When a customer is angry, it’s easy for the situation to escalate very quickly. The old adage, “The customer is always right” still holds weight, but not for every situation and the customer is well aware of this and is usually looking for swift gratification. Its important to think of the long term – what you say can dramatically affect returning customers and/or long-term relationships in the workplace. There are usually around 7 techniques that I use simultaneously when dealing with an angry customer that can help to de-escalate the situation.
1) Evaluate the situation objectively – ask yourself if the anger is justified? Was it the fault of the company, service rep or the product itself… Is it justified
2) Listen – you’d be amazed on how ‘listening intently or genuinely’ will allow a customer to get their anger out of their system, they kind of just run out of gas – it takes a lot of energy to angry!
3) Agree… when appropriate – look for small points for which you can agree with the angry customer. This can allow the customer to feel validated and is also a form of empathy. You can say things like, “I don’t blame you.” OR “I’d feel the same way if that happened”. Agreeing allows you a segue to resolving the problem. You can usually end off saying, “Let’s see what we can do to make this a better experience.” Be careful not to sound patronizing or try to placate the customer, this could easily blow back in your face.
4) Don’t take it personal – usually when a customer is angry it’s due to a system or process failure. It could even be a culmination of events that took place, then something happens that involves you, the service rep.
5) Remain Calm (at least on the outside)- Reacting to a customer’s anger with equal or more anger will only give more power to the ‘angry customer’. Keep your composure, even if you feel a little frazzled. Remember, emotions contagious. Your calmness can easily help the customer realize that they are, in fact, causing a commotion; whereas more anger or ‘rude talk’ can escalate the angered situation.
6) FOCUS on issues, NOT personality/character – Even if the customer engages in name calling or other derogatory communication, don’t lower yourself to engaging in a verbal exchange. Nothing good ever comes out of it from an exchange of this nature.
7) Take a break (…if possible) – if it looks like the customer will not quit, signal a reliable colleague over, explain the situation to your colleague. Tell the customer you’ll return with either a supervisor or solution options to help resolve the situation. Take a breather, then return to close.