No matter how great your product is, there will be customers who will not be pleased and get frustrated. As a customer service agent, you will be dealing with irate customers at some point in time. Customers expect a lot from your brand and they get frustrated if you cannot meet their expectations. According to Zendesk, nearly 3 out of 5 customers report that good customer service is important to them to remain loyal to a brand.
Just because the customer is angry does not mean they will not purchase. They are just upset and want to be heard. Your customer service skills will be put to the test on how you can convert the angry customer. In this article, you will learn how to deal with angry customers and make a sale.
How To Deal With An Irate Customer
- Practice Active Listening
- Stay Calm
- Acknowledge Their Emotions
- Don’t Take It Personally
- Show Empathy
- Use Positive Language
- Thank Them For Bringing Up Their Problem
- Be Transparent
- Offer A Solution
- Follow Up
Dealing With An Irate Customer
Learning how to deal with irate customers is a necessary skill that agents should master. This is easier said than done though. Here are some tips on how to turn this challenging situation around and deliver a positive customer experience.
1. Practice Active Listening
Active listening means focusing on what the customer is saying to better understand why they are upset. As Steve Covey, author of the best-selling book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” puts it, most agents listen with the intent of replying to customers instead of understanding them. Active listening means giving customers your full attention and focusing on what they are saying and not on the anger behind their words.
When customers are angry, they just want to be heard. Being their first interaction, you should give them that opportunity and listen to what they have to say attentively. By hearing them out without any interruption, you can better analyze the situation and come up with an informed resolution.
After actively listening to the customer, paraphrase what they said, and ask clarifying questions. Verbalize their concern using words like “I see” or “Of course.” Focus on keywords to better mirror their language and acknowledge their feelings. Active listening can help defuse a stressful situation. It can help turn a negative experience into a positive one and turn out a sale in the end.
2. Stay Calm
Angry customers may yell or become rude. Naturally, you may think that the customer is angry at you and become defensive especially when you know that it was the customer’s fault. However, you will not be able to address their concern if you respond in the same manner. Worse it can escalate the situation and things may get out of hand.
Keep in mind that your job is to provide customer support and resolve their issues. Maintain self-control even though what the customer says makes you want to yell back at them. Always remember that your manner of response can make a difference between converting an angry customer or losing their business in the process.
Respond to them without losing your composure. This can help reduce whatever tension the customer is having during the call. Finally, you always have the option to seek the support of your manager in resolving the situation. This is especially true if the customer is already being aggressive, abrasive, or rude.
3. Acknowledge Their Emotions
Customers want to feel valued and understood. They are angry and frustrated and want to be heard. Before resolving their issue, you need to understand where they are coming from. You need to put yourself in their shoes and empathize with them. Understanding their feelings can make a difference in calming them down.
Whether the complaint was legitimate or not is no longer important, apologize to the customer for the issue they are having. Acknowledge their frustration and let them know that you are there to help them. Instead of jumping straight into the solution, validate the customer’s emotions. This is your opportunity to show them that they are not just numbers to you.
Use phrases that show them that you understand their situation such as “I understand your frustration” or “I am truly sorry for the inconvenience or what you are experiencing.” These phrases can help diffuse any volatile situation and reassure the customer that you are on top of their negative experience and truly sorry for what happened.
4. Don’t Take It Personally
First of all, don’t think that the customer is angry at you for the issue they are experiencing right now. They are frustrated with the product or service and not with you. Their frustration stems from the fact that the product or service they purchased did not meet their expectations. If you take their anger as personal, there is a risk that you can become emotional or respond to the customer by being angry as well.
Taking the issue personally can also dampen your spirit which could compromise the overall quality of your work and the solution you will be providing. Keep in mind that the issue is not about you but an issue about a product that needs to be resolved. If the customer is angry, do not blame yourself for it.
Remove the mindset of being personal for whatever issue the customer is having. Instead get down to the bottom of things. Be professional. Find out the reasons the customer is angry. It may be due to a defect, wrong size, color, or other issues. Once you do, work on resolving the situation and keep the customer happy and satisfied.
5. Show Empathy
There is no better way to handle angry customers than to show them some love and understanding. Customers get angry because they are frustrated that your product did not meet their expectations. You also become a customer once in a while so you know exactly what they are feeling.
With empathy, you will be able to relate with customers on a more personal level. It shows the customer that you respect them and will listen to them. When customers are angry, they expect you to understand their feelings and concerns. Showing empathy will help de-escalate the issue and show customers that you value them.
