Sometimes a customer makes a downright irrational complaint. I don't really understand what they're complaining about or how to resolve the issue.

So I ask them to fill out a simple form: What happened? What did we do wrong? What is your desired resolution?

Often by the second question, they begin to realize we did exactly what they wanted (and no I don't mean we did it in a smart aleck way) and that maybe they're being irrational. By the third question, they get a perspective check: "how would I do this?"

Or they don't... and then explain in detail what they didn't like. We then address the complaint to the satisfaction of the customer.

I only use this in specific situations, but it's very effective.

The perception thing is very real and that is what has driven the German automaker to tweak the sound the doors are making on their cars. Here are a few references. They are recent as this sound engineering has been going on for longer than the newspaper have been reporting online.

* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-08-05/mercedes-... * http://www.bmwblog.com/2014/12/22/perfect-car-door-sound-mad... * http://mediatum.ub.tum.de/doc/1138344/369710.pdf * http://emea.nttdata.com/blog/en/its-all-about-sound-how-car-... * https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00849046/document

Thanks, similar to how Harley-Davidson engineered how their bike muffler 'should' sound

Every time I read about this type of stories, where they show a small example of how our minds can be "tricked" by such simple tricks or stimuli, I always get afraid about all the other more important situations where this might be happening but we are not aware of it (choosing a career, deciding to get married to someone, etc)

Electing a president, for example. (paging Scott Adams)

So what's better, to review email responses and therefore have a longer response time, or to focus on fast responses? I've read that replying within twenty or thirty minutes makes an enormous difference.

http://ground-glass.com/the-one-thing-you-must-do-when-reply...

Suppose the customer wants a sandwhich, but you give them a perception of a sandwhich instead?

This would be true in a crowded marketplace driven primarily by sales.

There is no spoon