According to studies done by the Technical Assistance Research Programs (TARP), for every irritated
customer who complains, 26 do not, even though they have grievances. That means that if a company
receives 10 customer complaints, there are probably 260 customers out there who have complaints but
don’t voice them…at least not to the company. The reality is you probably don’t know how many
dissatisfied customers you have because DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS DO NOT COMPLAIN.
Well, you might say, if they don’t complain they can’t be all that dissatisfied. A dangerous assumption to
make! Non-complaining customers who are unhappy with your product and/or service are probably
frustrated with the situation and mad at themselves for not saying anything. They are least likely to buy
from your company again and they are most likely to tell someone else about their negative experience
with your company. On the average, a customer who has had an unpleasant experience with a business
will tell 9 or 10 other people and about 13% will tell more than 20 other people. This negative word-ofmouth
can be more dangerous to your business than any catastrophe Mother Nature could dish out!
But wait…can’t these customers just be replaced? Yes they can…however, it will cost you! Market data
indicates that is usually costs FIVE TIMES as much to get a new customer as it does to keep an existing
one.
» Sun Nov 18, 2012 2:00 pm 
