Patti ONeill and Gale Bergado's System To Turn Upset Clients Into Happy Clients

I am simultaneously eager while also being slightly horrified that tax season has officially begun.

Horrified, simply because the IRS has been significantly behind the 8-ball this year, and I still can't believe that we're already halfway through February 2021.

EAGER ... well, because there are so many new credits available to San Francisco Bay Area business owners this year, and I'm pretty thrilled about the opportunity to save YOU some money on your tax obligations.

That said, the newest round of PPP loans have been plagued by delays and confusion, and while there are fantastical rumors of the next round of stimulus ... I'll believe it when I see it.

And it might not be as weighted to SMB owners as previous rounds have been. We'll keep you posted.

This has been an interesting year (to say the least). Even in the middle of the intensity of the busy tax filing season, we can occasionally become the target for somebody's frustration.

Over the years, and especially when things are busy and stressful, we've had to learn how to best handle matters when a San Mateo client is becoming (for some reason or another) very upset.

Again, this is rare -- but in some cases, the client displaces their anger towards the IRS and puts it into their interactions with us. ("No, John, we actually aren't the ones who are sending you all of that audit correspondence. That would be the nice people at the Department of Treasury.")

However, what we've discovered is that when we handle it rightly, we can leave upset clients even happier with us than even some of our most "reliable" and happy clients.

And I should hasten to add that "John" is a fictional name, and we wouldn't ever be as rude as what I just typed up there. :)

No, we have tried to train our people with an actual plan for handling such matters, so that in the rare instance it does occur, we handle things properly.

Patti ONeill and Gale Bergado's System To Turn Upset Clients Into Happy Clients

“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.” -Oscar Wilde

In ANY San Francisco Bay Area business it is inevitable that there will be an instance of misplaced expectations between the customer and business.

And you can choose to allow these interactions to happen at random, trusting in the emotional competency of your staff ... or, well, you can develop procedures that will make things right and do so almost every time.

We came across a simple system years ago that I'll share with you now -- because no matter what level of frustration comes forth, this is truly the best way to regain happy clients.

It can be summarized by the acronym "HEAR"...

1) Hear the customer and don't interrupt.

You don't interrupt for two reasons:

A. It's rude to interrupt

B. When people are upset they practice what they are going to say. And they practice it from the beginning. If you interrupt, they are going to start all over again and go off script. 

So ... don't interrupt. Obviously, if the client is getting loud and unruly you may need to quietly interrupt. But, in almost all cases, don't.

2) Mirror back (Empathize) with something like:

"I can understand why you're upset.  I would be upset too." Or, "I'm really sorry that happened to you."

3) Ask: "What can I do to make this right?"

It doesn't get much easier than that. Often, you won't even have to ask the question because it's pretty obvious what needs to be done. What's most important in this step is that the attitude is right. Empathy is everything!

4) Resolve - Unless the request is absolutely ridiculous, DO IT!

What's so great about this approach (and this has been studied, proven, and established with myriad scholarly studies): Often you leave the San Francisco Bay Area customer even HAPPIER with you than before the problem occurred!

Yes, that's actually a likely scenario because they will appreciate how you bent over backwards to make them happy again.

When you put in place a regularized plan, good things happen.

We're here to help. Let me know if you have any questions. Use this:
(408) 241-4100 

I'm grateful for our partnership and for your referrals.

Warmly,

Patti ONeill and Gale Bergado

(408) 241-4100

ONeill & Bergado

Feel free to share this article with a San Francisco Bay Area area (or beyond!) business associate or client you know who could benefit from our assistance. While these particular articles usually relate to business strategy, as you know, we specialize in tax preparation and planning for families and business owners.