Unhappy photography client? Three steps to resolving complaints
Image by: @jeshoots
We all dread it. Even worse than hearing nothing from a client after you’ve sent the gallery, is the communication that the client was unhappy with the service or the products. That email or text drops our stomach; we all want roses and unicorns! We want clients to love the work and feel devastated when they don’t - but devastation can soon result in defensiveness and resentment if the situation spirals out of control.
Conflict resolution is an entire field of study. Conflicts inevitably arise in human relationships and dealings; it would be odd to think that it’s 100% unavoidable. Just like we can never avoid conflict with our spouse, our mother, our friends or our children. It’s a part of life and business but the good news is that there are ways to handle with grace and to prevent escalation.
The problem is, while the way out of conflict is fairly simple, it’s not easy. Why? Because the very elements needed to diffuse and solve a conflict run counter to everything that actually happens within us when we encounter a conflict. It’s like swimming against the tide; it’s counter-intuitive and and mentally and spiritually tough. If we can learn to interrupt the immediate emotional response and overcome those knee-jerk natural reactions and deal with the issues objectively and with empathy and understanding, then it can end the situation quickly. That’s the most important thing - you don’t want to make any situation worse. You want to resolve quickly so that all parties can move on. As the owner of the business it’s up to you to control this process and set the tone and narrative.
ShineSparkL defines the Wisdom Pillar as “Business Excellence and Integrity.” It is with this definition held at the top of mind that you would approach any conflict within your business. Revisit that definition often when your mindset is triggered as it will help you stay on track. If you allow yourself to be derailed by the negative noise and get too emotionally and personally entangled, the situation will be that much harder to resolve and move on from.
Three steps in dealing with a photography client complaint
Decide your client satisfaction policy before encountering any conflicts
Building on the Wisdom Pillar’s Business and Integrity base, decide on how your business reacts to client complaints. This can be by offering a guarantee or through a statement of commitment to excellence. Don’t wait until a situation is in front of you, because we all know that when our emotions take over, we can lose ground quickly. Help your future self today by having a plan in dealing with any conflicts and importantly, as a business (that is, don’t let it get personal). While we can’t anticipate every scenario, we can decide on how we want people to feel when they have concluded business with us. Both the clients who had an amazing experience (our client journey) and those who may have had bumps in the road (our client satisfaction policies). If you have a plan in place, then the plan is engaged as soon as that complaint comes, and then you can follow the process methodically and bring that conflict to a swift end.
Listen and Acknowledge
Probably the very first instinct (and naturally so) when you hear the client complaint/complaints is to become defensive and want to refute each point they are making. I have seen responses to clients (or proposed responses released to a group for their feedback before sending) that will copy the client’s list of complaints, with a response to each point.
Example: Client complains about feeling rushed during their photography session.
Client complaint: We felt rushed through the session and the photos show it - we looked stressed and it’s not reflecting who we are as a family
Photographer response: You were 20 minutes late to the session and the light was failing and so that’s why I had to rush the rest of the session.
How this sounds to client’s ears: It’s your fault, client and nothing is my fault. I did the best I could with your poor time management.
How you wish they’d respond: Oh yes, that’s totally on me. You did the best you could and I was very late! Thank you for being gracious and still letting us have a session with you.
How they’ll likely respond: They will justify their lateness because of whatever circumstances out of their control - traffic, uncooperative kids, late out of work, etc.: We didn’t realize that traffic would build up. We didn’t intend on being late and you are blaming us when we couldn’t have anticipated this. But when we arrived you didn’t mention anything about the light being an issue and you just moved us very quickly through some stiff poses.
The fuel triggering even more conflict: No one does well being told they are wrong, no matter how wrong they are. Have you ever been wrong or feel that your actions may have contributed negatively to a situation? Then you know how bad it feels and I doubt you would appreciate anyone making you feel even worse. The natural response to already feeling this way is to get angry if someone continues to point out your faults and flaws. This can cause a client to lash out defensively to justify their lateness in order to quell their feelings of guilt or shame. By refuting their points, you have just handed them more ammunition to bite back. And unless someone backs down, this is when situations escalate to threats of bad reviews, legal action, etc.
What this example is meant to illustrate is that no matter who is wrong or right, all of a sudden there is a game of ping-pong. It went from the relationship that was ‘you and I together’ to ‘you and I are enemies’. When this division happens, each entrenches into their own stance, and that’s when impasse happens and someone must escalate to break the tie.
We often go into right or wrong mode but this is gasoline! What matters is not who transgressed who, because each can keep going - the photographer didn’t explain enough. The client didn’t ask enough. The client thinks you should be responsible for everything that happens in your business. You think the client should be responsible for how they interact with your business. It can go on forever! How to end the ping-pong game? Refuse to engage in that game, and listen and acknowledge instead.
