I wish it weren’t so, but it’s inevitable that we’re going to make a mistake and we’re going to have an angry customer on our hands. The good news is, it’s almost always fixable if you act quickly and decisively. In fact, you can actually increase customer loyalty if you handle the fumble well.

The biggest mistake that companies make is not having a carefully designed and documented procedure already in place. Which leaves the employee who is hearing about the complaint hanging in the wind, forced to respond and make it up as they go along. That’s not good for your customer retention or your employee retention.

So what do you need to consider when creating a complaint response plan?

Let them get it out: When people are angry or disappointed, they need to vent. Listen empathetically. Don’t argue or refute anything they say at this point. When they’ve started to repeat themselves, then break into the stream of the conversation and move things forward.

I am sorry: There are no words more powerful in this situation. The biggest fear your customers have is that you won’t care enough to fix the problem. That they’re going to be stuck resolving the situation or accepting the status quo.

Even if you think it’s their fault, apologize.

What comes next: The other big worry is – what are you going to do about it? Your plan needs to include very time- and action-specific choices. Are you going to replace the item? Repeat the service delivered? Discount their invoice? Send someone out to inspect the situation? Will it happen today? This week? Within 30 days? On their next invoice?

Be sure you have several options for your employees to choose from, based on the situation.

Don’t offer excuses: The reality is, they don’t care why. It doesn’t matter if half your team called in sick or the parts didn’t come in on time. If there is a misunderstanding and it’s likely that whatever made the client unhappy will happen again, do clarify expectations. But if that’s not the case, blame and excuses should be avoided.

Overcommunicate: Throughout the process of making good on the mistake, keep communicating with the customers. You cannot overdo this. When the part ships from the warehouse, let them know. When you discover a problem that will add a day to the repair time, tell them. No matter how small a change, be sure they know you’re on top of the situation and want to make sure they are, too.

Make a memorable gesture: Think of it as a token of your regret. It might be some value added to your product or service. For example, if you sell smartphones, it could be an extra car charger. Or it could be unrelated to what you sell. Maybe it’s flowers or a gift basket of muffins for their office crew.

This is a critical step, because this is where you turn this lemon into lemonade. If you acknowledge the problem, apologize and fix it, odds are they won’t tell a soul. But if you add the gesture of giving them something extra or having something delivered to their home or office, now that will get talked about.

Suddenly you go from goat to hero. Your customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They just want to know you’ll care enough to make things right when they go wrong.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached by email at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2011 Drew McLellan