Dissatisfied customers can be divided into two types: 

Walkers and talkers.

Talkers are the ones who will explain in detail why they’re unhappy, giving your company the chance to make changes.

But they’re usually a small minority. Research shows that 91% of unhappy customers are walkers. They just walk away without telling you why.

Why they walk

Research pinpoints three reasons customers walk:

1. The salesperson didn’t care enough about the customer’s needs, preferences or problems.
2. The salesperson was more concerned with style, while the customer was looking for substance.
3. The product/service provided more of a solution for the salesperson’s problems than it did for the customer’s problems.

Keeping the walkers happy

When you ask customers whether they’re satisfied, listen closely to the response. Walkers tend to withdraw when you ask questions like, “Was everything okay with your last order?”

If they stumble and stammer, it’s a sign they’re ready to walk. They’re also likely to say things like “sure” or “fine.”

Respond to these kinds of replies by pushing a little harder to get the customer to open up. One thing you could say: “It sounds like you’re not totally satisfied. Could you tell me how we let you down? I’d like to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Adapted from Managing the Customer Experience by Joe Wheeler and Shaun Smith (Prentice-Hall).

Tags: customers, dissatisfied, unhappy