Dealing With Difficult Customers
If you’ve worked in a customer focused career you will know that dealing with difficult customers is almost an everyday occurrence. Understanding how to deal with difficult customers takes a bit of patience and perseverance, but if you can get it right you can create a calmer conversation and even convert the customer. In this post we are sharing our top tips for dealing with difficult customers and why it is important to understand that it’s nothing personal.
LISTEN
The first thing to do when you’re on the receiving end of a ranting customers is to listen. As tempting as it is to zone out sometimes, it is important to grasp exactly what the customer is raging about so that you can attempt to resolve the issue faster. If you’re finding it difficult to understand the issues, take notes on what they’re saying and reiterate it back to them so that they can elaborate, consequently getting to the route of the problem.
EMPATHY
Learning how to be empathetic towards customers is extremely important if you want to calm them down. Customers need to feel valued, especially if they feel that they have been mislead or having issues with your product/services that they have been paying with their hard earned money for. Ensuring that you let your customer know that you completely understand where they are coming from and why they are upset will help you to resolve their issue and calm the customer down faster.
BE CLEAR
To avoid further confusion ensure you are clear and concise when addressing complaints and angry customers. Ensure that you are giving the customer the correct information and confirm that they have a perfect understanding of the resolution that you have diagnosed to their issue.
ESCALATE IF YOU NEED TO
You don’t have to tolerate abuse and aggression, it’s not acceptable. If a customer displays irrational behaviour, sometimes being the most experienced, understanding employee isn’t enough. You may find it more beneficial to you and your customer to escalate to someone with more authority.
DON’T TAKE IT TO HEART
Something that is really common in customer focused careers is employees taking customer’s aggression and irritation personally, and it’s only human to do so. It’s human nature to match the tone and mood when communicating with others but it is something you will need to overcome if you want to be successful in customer focused roles. Growing a thicker skin doesn’t happen overnight but it’s something worth working on, recognising that it isn’t about you personally, will help you to resolve the issue with a clear mind.
Working in customer focused and sales roles will bring its fair share of angry and upset customers, having said this recognising how to resolve their issues in a professional manner can give you a sense of achievement. You are not obligated to receive abuse or aggression from anybody no matter who they are, and taking the necessary steps to escalate or gain control of the situation is important.
