In a recent ‘Designing Strategies’ newsletter we wrote about staying cool when customers get ‘hot’. The discussion focused on how to keep yourself ‘calm and cool’ during a heated confrontation from a dissatisfied client. Perhaps we should take one step backward and consider what moved them to the screaming and yelling level and how to avoid pushing their ‘Rage’ button. There are a number of behaviors that cause problems with angry customers. Needless to say, these should be avoided like the plague.
Customer service should be more than a priority for your business – it should be a strategy for retaining customers – happy customers. The Customer Service Guide from Keeping.com revealed four reasons customer service should be a priority:
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It’s what customers remember
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It reflects heavily on your entire business
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It shows customers that you care
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It’s a great marketing angle
Avoid behaviors that cause problems with customers
Here are seven common mistakes well-intentioned professionals make when it comes to dealing with unhappy customers. Quelling anger first or at least calming the customer down can result in a much more civilized discussion. Understanding precisely what not to do can put your discussion on a totally, and more pleasant level. You can become well positioned to completely regain the goodwill of angry, unhappy customers after any service mishap.
Don’t tell the customer he or she is wrong.
NEVER tell a customer they are wrong or mistaken. Telling someone they are wrong simply arouses opposition and will make the customer want to battle with you. Have you ever told your spouse or significant other that they were wrong? You know what can happen. It’s never easy, even under the most genial situation to change someone’s mind. So why make things more difficult by starting out on the wrong foot? Even if you know the customer is wrong, it’s better to start off saying something like, “I thought the contract read otherwise, but let’s take look.”
Don’t argue with the customer.
Of course, you realize you cannot win an argument with a customer. Sure, you can prove your point and maybe even have the last word. Hey, you may even be right. But as far as changing your customer’s mind is concerned; the situation will be just as futile as if you were wrong. Your goal in complaint situations is to retain the customer, not to be right.
Think about it. If you win the argument, you may very well have lost the customer. Think carefully about the response you want to give. Ask yourself, “Is my reaction one that will relieve the problem, or will it just reduce my frustration? Will your reaction drive the customer further away? What price will you pay if you win the argument?” The best way to win an argument is to avoid it.
Don’t tell a customer to calm down.
There certainly are times when a calm disposition would make everyone’s life easier. But telling your customer to calm down is not one of those times. Like you, your customers don’t like to be told what to do. Try this approach instead: “I can see that you’re upset. I want you to know that getting to the bottom of this situation is just as important to me as it is to you.”
Always apologize to customers.
One of the easiest and quickest ways to diffuse anger, create rapport, and regain goodwill with unhappy customers is to apologize. Offering an apology to a customer who experiences a problem should be a natural response from customer service providers. Yet, recent research reveals the startling fact that 50% of customers who voice a complaint say they never received an apology.
An apology can create calm, shaving minutes off of talk time, reducing stress levels for the employee. Apologies can also translate into significant and measurable savings in reduced lawsuits, settlement costs, and defense costs. An apology does not have to be an admission of fault. It can be offered to express regret. You might offer: “I’m so sorry for any inconvenience this misunderstanding has caused you.”
Don’t let your tone of voice escalate.
Avoid the temptation to yell back just because the customer is shouting. You don’t want to get caught up in their drama. Rather, remain centered and calm, relying on your ability to communicate with diplomacy and professionalism. It is hard to fight with someone that isn’t fighting back.
Allow the customer to vent.
Think of those angry customers as erupting volcanoes. When a volcano is erupting, there is nothing you can do. Think about all of the bodies buried in the ash at Pompeii. There was no way to tame it, they couldn’t speed it up or slow it down. Clearly, they couldn’t control it. It had to erupt.
But eventually erupting volcanoes will subside. Your angry – and intensely emotional customer – is the same way. For some reason, he or she just has to erupt. That is, they need to express their anger through venting. You can’t tame the customer, you must simply let him vent. After briefly venting, most angry customers will begin to calm down. Let your customers vent. A calm, positive response from you will set them back on their heels a bit so the conversation can continue productively.
Don’t tell customers: “This is all I can do.”
There is a problem. It needs to be resolved in a way that satisfies the customer. Customers don’t want you to present them negative options that are the result of behaviors that cause problems for them. You don’t want to lose the customer, you want them to be happy and remain a customer. Your task is to find a solution that will result in an ongoing business relationship. You are there to help. The customer is not going to be satisfied with this kind of a ‘throw your hands up in the air’ response.
Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business. ~ Zig Zigler
Avoid behavior causing problems to satisfy customers.
The idea of customer service is to find agreeable solutions. Try giving your customer options and look for every way you can help. If you don’t have all the answers and options at hand, get back to 
them – quickly. If there is going to be a time lag, let them know about it. Knowing that you are working on their problem will go a long way to keeping a satisfied customer coming back.
Keeping a customer you already have is far less costly than finding a new one. Do you prefer constantly spending time and money to beat the bushes for new customers? A less expensive tactic would be to find customers, and build a long term, trusting relationship with them. A positive message from a satisfied customer about a bad situation made good will do more to bring in new customers. Far more positive than them sharing an unpleasant, unfulfilled result with friends and colleagues. Help your satisfied customers work for you, not against you.
