The good news about
bad news - dealing
with complaints
Rubuss

Sometimes, everyone has to
give customers bad news.
Here’s how not to do it.
(with thanks to HP Sauce)...

People don’t like
companies giving
them bad news.
Why?
(Aside from
the obvious)

Because people have more
control and self-actualisation
now than they’ve ever had...
In nearly all areas of their lives.

Often, the way organisations respond to
complaints makes customers feel their control
has been taken away.

A sense of losing
control can make
people behave
irrationally.
That’s why people
often have a big
reaction to a little
thing going wrong.

So organisations need to find a
way to deliver bad news that
gives customers control back
and won’t upset them.

Let’s look at how
HP Sauce handled
a complaint...

You mess with it at your peril.
HP Sauce is a British institution.
“HP” stands for “Houses of Parliament”

HP changed the ingredients
(and taste) of their sauce.
There was lots of fuss in the press.

So how did they reply to complaints?

“Thank you for contacting us with regard to HP Sauce.
The essential ingredients for HP, the nation’s number one brown
sauce, include Tomatoes, Malt and Spirit Vinegars, Molasses, Spices
and Tamarind, and these have not changed over the passage of time.
In line with changes in consumer tastes, we have long been committed
to reducing added salt in recipes to meet voluntary targets with support
from consumer health campaigners. This very minor change to our
famous recipe was made in November last year, and rigorous
consumer tests confirmed there was no significant difference in flavour
between the old and new recipes. HP Sauce still tastes great!”
EXHIBIT 1

Doesn’t sound
too bad, does it?
So why’d they keep getting so much flak?

Remember that stuff about
being out of control and
acting irrationally?

CORPSPEAK
THE PASSIVE
PASS
IT WASN’T ME,
SIR!
YOU’RE JUST
WRONG
They made four mistakes in that reply...

“Thank you for contacting us with regard to HP Sauce.
The essential ingredients for HP, the nation’s number one brown
sauce, include Tomatoes, Malt and Spirit Vinegars, Molasses, Spices
and Tamarind, and these have not changed over the passage of time.
In line with changes in consumer tastes, we have long been committed
to reducing added salt in recipes to meet voluntary targets with
support from consumer health campaigners. This very minor change
to our famous recipe was made in November last year, and rigorous
consumer tests confirmed there was no significant difference in flavour
between the old and new recipes. HP Sauce still tastes great!”
“CORPSPEAK” IN ACTION

“CORPSPEAK” IN ACTION
What is it? What customers think
✓ Sounding like a corporate
robot, not a human being.
✓ Making your point - but
ignoring the points the person
complaining has made.
✓ Using tired, well-used phrases
that people’s eyes just sliiiiide
off.
✓ You sound remote, arrogant,
uncaring - even when you’re
not.
✓ It’s like sticking your fingers in
your ears and singing ‘la la la,
can’t hear you!’

“In line with changes in consumer tastes, we have long
been committed to reducing added salt in recipes to meet
voluntary targets with support from consumer health
campaigners. This very minor change to our famous recipe
was made in November last year, and rigorous consumer
tests confirmed there was no significant difference in
flavour between the old and new recipes. HP Sauce still
tastes great!”
“IT WASN’T ME, SIR!” IN ACTION

“IT WASN’T ME, SIR!” IN ACTION
What is it? What customers think
✓ Attempting to shift the blame.
✓ “It wasn’t us - it was those
nasty health campaigners/the
government/the cat”.
✓ ...that you won’t take
responsibility.
✓ ...that you care more about
avoiding blame than fixing the
problem.
✓ ...that you don’t care about
them.

“This very minor change to our famous recipe
was made in November last year...”
THE “PASSIVE PASS” IN ACTION

THE “PASSIVE PASS” IN ACTION
What is it? What customers think
✓ A cunning, less obvious
blame-shift, using a neat
grammatical trick “the passive
voice”.
✓ Something just happens - but
no-one takes responsibility:
“The formula was changed...
you will be charged... prices
have been increased...”
✓ You’re being weaselly.
✓ They can’t trust you.
✓ That you’re dodging the issue.

“This very minor change to our famous recipe was made in
November last year, and rigorous consumer tests
confirmed there was no significant difference in flavour
between the old and new recipes. HP Sauce still tastes
great!”
“YOU’RE JUST WRONG” IN ACTION

“YOU’RE JUST WRONG” IN ACTION
What is it? What customers think
✓ Telling the customer by
implication that they’re wrong.
✓ Or just contradicting them
completely!
✓ You might as well just call
them ‘stupid’ and be done with
it.
✓ You don’t give a damn about
their opinion.
✓ You’re more focused on you
than on your customer.

So how could
you do it?

GET OUTSIDE THE ORGANISATION
OPEN FAST AND CLEAR
DETAIL AND REASONS
GIVE OPTIONS
CLEAR CLOSE AND QUESTIONS
Like this...

GET OUTSIDE THE ORGANISATION
If you just do one thing - do this
Sound like a human - not
a corporate drone.
How are they thinking
and feeling?
What do they think about
you at the moment?
What do they need to
know and feel now?
Think from the customer’s point of view
Play it straight.

OPEN FAST AND CLEAR
Get to the point. Don’t fudge or waffle.
If it’s your mistake, put
your hand up and admit it
- no passive passing.
It’s OK to say “we’re
sorry” - it’s more human
than “we apologise.”

DETAIL AND REASONS
Explain the reasons for
acting as you did - don’t
hide behind ‘policy’ - give
real reasons
Tell people WHY you’ve
done something - it makes
you seem less high-handed
Use the active voice; “we
did this...”

GIVE OPTIONS
What would your customer
like you to do?
What options can you give
that solve the problem?
Where you can, give control back to the
customer.

CLEAR CLOSE AND QUESTIONS
Summarise what you’ve said.
Wrap up warmly and
sincerely, focusing on
the customer.
Leave the door open for
questions.

So what?

Businesses often wonder
why customers don’t behave
rationally. It’s simple.
People aren’t solely rational -
they’re rational AND
emotional.

Deliver bad news and you get an
emotional reaction - often out of
all proportion to the news itself.
HOW you communicate that
bad news determines the
reaction you get. It’s simple.
Input = output.

Giving customers bad news is
actually an opportunity to build
relationship. It’s a chance for
them to see your organisation
as human, customer-centred
and authentic.

HOW you communicate is
just as important as WHAT
you communicate.

Get it right, and you’ll
deliver bad news
without the bad taste.
Sorry. We’ll put a cap on the sauce jokes now.

Your everyday, operational, communications are more
important than your advertising - because they are the
communications people have to understand, act on
and use day after day.
Most organisations view material like this as an
overhead. We think differently. We believe the right
operational communications are a powerful business
asset. And we can prove it.
We focus on transforming this material - and the
process and human systems that generate it - to
reduce cost, improve loyalty, smooth customer
interactions and boost renewals.

We support and enable you to deliver world
class operational customer communications,
transforming a cumbersome overhead into
one of your most powerful assets.
Rubuss
Sound interesting? Get in touch.
01993 822524
contact@rubuss.com