Do you struggle to deal with difficult customers? Have you ever gotten frustrated with colleagues or bosses that could have acted a little less difficult sometimes? Here are five simple steps that will show you how to handle people who stress you out!
Introduction
When was the last time you had a “small” problem to take care of either with an internal customer or an external one? I’m sure that all of us, or at least most, want to provide exceptional service to our customers. However, just like in everyday life, there are some situations we cannot control and things don’t go as planned.
The most important thing to realize when it comes to dealing with an upset customer is that you must put out the fire before putting out the flames.
An even mix of understanding where the root of the problem lies and efficiently resolving their issue can turn a disgruntled customer into your biggest advocate or prove your company’s superiority over competitors.
Here are 5 action ideas that deal with the customers’ human needs:
1 – Don’t let them get to you:
Stay out of it emotionally, remain calm and focus on listening to what the customer is saying. Customers may get frustrated when talking to you, but don’t confront them.
They obviously want something that your company is not able to offer them and it will be wiser for you to understand their needs, rather than getting defensive about how you or your company can run things better.
2 – Listen – listen – listen:
When your customers come to you with a problem, they are looking to you for help. The very first step in your strategy is to listen intently as they articulate their problems, so that you can fully understand what it is that they need or want.
You’ll want to make eye contact and show genuine interest in them and their situations by nodding along or speaking aloud phrases like “Oh, I see” or “That’s interesting”. This not only makes your customer feel at ease, assuming the content is at least semi-interesting (which we sincerely doubt), but also shows firm commitment on your part that should put any worries they may be having about discussing the matter in the first place immediately to rest.
3 – Stop saying sorry:
The word “sorry” has lost its value. People use it so often when they make mistakes that it just doesn’t even matter anymore. How many of you have heard the words: “Don’t worry about it! I’ll get right on fixing this issue for you. Just gimme a few details and I’ll take care of the rest.”
The word “sorry” should be used sparingly, and only in relevant situations. If your customer is having an issue with something you’ve done or not done, then by all means apologize – be sincere about apologizing, and make sure to put a lot of effort into making sure it never happens again!
4 – Empathize:
Using empathy is an effective way to handle a difficult customer. Empathy means believing in the dreams, fears and desires of your customer. It is taking what they are saying seriously and not belittling them or dismissing their concerns.
It might be possible that you can’t help your customer, but understanding what matters to them will lead you towards finding a solution or at least assist you in avoiding causing further discontentment.
5 – Build rapport:
Sometimes it is useful to draft a response that includes yourself in the picture – “I can understand how you feel, I don’t like it either when I’m kept waiting”.
This gives them a chance to speak about any negative feelings they have without making them feel like they’re being attacked or allowing customer service personnel who work at all hours of the day as part of their job duties to respond negatively to complaints of countless people who may not understand that customer service requests need to be responded at times other than ours, which could lead to more problems in the future.
Conclusion
Make no mistake about it, customers can be unpredictable and without fail they usually have strong emotions that are always apparent when they’re angry or upset. The trick is to find a way to mitigate the situation without making yourself feel so anxious that you blow your top as well.
Even if customers aren’t listening right now, show them by your actions not only by using human responses in interactions but also be authentic enough to admit mistakes and offer apologies when appropriate! To get this extra consideration you need only boil down customer service best practices into a simple formula – it’s all about building relationships with those who choose to do business with you.
We hope you enjoyed our article on Top 5 Ideas to Deal with Difficult People. If you want to learn more about the best practices or business development, please feel free to contact us.
