A complaint when working in the aesthetics industry can have some serious consequences to a business depending on their outcome.
If you know how to handle a complaint to get the best outcome for both parties, you can turn a negative result into a positive!
The team here at SkinViva Training in Manchester have 7 successful steps to conquering complaints.
1. Lose the ego and add your empathy!
Your ego can be a great tool to you as a person and in your Aesthetics business, but it has to be in the correct situation/environment.
For you to look past the things the customer is saying, whether it is personally attacking you or your business you need to remove your ego.
If a customer is complaining about a Botox or Filler treatment they had they are feeling scared and vulnerable, this means you need to use your empathy to gain an understanding of what the customer is going.
The moment you understand that you are in power, is the moment that you can, A) you can truly empathise with this powerless person who is essentially acting out because they feel powerless. B) you can understand what they truly want and help you get the best outcome from the complaint
Miranda Pearce, Director of SkinViva Training
2. Ask open questions and Actively listen
As healthcare professionals you will be used to asking questions to get the most out of a client, this can also be applied to the complaints process.
- It is important you get the client to speak to you physically
They can feel heard by letting out all their comments and emotions on the Botox & Filler treatment they had that was unsuccessful.
- Let them vent their emotions
This way you can also gain a more in depth understanding on how the client is feeling and their perspective on the case.
3. Summaries & Feedback
“It is important you don’t make the mistake of assuming you know”
Miranda Pearce, Director of SkinViva training
Making sure you understand the client 100% is a key part of helping you develop a plan to resolve the situation.
Initially you will take the information you have been given and form your own perspective on what has been said.
For you and the client to be on the same level you must summarise your perspective and feedback to them.
This gives them the knowledge you know what they are talking about and they will feel heard, but also it allows you to build an efficient solution.
4. Buy yourself some time
In order to approach the complaint in a way which has the best outcome you will need time to consider the information you have received.
To do this you will need gather the data you have collected about what went wrong in this Botox and Filler treatment and consider what you are going to do with the knowledge you have.
Make sure you also give the client a time and date of when you will get back to them, this way they have a piece information they can hold onto and have an expectation on when they will be getting their solution.
5. Make an Action Plan
To make a successful action plan it is important that you establish what the client wants as an outcome.
This could be as simple as a refund, or the problem fixing but it is important for them to get the correct outcome.
Also, you need to consider your outcomes, for example, if you don’t want to give a refund but fix the problem, what can you do instead?
This is so you can build a bespoke and tailored solution for you as a clinician and the client.
6. Perspective, Impact & Explain
You now have the solution ready; you have phoned the client and its time to speak about the situation holistically.
If you first explain your perspective on the situation, the client can understand that not only did you understand them, but took it on board, showing you clearly care!
After this, if you re-address the impact it had on them before you give them the solution it will allow the affected person to reflect and realise, we have taken time to give them the best outcome.
Explain how you got to the point you are at from the information you received,to show them that you heard them when they felt scared and vulnerable.
7. Reflect & Develop
This is more of a personal development in terms of how you can deal with a situation in the future.
If you sit back and consider ‘what did I do well while handling the complaint and what wasn’t I good at’, next time you can approach the complaints circumstance more prepared.
Complaints can be a defining moment for your Botox and Filler business.
If it isn’t handled correctly and contained, then you can gain a bad reputation for dealing with clients.
If it is dealt with correctly it can have a positive impact where people see that you aren’t just a ‘clinic’ you care about your clients.
Do you handle complaints like this?
Let us know how you handle complaints in the comments down below.