Why ‘Sorry For The Inconvenience’ is Not Enough While Solving Customer Issues

Replies like, “Sorry for the inconvenience” are a part of your daily routine if you work for a customer-centric organisation.

Sometimes, you will bump frustrated customers who are having a hard time with your product or service. It could either be a UI glitch or a network issue or a software update that might be bothering them. In such situations, an apology is important, but it has to be done in the right way — for starters, be empathetic, acknowledge that it’s the company’s mistake, and use the right tone.

Using the right words while replying will show that you value your customers and understand their issues. However, companies usually struggle to get it right. An apology without empathy will do you more harm than good. Other than losing customers, you risk a bad reputation because of increased customer engagement on social media.

“Sorry for the inconvenience” is a phrase that shows no empathy or acknowledgement to your customers’ problems. In extreme cases, it annoys the customer all the more.

So how do you create the perfect apology?

There are some ground rules that you can follow while also staying in your client’s good books. But before we delve into that, let’s look at some examples of good and bad apologies.

Take a situation where you, as a B2B service, are dealing with clients that pay online. Now suppose your payment gateway stops working — it would disrupt your operations terribly and inconvenience your clients who rely on this payment gateway. As a result, they could possibly vent out on your support staff seeking immediate action.

Here are two possible responses by support executives:

“Dear John, we regret the inconvenience caused. The payment gateway service provider is facing network problems for the last 24 hours. This has caused disruption in our services and your payment gateways also might not be functional until further notice.

You can expect a response from us, soon. We appreciate your patience.”

Most of you would wonder what’s wrong with this response? Well, there are a lot of underlying issues:

a) Blame game

The executive is not taking any responsibility for the issue and blames the gateway service provider entirely.

b) Lack of acknowledgement

The executive is not acknowledging the consequence and impact of this issue on the customer’s business.

c) Lack of consideration

Support executive does not suggest an alternative that the customer can try in the meantime.

d) Lackadaisical approach

There is no urgency or a sense of promptness to resolve the issue on the support agent’s end.

e) Lack of clarity on the next action

There is no clear TAT (turnaround time) on when the client can expect a solution.

All these loopholes in an apology can make the customer even more frustrated with your response. Here’s how you can frame it better:

“Dear John, we know that you have been facing issues with the payment gateways and we apologise for the same. We understand how important this gateway is for your smooth business operations and hence, your frustration is completely justified. We are in constant touch with the service providers and guarantee network restoration within the next 12 hours.

In the meantime, please feel free to use one of our backup gateways. We know this option might be far from convenient for you as it requires you to set up your account from scratch. However, I will readily help you with the set-up so that your operations are not majorly disrupted while we figure things out with our service provider.

We will try our best to not let such glitches affect the experience of our customers in the future. Please bear with us this time.”

You can clearly see the level of empathy this response reflects. It also includes all the components that will make the customer feel that their issue is being addressed genuinely.

There are a few rules to be kept in mind when framing the best apology. Let’s explore them in detail.

Rule #1 Get a holistic view of the problem:

Listening to your customers is how you ace this rule. Listen very carefully when a customer is explaining their problem to you and make sure that you understand it completely. The error could be either a universal glitch or might be pertaining to that customer’s specific case. Gather details like duration of the issue, type of issue etc. Do not hesitate to ask multiple questions in order to get a hold of the situation. The last thing you’d want is to annoy the customer with an incomplete reply.

Try paraphrasing customer’s sentences to reassure that you’ve understood correctly. Try using the following while you do so:

• If I’m not wrong, you’re facing issues with…
• Please let me know if this is what you mean
• Can you please elaborate on…

Rule #2 Acknowledge the consequences

Customer issues vary — they can be as small as a typo in a document or as big as the one we discussed above. Regardless of the type and size of issue, it is important to acknowledge the trouble and inconvenience that it may have caused the customer.

If it’s a big issue, it is important to let the customer know that you are fully aware of the intensity of disruption it can bring along to the workflows. This makes the customer also realise that their issue is being worked upon and taken into consideration.

Some phrases that can be used are:

• I am extremely sorry for the inconvenience you’re facing because of our product. I am going to make sure that it is resolved at the earliest.
• I understand where you are coming from and how much disruption can this problem cause to your operations.
• As a business, we completely relate to you and understand how frustrating it can get.

Rule #3 Empathise with your customer and put yourself in their shoes

Your customer might already be in a horrible mood; something you have no control over. This might make them all the more agitated. It’s important for agents to not panic in such scenarios and try to visualise the whole situation from the customer’s perspective. Be a good listener and only reply when they stop and expect an answer from you.

Let them appreciate your candour and the ability to handle tough situations with composure. This will eliminate any early animosity that might have existed earlier during the call.

Some empathetic phrases are listed below:

• I would be just as irritated had I been in your position
• This is not acceptable and we realise that we disappointed you
• I’m sorry to make you wait

“68% of customers say that a pleasant representative is a key to their positive service experiences” — this statistic implies all the more important to focus on being the ideal agent when your customer is seeking support.

Rule #4 Automated replies are a big NO

More often than not, agents are provided with a template of generic responses to customer issues. This can sometimes backfire terribly. When a customer is evidently angry, sending automated robotic responses might not be the best solution. It will only add fuel to fire.

Customers expect care and attention. It is important for agents to understand this and be mindful when interacting with them. An honest apology sets the right expectations.

In this situation, avoid using the below sentences:

• Sorry for the inconvenience
• Apologies for the trouble, we are working on it.
• Sorry for your experience. Please reach out to us on this number.

Rule #5 Follow up with customers after doing in-depth analysis

Even after you’ve handled an irate customer, fixed their concern and managed to retain them, your job isn’t done. It is important to do a root-cause analysis of the issue with the concerned teams and ensure it doesn’t happen again.

You should be in touch with the customer for regular and timely follow-ups to see if those issues are ironed out. In this way, you can successfully turn an irate customer into a loyal client.

In a nutshell

Empathy and acknowledgement can go a long way in fostering strong professional relationships. They help you to slip into someone else’s shoes and respond appropriately to extreme situations. It can reinforce behaviours that set a high standard of customer care in your company.

It is true that your business is bound to make mistakes, and you may encounter angry customers on the way. But what matters is how you deal with them because that’s what sets you apart from your competitors.

The tips mentioned above not only humanise all interactions but also make them more efficient. They can help you overcome tricky situations like a pro. Implement these rules in all your communication, emails or calls and see for yourself!

If you wish to deliver the best possible customer service or support to your clients, contact Servetel at 1800–103–6989.