Right Credit Card Even With Bad Credit

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008

Finding The Right Credit Card Even With Bad Credit

By: Melissa Kellett

Given the credit card market growth and the variety of credit card options available, it is wise to do a thorough research before applying for a credit card in order to get a good deal and the credit card that best suits your needs.

Wide Range Of Options

You can find that the credit card industry now provides many different options ranging from rewards credit cards; airline rewards credit cards, business credit cards, low interest credit cards, student credit cards, sub-prime credit cards, and secured credit cards and so on.

If you?re planning to pay off the full balance of your credit card every month, you will get the best deal with a cash back credit card, because at the end of the year you will receive a sum of money that you will use at your sole discretion. This is an excellent benefit that you will be able to use for going on vacations, buying presents, putting money aside for saving and many other purposes.

But if you plan to use your credit card for finance, not being able to pay the full balance each month, you will be wise to find a credit card with a low interest rate. You can even take advantage of certain offers that provide a 0% rate for a couple of months. You should know that credit cards have different types of interests and you should be familiar with them since they will determine how much extra money you will be spending by making use of credit cards.

Interest Rates

There is a Purchase Interest Rate that?s involved in the buying of products and the provision of services. There is also a Balance Transfer Interest Rate that will come into sight when you choose to transfer your credit card balance from one card to another. Finally there is a Standard Variable Rate which is charged when there are balances left unpaid on a credit card.

Bare in mind also that there are other fees that can appear in your balance and you should read your contract carefully in order to be aware of any fees that may emerge in the future if certain conditions established in the contract occur. Penalty fees are a good example of this. When you miss payments or pay late, you will incur in penalty fees, sometimes in the form of a lump sum others in the form of interests on the money you owe and some times you may be charged both the interest and the fee. What you need to check is that these fees come in reasonable amounts. It does not make sense being charged $70 for going over your limit just by $1.

Search Online

There are many companies offering online comparison and advice services that deal with credit cards. This is a good option for those who want to make a conscious decision and compare the variety of rates and benefits that the market has to offer. So, just search the net and compare different credit card offers to see which one best suits your needs.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_9095.shtml