The role of a dispatch specialist varies from day to day and can actually include a wide array of responsibilities. Truck dispatchers can take on administrative roles and spent time speaking with drivers to address their concerns. Also, when working in a truck dispatching position, one of the responsibilities you will take on is negotiating with customers for the most effective delivery rates and addressing any concerns that customers may have. Dealing with customers is usually a great experience, but inevitably you will encounter customers that can be challenging. Handling customer complaints and issues effectively is an integral part of any good business.
Read on to discover four effective ways to handle challenging customers throughout your career.
1. Pros With Dispatcher Training Will Welcome a Complaint and Stay Relaxed
Often, especially after a long day, it can be difficult to welcome criticism with open arms. People can often have a tendency to become defensive or emotional. However, maintaining professionalism is incredibly important during encounters with challenging customers. Always follow your company’s guidelines and stick to their policies make sure to never let emotional responses happen. Emotional responses can only serve to further madden the customer and make things worse. Once you graduate from dispatcher training and move into your dispatching career, remember that keeping calm during a challenging customer interaction can be the difference between losing the customer or having them repeat business.
2. Dispatcher Training Will Help You Hone Your Listening Skills
When encountering a difficult customer, always listen to the totality of their complaint before proceeding. This eager listening will not only show the customer that you are concerned with their experience but also help you figure out what exactly the customer needs before proceeding. The situation will only get worse if you show that you are disinterested. Also, make sure to not pass the challenging customer from person to person; their complaint should be handled by one person all the way through.
3. In A Dispatch Course? Remember To Always Stay Focused On Solutions!
Whether you are taking a dispatch course, working with truck drivers, or speaking with customers, this rule will always be important. That is: stay focused on solutions. Once the customer has explained their issue, lead with an apology. Don’t make up excuses as to why the service the customer expected was wrong, but do take time to very briefly explain what happened and assure them it won’t happen again. From there, directly move into finding a solution. Be solution-focused in your conversation and you likely won’t have any trouble keeping your customers happy.
4. Students Taking a Dispatch Course; Don’t Forget the Follow-Up!
So, you’ve become great at dealing with challenging customers and have solved their problems and made them happy once again. Is there anything else you can do at this point? Well, yes! Make a follow-up call to ensure that customers have been served properly and that all their issues have been solved. This is a great way to make sure that the customer will come back again. A follow-up call shows them that you not only solved their problem, but are now going above and beyond to make sure everything is okay.
If you have great communication skills and think you want to help customers get an amazing transport experience, dispatch school in Cambridge might be right for you.
Contact an advisor today to find out more!
