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Handling irate customers can be a tedious and stressful task. If you take things personally, you can cause irreparable harm to your company’s reputation. You have done a variety of marketing strategies including distributing your business card far and wide, only for your credibility to be tarnished by an angry customer. Even if you’re able to resolve the issue and turn the conversation around, sometimes you’re left with customers who are so distraught that they will never return.
That’s why it’s important to be well-prepared. At the very least, know how to recognize bad customer service calls and situations before they escalate and handle them effectively. The last thing you want is to anger your customer and turn them hostile toward your company.
To help you out, we’ve created a list of mistakes that you don’t want to make when handling irate customers.
7 Mistakes in Handling Irate Customers
1. Not staying calm and professional
When handling angry customers, the most crucial thing you should remember is to stay calm. When irate customers escalate their frustration, it can be tempting to respond with the same level of intensity. But this will only worsen the situation and cause both parties to lose sight of the initial problem.
Instead, it’s important to keep your emotions in check and stay neutral so that you can focus on resolving the problem at hand. This doesn’t mean that you can’t feel disappointed or frustrated about the situation—just don’t let it show in your tone or body language.
If a customer sees that they are getting under your skin, they may continue being difficult until they get a response from you. It might not be what they wanted or expected.
2. Interrupting or talking over the customer
One way to defuse angry customers is by letting them vent their frustrations. Even if they repeat themselves, listen intently and understand the problem before responding. Furthermore, make sure that you do not interrupt when they’re talking or try talking over them. Talking over them before they finish would only cause more conflict as they could interpret it as you disregarding or invalidating them.
Once they’re done speaking, address their needs calmly and professionally. As soon as the customer realizes you care about the problem at hand, their anger will diminish, the tension will subside, and they’ll become more rational again.
3. Not listening to what they tell you
It’s hard to listen when a customer is yelling at you, especially when they’re not completely on the right side and making ridiculous demands. However, it’s important to remain composed and listen until they’ve finished venting. Once they’ve said their piece, ask clarifying questions to confirm the problem (and give yourself time to cool down). Then, offer a solution.
4. Not apologizing (or apologizing, but not doing anything about it)
While it’s never always your fault that a customer is angry at you, it is your responsibility to fix the problem and make sure it doesn’t happen again. The first step in handling an angry customer is to empathize with how they feel and apologize that their experience with your company made them feel that way. There are two types of apologies:
- Expression of regret — This type of apology expresses sympathy, empathy, or compassion for the customer’s situation. It says, “I’m sorry that this happened to you.” It does not take responsibility for the problem.
- Acceptance of responsibility — This apology takes ownership of the situation and blames the company rather than the customer. It says, “I’m sorry that we made this mistake.”
Customers want to be heard and understood, so wait until they’re finished speaking before you apologize. This is a chance to show them that you take them seriously and are willing to do whatever it takes to address the problem. Ensure that you’re apologizing for the right thing instead of something they aren’t currently addressing. You might have an angrier customer who thinks they aren’t being heard if you do.
5. Saying there’s nothing you can do
Never dismiss a customer’s concerns by saying things like “it’s no big deal,” “it’s just a small error,” “just ignore it,” etc. This can only worsen the situation since the customer will feel like they’re not being taken seriously and their concerns are not appropriately addressed. Please don’t say anything that will undermine their experience or make them feel stupid.
Instead, make sure that you properly explain the situation and address the issue immediately. Never let them assume the worst of you, and always give your business the chance to explain how you can make it up to them.
6. Not following through on your promises
Difficult callers can be upsetting, and it would be even more troublesome for you if you find them following up every other day, giving you a hard time because of a promise you told them in an earlier call.
To avoid this, call the customer at the scheduled time anyway, even if you promised an update that you don’t have yet. Doing this will reassure the person that you’re doing your best to fulfill your promise and not trying to dodge them. They will appreciate the follow-up, be it through a call or email. Either way, it’s important for your message to get delivered.
7. Taking it personally and getting angry
Never take a customer’s anger personally. Make sure that you always remember the problem so that you don’t have to see their anger as a bad reflection of you, as a person, but rather the service or product they were given.
If the customer starts taking the problem personally, keep a calm and cool demeanor. The customer doesn’t know you and can’t possibly base your whole identity and personality on something that happened to them. Instead, gently guide them back to the conversation and how you intend to resolve it.
Customer Service at Its Finest
Just like you, your customers are humans. From personal experience, you know that life can be difficult sometimes and hard to handle, and this hardship can translate through various things, including reasoning and the ability to understand.
Instead of meeting their frustrations head-on, a great tip to deal with difficult callers is to focus on being genuinely helpful in every interaction you have. As part of the customer service industry, your mission is to make their lives better, whether it’s by solving their problem or simply by apologizing.
Remember that there’s no magic phrase or offer that can make every one of your customers happy. A time will come when someone gets upset, and you’re getting the tail-end of it. However, if you treat people well and understand where they’re coming from, you might be surprised at how well the day will turn out to be.
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