Dealing With Difficult Customers
5 Tips on Dealing with Difficult Customers
Dealing with difficult customers can be, well, difficult. Of course, you want to believe that the customer is always right, but in fact you know that isn’t always the case. So how can you go about dealing with difficult customers without losing your composure, or business, in the process?
1. Listen to them. Not only do you want to show them that you are listening to their concerns, but you want to actually try to listen in the first place. Instead of relying on what an employee or someone else has already told you, listen to the complaints or concerns as though it’s the first time you have heard of them.
When listening, resist the urge to jump to conclusions, finish their sentences, or interrupt them. Also, you should give them your undivided attention. This means that you can’t answer a page, answer your phone, or be typing on your computer. When dealing with difficult customers, they need to feel as though they are getting all of you or else they will get even more frustrated.
2. Show respect. Let the customer know that you respect them and that you think that their concerns are valid. Remember that it’s not actually you that they are angry at and that you are simply the outlet that they are using to show their anger to. Keep in mind that you are not angry at them and it isn’t actually your problem, but that your problem is helping the customer sort out the situation.
Resist the urge to raise your voice, use profane language, and to dismiss the customer. Think about times when you were unhappy with a situation and how you would have felt is someone had done that to you.
3. Empathize. People tend to calm down when they think that someone understands where they are coming from. Even if you think that the customer is completely out of line with their complaints and requests, let them know that you understand. If it helps, put yourself in their place and try to see the situation from where they are standing. Sometimes, letting them know that you want to help them and telling them that you understand WHY they are angry is enough to calm a person down. After all, they are probably automatically assuming that you don’t get it and that you don’t understand.
4. Identify the problem. Before you even start trying to solve it, you need to know what the problem is. Listen to the customer before you listen to any employees that might have already dealt with the customer.
5. Try not to place any blame. It might be difficult, but even if the customer is most certainly in the wrong, it’s best to keep from blaming the customer. Why? Because not only will that make the customer angrier, but it could also frustrate other customers that are standing around and overhearing the exchange. Although you might be the voice of reason, other customers are only going to hear that someone is dissatisfied and that it’s the store’s fault.
Instead of blaming the customer or your employee, which shows poor management, focus on resolving the problem as efficiently as possible. You should outweigh the risks of giving into the customer’s demands with losing the customer’s business, in addition to possibly losing other business in the process. If at all possible, try to work out an arrangement that is suitable to both of you. This will not only help you in a business sense, but will also make the customer more satisfied.