Once you’ve encountered an angry customer, what should you do? Here are ten practical tips on how to deal with difficult customers:
1. Keep Communication Professional
When dealing with angry customers, it’s important to stay professional. Not only should you remain professional but also friendly and respectful. If you’re yelling at a customer, it’ll make the situation worse. It’s also important to remember that your behavior reflects on your employer or business. So, it’s essential to be mindful of your actions.
To have professional communication maintain an even tone. Also, keep in mind that your body language can show that you’re open to feedback. When responding to the customer, look them in the eye and use their name. When dealing with an angry customer, you may not understand every action your customer makes. Remain professional and calm and act in a service-oriented manner.
2. Stay Calm
It can be easy to let your emotions take over when dealing with an angry customer. But it’s essential to stay calm and relaxed. You want every customer interaction to go as smoothly as it can. When you’re calm, it can stop the situation from escalating into a more difficult one. When dealing with customers, take a breath and try not to take their anger personally.
If you can remain calm and deal with the situation in a service-oriented way, you’ve got a higher chance at a successful interaction. It’s essential to learn how to manage your tone of voice and emotions.
3. Speak Softly
If a customer is raising their voice, you may not know how to handle difficult customerslike this. Try speaking in a softer than normal tone. When you approach them, do so calmly and speak quietly and slowly. When you’re calm, it can keep the situation under control. Speaking softly is often a strategy that’s used for de-escalating tense conversations.
4. Actively Listen
Active Empathetic Listening, according to Psychology Today, is
“The three stages of AEL involve sensing, processing, and responding in empathic ways. In the sensing stage, you indicate that you are taking in all of the outward and inward features of another person’s communication. Empathically sensing means that you understand not only what is said but how it is said. In the processing stage, you put the conversation pieces together to construct a “narrative whole” that provides you with the essence of what’s being communicated. Finally, in the responding stage, you ask questions to make sure you understand what the person is saying”
Actively listening helps you to understand the words that the customer is saying. By understanding the words, you can find the customers’ needs and do your best to improve the situation. Besides, giving the customer undivided attention will make the customer feel like you’re being respectful. A way to practice active listening is to use verbal affirmations. When you use verbal affirmations, you assure the customer that you’re listening. Here are some verbal affirmations:
- I understand.
- Yes, I agree.
- I know what you mean.
- I hear you.
- That makes sense.
5. Let Them Talk
When learning how to deal with angry customers, give the customer time to talk. Show the customer that you’re listening to them. Show that you’re listening by nodding your head and having open body language. Give the customer enough time to say what they want before responding to them.
By giving the customer time to say what they want, you can learn more about the situation. Not only can you find out more, but it provides the customer with time to work out their thoughts and feelings. It’s tempting to talk back to a customer or talk over them. So, if the situation allows, remain silent and let the customer talk.
6. Understand their Point of View
Understanding your customer’s point of view is essential in knowing how to handle difficult customers. To understand a customer’s point of view, you need to know the customers feelings or intentions. When you try to understand a person’s feelings and intentions, this is known as empathy. Empathy lets you understand the emotional state of the situation and solve any problems.
If you’re having trouble understanding a customer’s point of view, try asking them questions. Clarifying what the customer wants and needs can help you solve any issues. Asking questions also lets the customer know that you care to make the situation right, and they can relax a little bit. Here are some ways you can practice empathy.
- nod
- ask the customer what they think the solutions should be
- be respectful
- take responsibility and use phrases such as “you’re right, we did that wrong.”
7. Assess Their Needs
When learning how to deal with difficult customers,it’s essential to learn how to assess a customer’s needs even when they’re being angry or difficult. When you take the time to understand the customers’ needs, you’ll help them and resolve any issues quickly. After assessing the customers’ needs, tell the customer that you’ll do whatever you can to resolve their issue.
It can be helpful to repeat the customer’s concerns back to them to make sure you’re addressing the right issue. If necessary, ask questions to make sure you’ve identified the problem. Repeating the issue shows the customer that you’re listening.
8. Find a Solution
Finding a solution is an essential step inhow to deal with angry customers. Once you’ve figured out what the customer needs, present your solution. If you know what would make your customer happy, tell them what you’ll do to fix the issue. But if the customer resists the solution or isn’t sure what the customer wants, you can ask them.
Sometimes all you need to do is ask,
“What do I need to do to make this better for you?”
Asking this simple question can help you find the solution quickly. Besides, asking this question is a good option if you’re unsure how to help the customer.
9. Ask for Help
In some cases, when dealing with an angry customer,you can ask a coworker or someone in a higher position for help. If you need support to help the customer, then let the customer know that you’re getting someone else to help with the situation. Bringing someone else into the situation can help you find a better perspective or has more authority to solve the issue.
An example is that if a customer is demanding, it can help bring a manager in. A manager would have more authority and can help the customer more.
10. Maintain a Positive Relationship
An essential step in how to deal with difficult customersis to maintain a positive relationship and use the feedback you’re given. When you’re done helping a customer, ask them if they’ve got any other concerns. Asking them if they’ve any other concerns lets the customer know that you respect and appreciate them. So, you can reduce the possibility of the situation happening again.
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