Listening is a lost art in this day and age where our attention is being pulled in many directions. If you listen to someone for 5 minutes with undivided attention they will walk away feeling their cup has been filled. If you listen for 15 minutes in a distracted way, they will feel like they weren’t heard, or that you were distracted and didn’t fully understand, or that you didn’t care. Has someone ever done that to you? Then you know exactly what that feels like! Acknowledging is the bookend to listening - validating that you heard their words.
There is a reason humans vent - through journalling, confiding in family or peers or even a therapist. We need to get the thing out, like exorcising a demon. A burden builds like a pot of water coming to a boil and that energy needs somewhere to go. When the energy is released, it dissipates into clouds of smoke. And that’s all it is, a release. Why do we see so many ranty posts on FB? We want to vent, plain and simple! Once it’s off our chest, and others heard us, we feel better!
Listening and acknowledging to a complaint gives space for the energy to dissipate. After the storm hurls through, things are calm. You don’t want to try to create another tornado! The lesson here is that you must decide that even if you are right - clients were 20 minutes late, they didn’t read the contract, they didn’t follow the instructions, whatever, that you will let go needing to prove you’re right for the greater good of dissipating the conflict and moving on. And this is not lying down and being a doormat! It’s understanding that trying to prove rightness is not the approach that will get you to the end of the conflict. Be right in your heart and soul, vent elsewhere yourself to a trusted and private source, but react to your client from a place where you are resolving a business conflict, no more and no less. And surprisingly, you’ll often find that when there is no finger pointing or firing back, people will often concede their wrongdoings.
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Let’s review the above example using our new listening and acknowledging strategy:
Client complaint: We felt rushed through the session and the photos show it - we looked stressed and it’s not reflecting who we are as a family
Photographer response: Thank you for sharing your thoughts. If I’m interpreting correctly, you felt that there wasn’t enough time for you to be relaxed and at your best during the session.
How this sounds to client’s ears: Why yes, exactly. That’s exactly how we felt. It really was our fault since we left at the last minute and didn’t anticipate the heavy traffic and then we felt we couldn’t unwind from that stress to be fully present during the session. Not sure if there is anything we can do at this point? What are our options?
In this example, you kind of got to the “how you wish they’d respond'“ by doing nothing more but reflecting their thoughts back. No right, no wrong. Just hearing and acknowledging their feelings. This outcome is actually quite common when people are listened to - I for one have heard this outcome many times both in business and personal relationships. That when you listen, people who had their guard up let it down because there was no counter-attack. And then they often admit to what part they played. This is the territory you want to be in after this first step.
Decide on your outcomes
Once the energy of the vent is released and the person is calmer because they feel they were heard, there is now opportunity for a resolution. If you created a guarantee or a statement of commitment to excellence, you may already have a resolution at the ready. Or, it could be that the situation calls for a custom option based on the presented circumstances. A few things that will determine the options you present:
Is this a new or returning client? Returning clients have already given you money and you may want to give them preferential treatment to retain them as future clients. A new client needs to be assessed as to whether they are a potential lifetime client, or if there is a poor fit with little hope of future business.
What are your limitations? If you are fully booked for the summer and it was a newborn session being complained about, then it may not be possible to offer a re-shoot. You’d have to consider what other options you are willing to entertain.
What is appropriate? Sometimes just the acknowledgment and even a genuine apology (if you did make a mistake) will suffice. If you start here, a client may not request or push for anything more. Read the situation and respond accordingly. But if you did make a mistake, be prompt in admitting so in a humble way.
What remains in line with your brand promise? Whether someone ends with a good experience or a bad one, both may be newsworthy for them to express to their friends/ networks. People may not walk away with an ideal resolution, but can walk away with a respect for you that you dealt with the situation in alignment to what you promise. So for example, if a point of pride that you talk about on your website to attract clients is a kind and respectful attitude, then ensure you have exactly that attitude even when being firm. So for example, being rude and/ or blocking someone would not be aligned with this philosophy. When you are able to get out of the heat of the moment and look beyond, you must at all costs ensure protection of your brand by conducting yourself always with alignment.
Linking the other pillars
No one likes conflicts or complaints and we feel them intimately in our whole body when they happen. Self-care is important here. When you are emotional, step away and do what you need to calm down and re-centre. Return to the situation with a clear head, and give yourself grace. Complaints are a normal course of business and in no way a reflection on your character.
Complaints are a normal course of business and in no way a reflection on your character. Don’t allow your mindset to hit you when you’re down. Keep your head up and know it will all be ok, even if circumstances were difficult. You’ve got this!
Always act in accordance to your brand promises. You can’t just act as your brand when things go well; it’s critical that you also act your brand when things go south - because that’s what can bring a complaint to a graceful and even amicable end. Don’t allow personal feelings to hijack in this situation - move that over to the self-care pillar.
Don’t get so caught up personally in the conflict; a client is complaining because they felt wronged, versus attacking you for the sake of attack. Use your intuition to read who you’re dealing with - a good client who had a bad experience? A scammer that got through your radar? Don’t lump everyone as a villain and allow your gut to guide how to help people out of the complaint and into a successful resolution.
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