No business owner likes to get a complaint from a customer. But there's something worse: when customers don't complain.

        But if some customers or clients are walking away from you unhappy — but they don't let you know — then you're in trouble.

        Because what they don't tell you, they're willing to tell other people — a lot of other people. Studies show a satisfied customer will tell four to five people, but an unhappy customer will tell an average of seven to nine others.

        Reports of a negative experience are twice as likely as a good report to affect another person's buying decision..

        A customer who never tells you about a problem never gives you a chance to correct it. Let's say a company's salesperson is very unpleasant to me. If I don't let the manager know, the more damage this one bad apple can do. But if I take the time to complain, the manager can then train, counsel or if necessary, fire the salesperson and reduce the damage to the company's reputation.

        So instead of cringing when a customer complains, welcome the opportunity. Complaints can be a good way to improve your company and keep customers for life. Take a good hard look at how you react to complaints and incorporate the following into your customer feedback program:

Act on feedback

        1. Apologize: Saying “We're sorry” is an important first step to let customers know you care.

        2. Don't use the excuse, “It's company policy.” The only policy your company should have is: “We do our very best to solve every problem. We want our customers to be completely satisfied.”

        3. Recognize a complaint for what it is: an opportunity and not a confrontation. Only 20 percent to 50 percent of all customers with problems will tell you. If you handle a complaint well, you can turn a dissatisfied customer into a customer for life.

        4. Encourage feedback. Make it easy for customers to let you know how they feel. Many companies give customers cards to rate the service and make comments.

        5. Don't mislead and don't overpromise. Many companies get in trouble because they use misleading or confusing advertising or sales techniques to attract customers.

        5. Don't blame the customer. “You ordered the wrong thing.” “You didn't follow directions.” When you blame a customer, they see it as a personal attack.

        6. Give front-line sales and service people authority. My friend returned an $8 bath rug to a store and had to get three approvals for a refund. The store's bureaucratic policies lost a customer.

        7. Don't be cheap. Correcting mistakes is a normal and necessary cost of doing business. Trying to save a few dollars but losing a customer is penny wise and pound foolish.

        8. Finally, but most important, admit your errors and solve the problem. Be determined to get to the root of the problem and make it better for the customer. If something is wrong, fix it.

        Rhonda Abrams is the author of The Successful Business Organizer.

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