Responding to Customer Concerns

by Diane M. Calabrese | Published February 2026

 

 

Exit or voice? It’s the dichotomy that many scholars use when evaluating the likely actions of customers who have concerns.

The exiting customer will not return to buy another day, whereas the customer who gives voice to concerns may be persuaded to buy again.

Of course, addressing the concerns of customers who give voice to them takes time. And an exit is still possible. Worse, the customer may voice concerns to the world instead of just to the business.

The connected-everywhere-all-the-time digital sphere makes it difficult to contain concerns and complaints from unhappy customers. Consequently, at the first level doing all that’s possible to promote customer satisfaction is essential.

Customers evaluate their experience based primarily on outcome. If they contract for a job that brings the results they want, they will generally overlook process issues that may have impeded the job.

Process issues include things like a delayed start date for residential cleaning or a delayed delivery of parts. If there’s a reasonable explanation, such as disruptive weather, the customer will not complain.

A good outcome and a reasonable process satisfy most customers. Yet there will be buyers who complain about other issues.

We might assume customers will compare prices before they contract for a service job or an equipment purchase, but that’s a bad assumption. There are individuals who will compare prices only after the job has been completed and then decide they have paid too much.

The foregoing is the broad view of responding to customer concerns. In all cases, the response should be specific, not a generic apology.

 

Reciprocity

To ensure that expectations, outcomes, and processes are satisfactory throughout a transaction, both buyer and seller must be participants. We know there are expectations for the seller—expectations sometimes set by regulating entities.

Expectations for the buyer are rarely regulated, but they should be self-imposed. A successful transaction requires customer participation.

For instance, if a customer ignores the routine maintenance schedule on a piece of equipment, the distributor and/or manufacturer cannot be blamed for the problems the neglect may cause, but there will be customers who do assign such blame.

In fact, as we ran through the possible concerns of buyers, including processes and price, we should have added another. “The most difficult customer concerns to address are the ones that stem from lack of equipment maintenance,” says Michayla Thomas, sales supervisor at Pacific Bay Equipment in Modesto, CA.

“When maintenance is neglected—like not changing the oil, for example—the equipment naturally won’t perform at its best, and customers can become disappointed or think the machine is at fault,” explains Thomas “We handle this by educating them on the importance of regular maintenance and encouraging them to sign on for our maintenance plan with our service department.”

The approach Thomas’s company takes is simultaneously gentle and profound. That’s because it balances responsiveness from the seller with engagement of the customer.

Customers benefit. “The service plan keeps their equipment running efficiently, protects their investment, and prevents avoidable issues down the line,” says Thomas.

Some customers that voice concerns can be very unhappy. Let them know they are being heard.

“The best way to begin is to start by listening,” says Thomas. “Most customers simply want to feel heard and understood before anything else.”

Listening is important. “I begin by letting the concerned customer explain the situation without interruption, acknowledging their frustration and showing empathy,” explains Thomas. “Once they know I’m genuinely listening, it becomes much easier to address the issue, find solutions, and rebuild trust.”

Not all concerns can be addressed by a business owner. “One example is when the customer’s expectations are based on factors completely outside the company’s control,” says Thomas.

“If a customer is upset about things like supply chain delays, manufacturer backorders, or industry-wide price increases, the business owner can’t personally change those circumstances,” explains Thomas. “In those situations, the most important thing we can do is communicate clearly and be honest about the situation.”

A business owner cannot provide a resolution for every customer concern, but the owner can be engaged. “Even if we can’t fix the issue itself, we can always make the customer feel respected, informed, and supported,” says Thomas.

 

Cost

Responding to customer concerns takes time. A business owner wants to promote goodwill with customers by being responsive. Yet there must be limits on how much listening can be done.

Team members who are listening to customers vent frustrations about everything from the economy to the weather will not be able to pursue the tasks they were hired to do.

Response to concerns is a must. Not being disadvantaged by a customer who consumes time with much venting is a must too.

It’s always good to have some ready, comforting but candid phrases ready to use to end conversations with customers who can be helped no more. They can be as simple as. ‘I think we have looked at the issue from every angle. I know you want to get on to other things, so I will say goodbye.”

Going round in circles with a customer who cannot be helped, such as an individual angry about a new regulation in his or her community, will eat up time, money, and energy. Finding the perfect equilibrium point that allows for extraction from a concerned voice without impoliteness is the goal.

Clarity is key. It’s the same clarity required to respond to individuals who want equipment support but do not want to pay for it. “The question becomes, with offering [any type of support], how do you justify it, who pays for it, and who will be hired to do it?” says Terry Bosma, president, Pressure Service Inc. in Rapid City, SD.

“AI may be an option but has limitations, which is a good thing–or dealerships and distributorships would not be necessary,” explains Bosma. “Quality service support with a real person is one of the few things the internet has not taken away.”

Responding to customers wanting service, expressing concerns, or otherwise taking time that does not result in a sale must be considered as part of the cost of doing business. And accounted for.

“Every successful business reviews the margins they need to operate by,” says Bosma. “Businesses that factor in the margin needed to cover overhead, then spend the next how many ever years devaluating that margin by providing free technical support, will be challenged to succeed and maintain a healthy business.”

Quality service and quality products give brick-and-mortar shops a competitive edge over exclusively online retailers, explains Bosma. Don’t dull the edge by crossing the boundary to too much free assistance.

 

Moon and Sky?

Overpromising may not be the surest way to generate concerns among customers, but it’s high on the list. Contractors who advertise outcomes such as “like new” or say that “satisfaction is guaranteed” invite problems.

Something is either new or it’s not. Because individuals gauge their satisfaction differently, such an emotional reaction cannot be guaranteed.

Similarly, advertising the performance of a machine beyond its capabilities will only encourage an operator to push the limits and harm the machine. Instead of overpromising, owners should advertise the way their machines are tested and cite the way they adhere to the best industry standards (and name the standards).

There’s a genuine hunger for honesty in 2026. Include it in discussions with prospective buyers. No one can deliver the moon and the sky to a buyer. But trustworthy companies will deliver the outcome—in service and/or product—they commit to deliver when the purchase is made.

Exceed expectations whenever possible. That will bring the best kind of customer feedback.

In a time when we must inject the word honesty in a discussion of buyer and seller interactions, we cannot ignore the most alarming sort of customer concern. That is the concern (or complaint) from an individual who is a fraudster.

The extent to which fraud runs through every part of the economy still remains unfathomable to many. A quick visit to the FBI portal headed Common Frauds and Scams (https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-frauds-and-scams) provides enlightenment.

Some buyers complain in order to have the bill for all or part of a service (that they say they found lacking) cancelled. And some express concern about equipment so that they can obtain an upgrade replacement at no or reduced cost.

One time-tested bit of advice about developing a customer base is to be active in the community. A business owner immersed in community activity meets would-be buyers and friends and relatives of would-be buyers. The immersion also helps to protect a business from being preyed on by fraudsters.

Now more than ever, a business owner must have feet firmly planted on planet Earth. Listen to concerns, correct problems that can be corrected, but ensure the customer is an active participant in working on a resolution.

A seller who becomes so solicitous of a customer who voices and revoices concerns beyond reasonable limits takes time from operations; it is possible to be too accommodating. Allowing the time-consumer to exit may be a better strategy.