There’s no denying that there are some customers that are just impossible to please. All businesses face nasty and rude customers at some point during their tenure. Some customers may act like they know your brand and its products, but that does not necessarily mean that they truly know your brand and its products, inside and out. Emotions and stubbornness are a part of human nature. You learn to deal with them as time goes along, especially with customers. This blog will share tips and tricks on how to handle difficult customers you can potentially come across.
Practice Active Listening
Emotions are unpredictable. It is important to remember that customers are human beings who deserve to let out their emotions. At first, you may feel taken aback. Take a breather and just listen to what they have to say. According to Indeed, “active listening helps you to understand the significance of the customer’s words so that you can do your best to make the situation better.” Instantly reacting might make you regret it in the future. Instead, just actively listen to what they have to say and help them resolve their query or concern.
Apologize To Them
No business is immune to problems. Businesses will face upset and agitated customers. There is no possible way for businesses to please anyone and everyone. If a conflict occurs, the business-savvy thing to do is to apologize to the customer and find a way to make it up to them. Addressing negativity is important as it shows you have a sense of humility as a business employee. If a customer talks to you in a rude and impolite tone, you will gain nothing by responding in the same manner. And resolving any customer issue swiftly and politely may even win back that customer’s future business with your brand. By making sure they feel positive and appeased by the resolution of the conflict, you try to build back your business’s reputation in their eyes.
Keep Your Voice Down
If your customer starts raising their voice, that doesn’t mean you add fuel to the fire by raising your own voice along with theirs. Keeping your voice calm will allow you to control your emotions and deal with the customer conflict with a peaceful state of mind. According to Fox Business, “your calm demeanor will reflect on them and will help them to settle down.” Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Anger is nothing but a misguided sense of fear. Their moments of anger may not always be directed at you. It is possible that they could have just woken up on the wrong side of the bed and you end up bearing the brunt of their anger.
Assume All Eyes are on You
Always assume that you are never alone when you’re talking to a customer. According to Fox Business, “This shift in perspective can provide an emotional buffer if the customer is being verbally abusive and will allow you to think more clearly when responding.” Customers will remember situations of conflict they observed, and possibly pass on those stories to other potential or current customers. Handling the situation with dignity will allow you to maintain the stable reputation you have for your business.
Let Them Break Up with You
Like it or not, we all go through breakups in life. But sometimes, those breakups occur for the best. Businesses need to change their mindset from “we don’t want customers to break up with us” to “customer breakups are absolutely okay.” It’s totally normal for a customer to not be satisfied with your product. There are so many issues that customers face with businesses, from inflated pricing to customer service concerns to logistics issues. These just give you opportunities to make the experience better for the next customer that comes across your brand.
Managing Customer Feedback Through PxidaCX
It’s a no-brainer that businesses face situations of conflict occasionally. Lucky for them, PxidaCX is a great tool to help them address these situations and make sure the resolution for the conflict was sufficient for the customer. Dealing with difficult customers anonymously can help businesses improve daily and more importantly, not have to worry about who posted what negative feedback. Sign up for a free trial today!