7 steps to deal with angry customers
- Stay calm and composed
- Actively listen to the customer
- Acknowledge their feelings and empathize
- Offer a genuine apology
- Ask questions to understand the issue better
- Provide a solution or escalate when necessary
- Follow up to ensure the customer’s satisfaction
There’s no doubt that your organization invests a tremendous amount of time and resources to deliver high-quality products and seamless customer experiences. Despite your best efforts, though, there will still be times when your team encounters their fair share of angry customers.
Learning how to de-escalate situations involving rude customers is crucial for maintaining strong relationships and a positive business reputation. That’s why we’ve pulled together this guide, which outlines how to deal with difficult customers by implementing seven proven de-escalation strategies.
The meaning and importance of service recovery
Service recovery refers to the steps you take to rectify a service or product failure and convert a dissatisfied customer into a satisfied one as a result. Effective service recovery can promote better retention and an enhanced brand image, and it’ll also help you salvage customer relationships — even if the complaint involves a major product or service issue.
About a third of consumers will consider giving a brand a second chance if they make a sincere effort to solve a problem, and research suggests that acquiring a new customer costs five to seven times more than keeping an existing one. As such, the bottom line is that you need to do everything you reasonably can to hold onto your existing customers; doing so will have a direct impact on your brand’s reputation and overall profitability.
Possible business scenarios that might make customers angry
According to a National Customer Rage Survey, recent increases in product and service issues have made it likelier that consumers will yell more when speaking to service personnel. Researchers found that 74 percent of customers encountered a service or product issue in the previous year, and 63 percent reported feelings of rage regarding their bad experiences. Overall, consumers are becoming more aggressive, with some even seeking revenge for the hassles they endure.
Suffice it to say, your employees are already fighting an uphill battle. But the first step toward effectively dealing with all of that anger is to identify why customers are mad in the first place. On that note, we’ve included some common scenarios that make customers angry below.
Delayed deliveries
One of the biggest sources of customer frustration is delivery delays. The vast majority (90 percent) of consumers expect their items to arrive within two to three days, and nearly one-third of shoppers will abandon their carts if estimated shipping times are “too long.” If a company overpromises and underdelivers on shipping times, the problem gets even worse; even minor delays can prompt an angry call to your service team.
Poor customer service
Unhelpful or unresponsive support can make customers feel undervalued. So it’s vital that your business does two things: provide consumers with different support options and offer exceptional service once they connect with a representative.
Incorrect billing or pricing errors
Financial discrepancies can cause customers to question a company’s competence and integrity. When addressing these types of issues, it’s important to refund the overage fast and take steps to make amends, such as providing a discount on a future purchase.
Faulty products or services not meeting expectations
Customers are usually excited to receive the items they order, but when they arrive in poor condition or are otherwise unusable (e.g., wrong size or color), consumers understandably get angry.
Communication breakdowns
Miscommunication or a lack of information can lead to misunderstandings and unmet expectations. It’s important to keep customers in the loop from the moment they make a purchase. Providing timely updates can reduce friction and increase satisfaction.
7 steps to deal with angry customers
When it comes down to it, dealing with angry customers involves calming them and showing empathy while getting to the bottom of their problems. Whether you’re doing this yourself or training a team of customer service reps to do so, the steps below can de-escalate tense situations with even the most irate customers.
1. Stay calm and composed
It’s essential to remain calm and keep your demeanor steady to prevent the situation from escalating. Maintaining your composure will help you think clearly and follow company protocols, and staying at a consistent volume will also prompt the customer to lower their voice to match yours. Even if they’re in a rage, they’ll want to hear what you have to say in order to determine whether you can help or not.
If you need to, take a few deep breaths. Focus on the issue at hand, and don’t take the customer’s anger personally. Remember, their frustration is directed at the situation, not at you.
2. Actively listen to the customer
Active listening involves giving the customer your full attention. Allowing them to express their concerns without interruption demonstrates empathy and shows that you value their perspective. You’ll want to periodically use verbal cues like, “I understand” or “I’m sorry that you experienced that issue,” as these subtle statements show that you’re actively listening.
3. Acknowledge their feelings and empathize
Recognize and validate the customer’s feelings. While you may disagree with how they choose to handle the issue, you can still show an understanding through statements like, “I can see how this situation is frustrating for you.” You want to win them over by demonstrating that you care about their position and are empathetic toward their issue.
