{"id":213,"date":"2014-04-23T17:26:13","date_gmt":"2014-04-23T17:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/?p=213"},"modified":"2014-04-25T17:53:14","modified_gmt":"2014-04-25T17:53:14","slug":"deal-with-an-irate-customer-don%e2%80%99t-lose-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/2014\/04\/23\/deal-with-an-irate-customer-don%e2%80%99t-lose-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Deal With an Irate Customer, Don\u2019t Lose Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_216\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-216\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-216\" title=\"Irate Business Client\" src=\"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/angrybusinessperson-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"angry customer\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/angrybusinessperson-300x199.jpg 300w, http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/angrybusinessperson.jpg 425w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-216\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Irate Business Customer<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Facing off with a screaming, unreasonable, irrational customer represents the ultimate test of any employee\u2019s service skills.\u00a0 It can take you to your breaking point if you\u2019re not careful.\u00a0 Staying grounded and above the fray requires you to find inner strength, and persevere beyond the initial difficulties.<\/p>\n<p>Dealing with irate customers is one of the most pressure-packed experiences you will ever encounter on any job.\u00a0 During every confrontation it is important to remember:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Every customer is a different person with a unique set of circumstances and personality traits.<\/li>\n<li>Irate customer encounters can emerge out of nowhere\u2014the key is to be ready.<\/li>\n<li>You represent an opportunity to set things right.<\/li>\n<li>Compassion is essential.<\/li>\n<li>Despite your best efforts, sometimes there is nothing that can save a situation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ditch the \u201cI\u2019m Sorry\u201d Script<\/strong>.\u00a0 Sorry, just doesn\u2019t cut it sometimes.\u00a0 Saying \u201c\u201dI\u2019m Sorry\u201d is so overused it sounds insincere.\u00a0 Be specific by saying \u201cI apologize for this issue\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Make sure your apology directly makes reference to the actual issue, and ALWAYS try to use the customer\u2019s name when addressing them.\u00a0 It adds a personal connection to them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Get on the customer\u2019s side of the counter.<\/strong>\u00a0 Visualize for a moment an upset customer walking in your door and approaching you.\u00a0 The first thing an angry customer does is attack you.\u00a0 It\u2019s very important to remember that you are not personally being attacked but are listening to someone who is in an attacking mode.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Partner with your customer.<\/strong>\u00a0 Let the customer know that your job is to go to bat for them.\u00a0 This tells them that you are their emissary and you want to resolve it together.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The 4 C\u2019s of Handling Irate Customers and Difficult Situations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s all about:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Compassion \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Listen carefully and react to their words, not just their behavior.\u00a0 Examine the facts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Calm<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Remain calm and don\u2019t lose your cool.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Confidence<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Handle the situation knowing you are following company guidelines\u2014and serve the customer.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Competence<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Save the customer with your competent handling of the situation so he or she continues to be a customer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Regardless of how a problem is solved, getting it done\u00a0<strong>now<\/strong>\u00a0is the best way to stop the venting and to bring an irate customer around.\u00a0 You need to show your customer than, as an employee and as the face of your organization you are invested in solving the problem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6 Steps to Handle Irate Customers<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Listen carefully and with interest. Put yourself in your customer\u2019s place<\/li>\n<li>Ask questions and actively listen to the answers<\/li>\n<li>Suggest alternatives that address their concerns<\/li>\n<li>Apologize without laying blame<\/li>\n<li>Solve the problem quickly and efficiently.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Remember, it costs at least five times as much to gain a new customer than keep an existing one and with social media it\u2019s even more costly.\u00a0 The average number of friends on Facebook is 130.\u00a0 Keeping a complaining customer, according to Tschohl, should be the top priority, and at these cost ratios you can afford to be generous in your time and effort.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Take Care Of Yourself<\/strong>.\u00a0 Dealing with irate customers will drain you physically and emotionally and put your skills to the test.\u00a0 You must find ways to take care of yourself.\u00a0 As part of your \u201crecovery time\u201d, know that dealing with irate customers is allowing yourself to relax, recharge and assess your role.\u00a0 Recovery separates you from the situation and gives you a chance to breathe.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Learn from every complaint.<\/strong>\u00a0 Do something!\u00a0 Fix the process; train staff in the issue; eliminate the fault.\u00a0 Wherever possible let the complaining customer know that they have helped you resolve a problem \u2013 they\u2019ll feel great and come back again and again (and will probably tell their friends!).<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<\/p>\n<p><em>John Tschohl, the internationally recognized service strategist, is founder and president of Service Quality Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota.\u00a0 Described by USA Today, Time, and Entrepreneur as a \u201ccustomer service guru,\u201d has written several books \u00a0\u00a0on customer service including his new program<strong>\u00a0Handling Irate Customers and Difficult Situations.<\/strong>\u00a0John\u2019s 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with a screaming, unreasonable, irrational customer represents the ultimate test of any employee\u2019s service skills.\u00a0 It can take you to your breaking point if you\u2019re not careful.\u00a0 Staying grounded and above the fray requires you to find inner strength, and persevere beyond the initial difficulties. Dealing with irate customers is one of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[79],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":215,"href":"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213\/revisions\/215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/momsnetwork.com\/workathomeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}