Customer service is all about the customer. As business owners or employees, we have all at one time or another had to deal with an upset customer. What happens when the upset customer is us?

Being in business does not guarantee success. The last thing a business owner wants is to lose our business, so when something goes wrong and we are the customer, do we just accept it and walk away forever or do we seek satisfaction. Of course we often complain, but then again we probably would not remain a customer.

Here is a suggestion to be a satisfied customer more often. Know what you want that will make you happy before you complain. Here is an example.

Last week I bought a pie at a national grocery chain. It was on sale and when I went to eat it, it was the worst thing I ever tasted. I looked for my receipt to return it and noticed that the pie which was supposed to be $2.50 was charged to me for $4.79.

On the way to the store I decided that I would ask for a total refund and a new pie. When I went to the customer service desk, I told the guy working there what I expected for my trouble. He said wait a minute and went into the back office. When he came out he told me to go get a new pie.

As I was looking at the pies, I had a choice of another fruit pie ( the first was blueberry) or pumpkin or a key lime. The key lime was $3.00 more than the original pie, but I have eaten them before from that store and they are always good. I took the key lime pie back to the service desk, explained that I know that the key lime pies are good and the person asked if I would like a bag. He then handed me the cash refund and I left the store.

I will shop at that store again.

My point to this is that when we are the customer, we can most often get satisfaction in a bad situation by knowing what it is that we want that will make us want to come back. When we know what we want we simply have to ask for it. This gives the business person an opportunity to save the relationship and us a way to get what we need to be happy.

For the customer, it is not always easy for them to figure out what it is that would make them happy or satisfied. As the business owner it is a good idea to have suggestions ready and employees empowered to handle the situation.

As I have said before, all we need to know is what we want and how to ask for it. Remember it is a lot more costly to get new clients than it is to give them what they need to feel satisfied, at least in most cases.