If They Hate You Badly Enough, Nothing Will Stop Them from Complaining

For the RTA Business complaints series this week we want to show why, if they hate you badly enough, nothing will stop them customers from complaining!

Potential Buyers Take Complaints Seriously

When you come to RTA Business, either looking to sell your or looking to buy a business, we make sure that you get what you came for. Either, we’ll make sure that you walk away with a decent profit for the sale of your business, or that you buy the company that’s right for what you need.

That’s why we’ve taken the time to explore complaints in depth. Nothing can sink a business sale like a complaint. If a potential buyer finds out you’ve had a string of complaints lodged against you; they’ll scarper in a heartbeat. It pays to make sure you avoid customer complaints.

The Shame Factor

This week we want to turn our attention to more sensitive industries i.e. the loan industry. Often, the perception tends to be that if you own a company that operates in this industry, you can get away with more, because people aren’t going to complain.

Why? Most people, especially if they fallen into debt, don’t want to shout about the fact that they’ve taken out a loan. Whilst that might be true, we would argue that you still need to prioritise customer service, because if you make them mad enough, it doesn’t matter how ashamed they are of having taken out a loan, they’ll hate you enough that they’ll decide that bringing you down is worth the small sacrifice of making that information public.

Case In Point: The Payday Loan Industry

Let’s take the payday loan industry as the perfect example. Recently the Independent reported that the Financial Ombudsman has revealed that complaints about payday loans have doubled in the past two years, ‘despite,’ the “shame factor” that formerly put most people off from complaining.

Principle Ombudsman Caroline Wayman made her stance very clear on the issue, when she said: “Its important people don’t feel trapped with nowhere to turn for help because of the stigma that is associated with short-term lending.”

RTA Business Suggests You Don’t Make Enemies of Customers

These recent figures are, of course, a disaster for the payday loan industry. Not only are they getting complaints about it, but it’s being reported, and people are being persuaded to forget the “shame factor” that would otherwise have dissuaded them from lending.

So, in conclusion, don’t make enemies of customers. You may think that you’ll be able to get away with it, but you won’t. They will eventually complain, and those complaints have the capability to drive any potential buyer away when you decide it’s time to sell your business. 

Whatever You Do, Don’t Follow the Example of the Energy Sector!

As part of the RTA Business Complaints series this week, we’d like to take the time to warn you not to follow the example of the complaint burdened energy sector!

Sell Your Company with RTA Business

Are you looking to sell your business? Do you want to walk away with the most money possible for all of your hard work? If this is you, come to RTA Business Consultants; the business sales broker with the skill, knowledge and expertise, to ensure we find the right buyer for your company.

That experience has taught us that complaints are anathema to the business owner looking to sell on their firm for profit. A potential buyer sees these complaints? You might as well give up on selling it right now, they’ll certainly give up on buying it; they’ll think it’s not worth the hassle!

Just Look at What They’re Doing and Do the Opposite

We’ve taken the time over the past few weeks with the RTA Business complaints series to warn you how not to invoke complaints, how to handle them, how to not handle them etc. Now we want to give you an example of what not to do.

And the complaint beleaguered energy sector is the perfect example of what not to do in every single way; how not to avoid complaints, how not to deal with them etc. Just look at what they’re doing and do the opposite.

Customer Complaints for the Energy Sector Have Reached Their Highest Ever Levels

Notably, the Guardian reported this week that customer complaints for the energy sector have reached their highest ever levels; 1.7 million for the big six energy companies this quarter.

According to consumer group Which?, who started to compile customer complaint data on the sector in 2012, the figure was a rise from the 1.5 million complaints recorded for the same period last year. Npower’s figure in particular was spectacularly bad; 83 complaints for every 1,000 customers.

So What Are They Doing That’s so bad?

So what are they doing that’s so bad, why are they getting so many complaints? How are they handling them? Well obviously rising energy prices is a part of it, but the issue is far more complex.

Executive Director of Which? Richard Lloyd put it best. The Guardian reported that Lloyd said: "Yet again, millions of customers are being let down by poor service from the big six energy companies. If they want to improve the low level of consumer trust in the energy market, suppliers must up their game now.

Give Your Customers Good Service!

That’s it; poor service is facilitating these complaints, and teams are handling them just as poorly. If you want to avoid the damage customer complaints can reap on your eventual plan to sell your business, learn a lesson from the plight of the energy sector, and make sure you give your customers good service!

RTA Business Complaints Series: Why Do Customers Complain?

As part of the RTA Business Complaints series, this week we get to the root of the problem and ask, just why do customers complain.

Advice from RTA Business: Complaints are Dangerous!

In RTA Business’ experience of helping business owners up and down the country walk away with the best possible deal they can get when they decide it’s time to sell their company, we’ve found that complaints can be detrimental. Rack up enough, and be unlucky enough for a potential buyer to see them? They’ll think your firm has too many issues to handle, and that it’s not worth the effort.

That’s why you need to stop complainers in their tracks. So far we’ve featured articles on how best to do so, and how not to do so, now we want to address the larger issue of why they do so. If you know this, you can stop complainers before they even have a reason to open their mouths.

The Top Five from RTA Business

We’ve seen a lot of businesses deal with customer complaints in our time, and our experience has shown that these are the top five reasons a customer takes to the phone and expresses their dissatisfaction:

1) Faulty Product: The number one reason; if you’ve sold them a faulty product, of course they’re going to complain if only to get their money back.

2) Poor Customer Service: If a customer feels as though their trade isn’t valued, that you’ve sacked them off, they’ll complain out of sheer indignation. People don’t like to feel that their custom is unappreciated.

3) Not As Advertised: if a customer feels that your product or service is not as advertised, they will feel lied to. Nobody likes being lied to, and you can guarantee that they will complain and make sure everyone thinks you’re untrustworthy. A seriously dangerous complaint for your business model.

4) They’ve Been Left Waiting: If you’ve left a customer waiting, it doesn’t matter how effective your service is, or how valued you make them feel, they will complain, because you’ve wasted their time.  As they say, time is money.

5) Because They Can: Some customers will complain simply because they think they can get away with it, or because they’re having a bad day, or because they want their money back after they’ve looked at their bank balance and realised they haven’t got as much as they thought. Nothing you can do really except shut them down.

Once you know why a customer complains, make sure you deal with it before it can ever become a problem that causes a potential buyer to think that your business just isn’t worth the effort.