Learn proven strategies and techniques to turn challenging interactions into positive outcomes. Visit our website to access our handling difficult customers training and enhance customer satisfaction today.

Handling Difficult Customers

Customers see exceptional service as one of the most valuable elements of their experience with your company. If that service underwhelms, they will leave. In fact, a recent survey found 96% of customers would leave a company because of poor service.  

That means providing great service is a crucial part of your role as a customer service professional. But doing so becomes tougher when you’re handling difficult customers. When faced with an upset customer, it can feel like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, where every move you make seems to wedge you tighter.

The good news is you can get unstuck! We recommend a three-step process, drawn from our handling difficult customers training program and insights.

The key at this stage is to show empathy and demonstrate to your customer that you truly care about their position and that you’re listening deeply to their concerns. Much of our handling difficult customers training revolves around exercising your emotional intelligence: your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships with your customers.

Check out our handling difficult customers training programs for more information on this step.

REINFORCE YOUR RELATIONSHIP

Listening, being empathetic, and using positive, affirming words and phrases will go a long way in making your customers feel valued. 

Verbiage like “I’m sorry you feel that way” and the like might sound helpful at first glance. But much like citing “policy” or telling customers what you “can’t/don’t/won’t” do for them, telling them “I’m sorry you feel that way” is dismissive and doesn’t demonstrate empathy. At this stage, you’re reinforcing your relationship with your customer—and not choosing positive, affirming words undoes your work in building a common understanding of the issue. 

check out our handling difficult customers training programs.