Does your customer make you feel like you are Derek Anderson up against the Dallas Cowboy's Defensive line?  Those who watched last week's royal thumping of the Browns would know what I mean.

Delivery is failing-repeatedly. Resourcing is pathetic- universal problem eh? All the "salesy" commitments you made to get the deal are coming back to haunt you. The customer has stopped a payment and the whole world is baying for your blood. What do you do?

Don't react but validate: It's Monday morning and you are getting ready to go to work. Your cell phone rings and it is the customer.
You: "Hi Laks, How are you ?"
Customer: " I can be better. I just got a call from your project manager that he needs one more week to complete the system testing. The worst thing is that he is blaming it on our SME's! You know how much is at stake here? The business will kill me."
You: "Let me explain Laks. Actually, what happened was that John, your SME went on leave and this lead to…"
Customer, cutting in: "This is RIDICULOUS! I am calling the CIO right now".  

What went wrong? You were actually right. The SME did go on leave and the requirements review did not happen. That indeed was the root cause. On top of it, your offshore team has been working weekends. An escalation is an escalation even if it is unfair.

When you get a complaint, especially when it is on the phone. Don't react or explain. First validate the feelings the customer is experiencing and ask for a meeting. This is not the same as agreeing that you are at fault. Saying something like.."I understand what you are saying. The delivery has slipped and this situation is not acceptable. If I were in your place, I would be just as upset. Can we meet first thing in the morning, at say 8 am and talk about this? I want to make sure this is resolved immediately." By validating the customer's feelings and by giving a commitment to solve the problem you are a). Making sure the relationship is intact - at least for now. b). Ensuring that the buck stops with you. c). Have given the emotional customer the psychological air that he so deperately needs at that time. However, if you had stayed the course of pure logic, you could end up winning the argument but spoiling the relationship. 

Meet the customer face to face: Go into the meeting with an attitude that this is "my" problem to solve. Set the tone of the meeting by showing that you are ready to own the problem, no matter what you think is the root cause. You might be a small cog in a billion dollar company. But act like you own the place. Once you have set the right tone with your openess, ask the right questions. Focus the questions on identifying the root of the problem from the customer's perspective - not your perspective. Continue to validate what the customer is feeling. You will see him opening up and becoming more receptive to you. Once you see this happening, ask the questions that will help you find the root cause from your company's perspective. Armed with this information, end the meeting with a promise to come back with a solution.

Do a deep dive: Call a meeting with all the key people from your team. Set the tone that this is a problem that the team needs to own. Ensure that the team understands that while they need to own the problem, the solution can be a joint one with the customer. Before sharing the customer's perspective, ask the team for their own perspective. Don't forget to give them the psychological air that you gave the customer. You might end up uncovering hidden issues and problems. Encourage the team to come up with creative solution options that not only solve the immediate problem, but address the root cause. Ensure that any actions are documented and owned by the project manager and not by anyone else.

Circle back with the customer: Go back and share the solution options with the customer. Always project the solution as a joint one. This is because almost always there is something that the customer can do to help you do your work better. Share your action plan and ask for feedback. Document the actions in a mail and always follow up to check if the actions have had the desired result. 

Note of thanks: Drop a note of thanks to the customer for giving you this chance to improve the service. Ensure that all actions and commitments - on both sides are documented.   

BTW, If you are a Browns fan you can take solace that you have me for company. Let's hope they do something better when they visit the Steelers.