Every company out there will have to deal with an angry customer at some point. Customers get angry for many reasons – some have a genuine reason to be angry and some don’t. Dealing with angry customers can be a nightmare, but there is no way to avoid dealing with them.The way you respond to an angry customer can determine whether you will win back their loyalty or lose them forever.
Here are a few tips to dealing with an angry customer:- Always remain calm. If a customer starts screaming and shouting at you just remain calm, don’t respond in a similar manner as this will escalate the situation.
- Don’t take it personally. When a customer is angry it is because they are either displeased with your product or the level of service you provided them – they are not angry with you.
- Always listen. When a customer is angry the first they want to do is get everything off their chest. They want to be heard and acknowledged. This is why you need to listen carefully. When your customer has finished talking summarise what they have said and if you have to, ask them questions to further clarify their complaints. Express sympathy for their bad customer experience. Let them know you understand where they are coming from and how they feel. Body language is something you must pay attention to, especially if you are face to face with the angry customer – always keep eye contact, sit up or stand up straight and never cross your arms. Show them you are paying attention.
- Apologise. Be apologetic for the bad customer experience that customer received. Let them know you are sorry and are looking for a solution to rectify the situation.
- Find a solution. Now that you understand why your customer is upset it is time to offer them a solution – it may not be what they want, but offer it sympathetically. You could also ask the customer what they feel should be done to resolve the situation.
- Analysis and Feedback. Now that you have resolved the situation and made your customer happy it is time to analyse the situation and see where you can improve in your organisation to prevent something like this happening again. Once you have done that provide feedback to your team let them know what the problem was, what caused the problem, how you resolved it and what your solution is to prevent something like this happening again in the future.
- Take a break. Dealing with an angry customer is a stressful experience. Once you have resolved the situation take a break – go for a short walk, go grab your favourite snack or have a laugh– do something that will destress you.