Empathy means being on the customer’s side and listening to them attentively. This way, you can win the trust and loyalty of the customer. In the process, you can turn a stressful situation into a positive one. You can make an informed decision and provide them with the best solution to their concern. \
6. Use Positive Language
Would you use negative language to a customer who is already angry and frustrated? Of course not. It will only add fire to an already stressful situation. Saying phrases like “I don’t know,” “I can’t” or “That’s not our fault” will trigger their anger even more. Instead of these statements, replace them with more positive phrases like “What I can do is,” “I apologize for the inconvenience” suggests to the customer that you are acting on their concern.
Using positive language signifies that you are going to help the customer which could help them calm down. Avoid using language that implies that the customer is wrong or makes them feel isolated. Never use words like “Let me be clear,” “For your information,” or “Actually.” It will make the customer feel silly. These are words that the customer does not want to hear at this point. Instead use words like “yes,” “absolutely,” “certainly,” and “definitely.”
Positive language indicates to the customer that you can do something for them. For example, instead of saying “We don’t give refunds,” replace it with “While we don’t give refunds, we can offer you something else.” In the end, positive language helps build trust and confidence from the customer. \
7. Thank Them For Bringing Up Their Problem
Problems and concerns raised by angry customers should be seen as an opportunity to improve issues you may not have otherwise known existed. For this concern, you should be thankful that the customer raised it. It will also help you build rapport with the difficult customer. Thank the customer at the onset of the call. Such a gesture can go a long way in making your customer service better and for calming them down.
Thanking the customer signals that your company is not taking them for granted. It shows them that you recognize and appreciate them for choosing you. A simple “thank you” from your end will make the customer feel valued. It will make them feel that they have done something good for your organization. It will make them feel good about themselves and likely make a return purchase.
Thanking customers is a sign of appreciation and respect. It signifies to the customers that they are an important part of your business. It will make your customers more willing to patronize your product in the future. The more they feel good about their experience with you, the more they are likely to buy and even make referrals.
8. Be Transparent
Not being true to your promise can further escalate an already stressful situation. Don’t make false promises. If the product is not yet ready, tell them when it will be available. You can tell them to call back or get their contact information so you can update them. Also, if you need more time or cannot answer their queries just yet, be honest with them.
Transparency is the best way to diffuse the anger and frustration of a customer. They are already stressed with the situation they are in and not being transparent to them will only worsen the situation. 79 percent of customers expect brands to go above and beyond what they are required to reveal and give more information.
Being transparent assures customers that their expectations will be met accordingly. It ensures customers that you are on the same page with them. Transparency helps build trust and confidence. On the other hand, a lack of transparency could lead to a loss of customer trust and loyalty. It shows to the customers that you value their business. Striving to be transparent to customers can boost the return on investment.
9. Offer A Solution
Once the customer has settled down and explained their concern, it is time to offer them a solution. Since an immediate solution is unlikely, you need to tell customers what course of action you will take. Let them know what you will do for them right away, the next steps, and when they can expect a follow-up call or resolution.
Letting them know the next steps is important so that they will not have to keep on calling you for updates. This will help set customer expectations and diffuse the heated situation. Whether it’s something that can be done over the phone or a process that needs to be done, letting them know the steps they can take will help keep them at ease.
Give the customer a timeline for every step you will take and the expected completion date. This way, the customer will know what you are doing and when their issue will be resolved. In most cases, just offering solutions is enough to calm them down and achieve some degree of satisfaction.
10. Follow Up
While resolving the issue is your primary goal, you just don’t stop there. You need to make sure that the offered solution is working and that there are no further issues. This is one of the ways you can go above and beyond what is expected of you. Surely the issue they raised has affected your relationship with the customer. Follow up offers a good opportunity to renew the trust and confidence of the customer.
There are many ways you can follow up on customers. You can call them over the phone or send them emails. Follow-ups show customers that their business is important to you. Follow-up calls do not always have to be about selling additional products or services. You can follow-up with the customer to make sure that they are truly satisfied with the resolution of their problem.
In addition, following up with customers after the resolution of their issue signifies that you are interested in more than just sales. Follow up on them during special occasions like their birthday or anniversaries. This will help keep the relationship personal.
Keep The Business of Your Angry Customers
While dealing with angry customers can be an unpleasant experience, they will take not dealing with them as a signal to do business with your competitor. 61% of customers would switch to another brand after just one bad experience. Satisfying angry customers can ensure customer satisfaction and increased profits.
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