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What To Do When Your Customer Is Ready To Explode
by Ron Kaufman
When things go wrong, customers get upset. Sometimes they blow up
in anger. Here are five steps to sanity when your customer is
ready to "explode"!
Step One: Let them blow off steam!
No one is rational when they have pent up anger and emotion. Let
your customer vent his rage and fury. Don't take it personally,
and don't get in the way. Just open a pathway for them to let off
the pressure.
Several years ago I had a real problem with a shipment by an
express courier company. I called the company and got a
reasonable sounding woman on the phone.
"You folks messed up!" I yelled.
"OK," she replied in a very attentive tone.
"This was a really important shipment!" I continued loudly.
"OK," she replied with concern.
"And my customer is going to be very upset," I complained.
"OK," she replied again a calm voice.
"Well, what are you going to do about it?" I finally asked,
exhausted by my own tirade.
She paused a moment. "OK?" she asked gently?
"OK," I replied, smiling at her quiet but effective approach. And
then we began the process of identifying details needed to get
everything worked out.
Imagine if she had asked me for all the information right away?
In my anger, it would have taken twice as long to give her the
details, and extended my frustration, too. Instead, she gave me
the space and time to simply "blow off steam," not taking it
personally, allowing her angry customer (me!) to settle down.
Step Two: Show the customer you are "on his side."
Let the customer know you are here to help, not to argue, defend
or disagree.
Phrases like these will work: "Oh! I am really sorry to hear
that. Can you tell me exactly what happened?" "I can certainly
understand your frustration. Let me be the one to help you."
Phrases to avoid are like these: "That's strange. It's never
happened like that before. Are you sure that's what happened?"
"It's not our policy to do anything over the phone. You have to
write, fax or come in personally."
Some words are triggers for angry conversations. Avoid phrases
like these: "Who's fault is this?" "Who is to blame?" "About
your accusation..." These sound like phrases from a police
investigation or a court case...which is NOT where you want to
end up!
Step Three: Tell your customer exactly that you will do on their
behalf.
Explain what steps you will take, and when you will get back in
touch with the results.
Step Four: Take fast action!
Get the problem fixed. Resolve the misunderstanding. Communicate
inside your organisation as a "champion" for the upset customer.
And when you do fix the problem, go the extra mile. Give them a
bit more than they expect. They will remember and appreciate your
efforts.
Step Five: Go back to the customer and explain how the problem
has been resolved.
Ensure they are fully satisfied, and thank them for allowing you
to help.
But wait! What about the customer who curses and screams,
threatens and throws things about? What do you do with a
genuinely abusive customer?
An upset customer should never be an abusive customer. If you
encounter an irate customer who threatens, insults or barks foul
language, use a phrase like this to calm them down: "Sir, I am
here to HELP you. But it's hard for me to HELP YOU if you keep
speaking to me that way."
Try this several times. If they continue berating or attacking
you personally, simply say: "I would really like to HELP you, but
I cannot when you speak to me this way. If you will calm down, I
can help you now. Otherwise, please call me again later."
If they calm down, then help them. If they continue the abuse,
hang up.
Always remember this: An upset customer tells a lot of people
about their problems. But that same customer, when truly
satisfied by your assistance, can become a great promoter, too.
"Positive word of mouth" is precious for your business: be sure
that you deserve it.
Copyright, Ron Kaufman.
Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed innovator and motivator for
partnerships and quality service. For a FREE Newsletter, visit:
http://www.RonKaufman.com
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Mr. Ron Kaufman
Speaker/Author
Customer Service Expert
Singapore
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