That can go a long way in diffusing tense situations. After a few minutes, you can usually build a connection with the customer and make them more receptive to resolving the issue.
4. Offer a genuine apology
A sincere apology can go a long way in soothing an angry customer. Even if the problem wasn’t your fault, apologizing for their unpleasant experience shows that you care about their satisfaction.
Of course, you’ll want to ensure that your apology is genuine and doesn’t come off as scripted. If a customer feels as though your apology is fake or rehearsed, they may get even angrier — believing that you’re insincere or simply pushing them off to the next available representative.
5. Ask questions to understand the issue better
Asking clarifying questions shows that you’re paying attention to what the customer has to say. It also helps you gather all the information necessary to resolve the issue.
Open-ended questions are best since they encourage customers to open up and vent a bit while they provide detailed information about what happened. Try not to interrupt unless you need them to repeat or clarify something. The better you understand what they went through, the easier it will be to reach an amicable solution.
6. Provide a solution or escalate when necessary
After you’ve understood the issue, propose a viable solution. Don’t overpromise, and clearly explain the steps you can take to resolve the problem.
If you can’t fix a problem or must escalate the matter to a supervisor, be honest about your limitations and escalate the issue as soon as necessary so that it can be resolved in a timely manner. Respecting the customer’s time demonstrates that you truly care about fixing the problem.
7. Follow up to ensure the customer’s satisfaction
Following up with a customer after resolving their issue shows that you value their business and are committed to their satisfaction. A simple call or email to confirm that everything has been resolved to their liking can leave a lasting positive impression.
But don’t stop there. Send customers feedback surveys to determine what went well and how you can do better in the future. The more convenient the form, the higher your participation rates will be.
Dos and don’ts of handling an angry customer
The steps above can be broken down into a handful of simple dos and don’ts. When speaking to a disgruntled customer
| Do | Don’t |
|---|---|
| Maintain a calm and professional demeanor | Argue or interrupt |
| Use active listening and open-ended questions | Take negative comments personally |
| Validate the customer’s concerns | Overpromise or provide vague solutions |
| Communicate clearly and honestly about the next steps | Dismiss their concerns without proper explanation |
An upset customer may interpret vague solutions as deceptive. What’s more, dismissing their concerns or arguing with them will only escalate the issue further. That’s why you and your employees must approach these delicate scenarios with empathy and a calm demeanor.
Practical benefits of mastering customer de-escalation skills
Learning how to de-escalate angry customers can lead to advantages such as
- Improved customer loyalty: Effectively resolving issues on the first call or contact can help you retain more customers.
- Enhanced employee confidence: Service reps will get a big confidence boost every time they successfully defuse a volatile customer.
- Reduced workload: Proactively managing conflicts prevents situations from worsening and limits how many issues are moved onto other team members.
A bad customer service experience can quickly overshadow the original problem that your business was initially contacted about. On the other hand, an exceptional service experience may convince an originally disgruntled consumer to give your brand another chance.
Track, address, and remedy customer concerns with Jotform
Jotform is a versatile form builder and data-collection solution that can help you get to the bottom of customer concerns, provide you with insights to address them, and ultimately protect your brand’s reputation.
For example, our powerful Net Promoter Scores® (NPS®) survey builder makes it easy to gather important feedback from customers. The mobile-friendly surveys allow you to collect responses from any device.
If you want to gauge how people feel about a particular product or service, you can also use Jotform feedback forms to ask pointed questions and gain actionable insights into customer sentiment.
Your customer service team won’t have to send out these surveys manually, either. Jotform’s conditional logic triggers a survey after a specific customer interaction, like when a complaint is escalated to a supervisor. The platform also allows you to set up email notifications when a customer submits a service request or complaint.
Calm angry customers with a proactive, resolution-driven approach
Being able to effectively handle angry customers is critical for sustaining positive relationships and protecting your company’s reputation. By identifying the root cause of customer concerns through empathetic communication, you can master the art of de-escalation for happier customers, happier staff, and a more efficient business.
Our recommendation? Use the structured service recovery strategies outlined above and equip your team with tools that help streamline the way you gather feedback. Explore Jotform Report Builder for free today, and learn how our solutions can help your business embrace de-escalation through simplified customer feedback collection.
Photo by: MART PRODUCTION
Net Promoter®, NPS®, NPS Prism®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., NICE Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter ScoreSM and Net Promoter SystemSM are service marks of Bain & Company, Inc., NICE Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.
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