How to Handle Angry and Difficult Customers
When an angry and or difficult customer calls, how do you and your team respond?
What do you do when faced with an Angry or Difficult Customer?
We want to help ensure that you're providing the best customer experience, helping your business grow and relieve the stress of getting calls from angry and difficult customers.
We take a look at the extreme circumstance of how to deal with an angry, difficult, and demanding customer.
We talk about this in the context of being a school and sports photographer, but this topic can be applied to customer service in any industry.
You may have experienced a customer that just doesn't want to work with you to find a solution. How can you help a difficult customer, so you can find a solution?
We take a look at the fundamental foundation for handling a call with a customer that is angry, difficult, and frustrated.
1:40 - Depersonalize
2:15 - De-escalate
2:33 - Empathize
6:15 - Communicating + Finding Solutions
7:05 - Getting the Customer to Calm Down
11:11 - Look at your Communication
11:45 - Why this is difficult
12:50 - Consequences of "taking it personally"
17:28 - The Takeaways
First, ease the tension immediately and de-escalate the situation as best you can. Reassuring the customer that you are there to help them and want to find a solution for the issue is a great start. This can be achieved when the customer service rep or business owner can depersonalize these interactions. Once you stop taking the customers anger personally, there is an opening for the customer to allow you to help them and to bring them to a level where you can reason and work with them.
Next Step: empathize with the customer, relating to the issue and the feelings they are experiencing. Example:
"I'm so sorry to hear that your child's Senior Portraits arrived damaged. I'd be really frustrated as well and understand how important it is to get you your order ASAP.
After you communicate w/ empathy, the next step is to take action and create an agreeable solution for the customer.
A good way to do this is to repeat the facts back and summarize the situation, and then review the next steps towards making things right.
Example:
Ok, since you received a damaged order, we will expedite production on a replacement order and upgrade your shipping, so you can receive the order in plenty of time for ____ (fill in the need)
After summarizing what happened and what you will do to solve the issue, say something like "if that would help" or "if that helps", "if that will meet your expectations" - of course you can say whatever makes sense for you. The purpose is to show the customer that you understand their situation, discussed a clear plan with expectations, and then closing by getting agreement from the customer that their needs are now met.
Finish the call by giving them one more expectation, which is that you will follow up with them to make sure everything worked out. Alternatively or additionally, you can also provide a direct number or your email address, so the customer can contact you if they need anything else.
Work with them as a teammate, not an adversary. even if you think they are overreacting or "wrong" Resisting, arguing, or making the customer wrong won't serve you or your business. These interactions are best handled quickly, so you can move forward, focusing on your customers and growing your business. Don't get stuck in the drama of a difficult call and again, do not take it personal! Easier said then done, but it will help you and your staff in ways you may not be able to imagine.
in summary:
-Depersonalize
-Empathize
-Summarize
-Strategize
-Follow-Up(ize) :)
Photographers that want to know more about customer service & the customer experience will enjoy this video as we talk about:
-Not Taking it Personal
-Using Empathy
-De-escalating and Angry Customer
-Finding Creative Solutions
-Working with the Customer and not against them
-Why Customer Retention is so important and the power of the angry and unsatisfied customer
-Setting up expectations with your customer support team
-Giving Customer Support the autonomy they need, along with the tools, so they can provide the best possible customer experience and/or solutions.
Customer Service & Customer Amazement Experts mentioned in the video:
Shep Hyken - / shephyken
Gary Vaynerchuk - / garyvaynerchuk
Brian Tracy- / briantracyspeaker
Photographers are focused on taking amazing pictures and providing the best experience for their customers special day. Customer Service will come naturally to most, but what do you do when your customers make extreme demands? Most Photographers do not have training in the area of Customer Service, so you may be upsetting your customers and not even be aware of it.
We are excited for you to watch and learn some techniques & reminders when you are working with a difficult or angry customers