What is the first course of action a person should follow if they are dissatisfied with a product?

Customer satisfaction is an essential aspect of any business. It is vital to keep customers happy and satisfied with your product or service. If you fail to do so, you risk losing them as customers.

Inhaltsverzeichnis Show

Reasons for customer dissatisfaction
Things to do when you have a dissatisfied customer
Root Cause Analysis - Online Training
Tips to avoid customer dissatisfaction
Kano Analysis
More information

There are several reasons why customer dissatisfaction occurs. In this article, I will discuss these reasons and ways to deal with them.

Reasons for customer dissatisfaction

1) Not knowing the expectations.

Customer remains dissatisfied unless the company knows what the customer expects out of their product.

2) Not meeting the expectations.

A customer may become dissatisfied because the product or service does not live up to expectations.
Over expectations and the changing needs of the customers could lead to customer dissatisfaction.
Because of the rapid improvement in the technology, the customer may compare the services provided by a company with those of the competitors, leading to dissatisfaction.

Conclusion

If the value delivered to the customer is less than what the customer expects, it will lead to customer dissatisfaction. In mathematical terms you can say:

(value delivered < value expected ) = Dissatisfied Customer

Things to do when you have a dissatisfied customer

If you are dealing with an unhappy customer, here are some things you should do to improve the customer experience.

Discover what the customer is unhappy about and why? Listen carefully to the complaint. This helps you understand the problem better. Their wants and needs first must be uncovered and defined to see if the features and benefits of your company's product or services can satisfy those wants and needs.
Ask questions to clarify the situation. Ask whether we perform to the customer expectations or not?
Analysis, find the root cause and then improve it.

In addition to the above steps to address a customer complaint, here are some of the steps you can take to avoid them in the first place or from recurring them.

Ensure that everyone understands the importance of keeping good relations with the customers.
Be prepared to make changes in policies and procedures whenever necessary.
Keep records on every complaint received and the corrective actions to avoid such complaints in the future.
Establish a system to measure and analyze the level of customer satisfaction.

The best approach to solve the issue of customer dissatisfaction is setting proper expectations.

Root Cause Analysis - Online Training

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Tips to avoid customer dissatisfaction

Be pro-active. Don't wait until the customer complains. Surveys and meetings are a great way to understand the customer's needs.
Be responsive. When there's an issue, resolve it immediately. By waiting to resolve an issue can turn minor problems into bigger ones.
Be honest. Telling customers the truth usually goes over better than lying to them. It will eventually help gain the customer's respect.
Be realistic. Not every sale is worth the cost involved in obtaining it. Some customers have expectations that aren't attainable. In that case, it may be necessary to try to reset the customer's expectations, or, if that isn't possible, to suggest that they may be happier by taking their business elsewhere.

Kano Analysis

Prioritize customer needs and expectations

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Taking direct feedback from the customer: This is typically done in the service industry viz. telecom service provider, white goods after-sales service, etc.
Customer buying pattern: Measure the numbers of repeat orders, the pattern of repeat orders, the reason and the consumption pattern. Repeat orders indicate the customer is happy. If there are no repeat orders, brainstorming needs to be done to understand what will make the customer happy.
Track customer complaints: Keep track of customer complaints. There should be a defined procedure to track the customer complaints, how these complaints were resolved.

In summary, Customer satisfaction can be improved by:

Understanding your customers' expectations;
Improving products or services that meet those expectations;
Providing superior communication skills in all interactions with customers;
Treating every interaction with customers like an opportunity to provide exceptional value;
Making sure you have systems in place to ensure quality control throughout the entire process;
Using data analysis tools to identify trends and patterns so you can improve processes and deliver better results.

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The repair, replace, refund problem solver helps you understand your consumer rights and the steps you can take to resolve a problem.

You have the right to a repair, replacement or refund if your goods are faulty, unsafe, do not work or appear as they should. You have the right to a repair, compensation or refund, if the services you received are not right. Which remedy, and who gets to pick, depends on the problem.

You still have these rights, even if the goods or services come with a warranty against defects, often called a voluntary, manufacturers or extended warranty.

This guide provides key information about when you can use your rights.

Note: This information is for general guidance only and should not be relied on as legal advice.

You only generally have rights to repair, replace or refund when you buy goods or services from a business.

Transformed means to convert or change goods through:

a process of production or manufacture
repairing or treating other goods.

For further information about your rights you may wish to talk to your legal advisor.

Are they safe, lasting and have no faults?
Do they look acceptable?
Do they work as they would normally be expected to?

You bought a TV six months ago and now it won't turn on. A reasonable consumer would expect the TV to still work after six months, so this is the time to use your rights.

You went to a furniture store to purchase a bookcase capable of holding heavy appliances. You explained to the sales assistant that each shelf needs to hold at least 30kg. The sales assistant recommends a particular model.

You find the bookcase breaks after a few months because each shelf can only hold 10kg. This bookshelf is not fit for the specified purpose and you can go back to the business and use your rights.

Any description of the goods must be accurate, including verbal statements made by the sales representative and information on packaging or labels.

You bought a new set of blue towels online using the colour chart available on the website. When the towels arrive, you find that they are red. The towels don’t match the description so you should contact the seller and use your rights.

You did a test drive of a new car. You decide to buy a car which is the same one as the demonstration model. When the new car is delivered, you find that the new car has a lesser engine capacity than the demonstration model. The car doesn’t match the demonstration model shown, so you should go back to the seller and use your rights.

You bought a deskchair and were told by the sales assistant that it should hold up to 100kg. If the deskchair does not hold 100kg and breaks, the business must honour this promise as well as all other rights to repair, replace or refund.

If the business refuses to do anything about it, consider asking to speak to the manager or writing the business a complaint letter.

If direct contact with the business fails, you may wish to:

Rights to repair, replace or refund under the Australian Consumer Law don’t apply to these services. Check with the relevant industry association to see whether other laws, professional standards or codes of conduct apply.

You go to a hairdresser and ask for a cut and colour. The hairdresser accidentally uses peroxide instead of the colour you asked for and bleaches your hair. In this case the hairdresser has not used care and skill when colouring your hair and you should use your rights.

You ask a carpenter to build a fence to cover the whole front of your house, which is 10 metres long and 3 metres high. The fence that is built is only 2 metres high and does not cover the whole house frontage. The service isn’t fit for purpose and you should use your rights.

A plumber agrees to fix your leaking pipes. You do not discuss how long it will take to complete the repairs. The plumber starts the repairs but then does not come back to your house for over a fortnight. In this case, the repairs were not completed within a reasonable time and you should use your rights.

If the business refuses to do anything about it, consider asking to speak to the manager or writing the business a complaint letter.

If direct contact with the business fails, you may wish to:

The good or service is not faulty so the business does not need to give you a repair, replacement or refund.

To find out more about your rights see our Consumer page.