There's no way around angry clients in the customer service biz!
If you’re in a customer service position, chances are good that you will have to handle an angry client from time to time. The client may be angry because he felt you didn’t follow through on his requests. He may think that you’re not living up to his expectations or your promises. His anger may be justified, or it might be completely unreasonable. He could be angry about something that’s not even your fault.
Whatever the case may be, you need to take command of the situation and help out the client. Even if you don’t retain the client, you will still be able to show your professionalism and desire to help. But, if you handle the situation correctly, you may also end up with a stronger client relationship than you had before.
Here are five simple steps that you should take when handling an angry client:
1. Listen to the clients’ issue.
The most important thing is to really understand why your client is angry. You can’t solve anything until you know the source of his frustration. Give the client a chance to say what he’s going to say before trying to ask questions, explain, or help. If you interrupt the client or try to solve the problem without knowing exactly what the issue is, you may actually cause him to become more angry.
2. Apologize and empathize.
Tell the client you’re sorry, even when it’s not your fault. Apologize for the situation if not the actions. Sometimes, the problem doesn’t originate with you or even your company. It doesn’t matter. You understand that the client is frustrated and angry. Tell him so.
It’s important to remain calm when speaking to the client, as well. If you adopt a defensive or, worse, an aggressive tone, the situation could become even more complicated.
Also, don’t try to place blame. Customer service isn’t about assigning blame, it’s about solving problems. Telling your client that it isn’t your fault could even make him more angry; he probably cares less about who’s to blame and more of what can be done to fix it.
Empathy is also important when trying to gather more details about the source of the client’s problem. You have probably been in a similar situation at some point. Keep that in mind. Remember how angry and frustrated you were. Imagine what it would feel like if the person on the other line knew what you were experiencing and understood how you felt.
3. Assure the client that you will do what you can to help.
The most likely reason the client is calling is because he’s looking for a resolution to his issue. He’s also expecting to receive help from someone. Do your best to try to help him.
Depending on what kind of services you offer, you may need to have the client provide very specific details about his problem. Being empathetic is also important to asking for details because your client may have a different background that you.
As an example, you provide technical support, but your client isn’t a very technical user. The client may use the wrong terms to explain what they’re trying to do. That’s okay. The most important thing is to understand what happened. You may need to ask specific questions like, “Can you tell me which button you pressed when you received the error message?”
Don’t ridicule the client or even correct his terminology unless he asks. Again, he probably doesn’t care about the proper term for something. He just wants it to work.
4. Clarify what needs to be accomplished.
Take the time to verify the end result the client is looking for. You want to ensure that you can help to achieve that. You don’t need to go into all of the details of what needs to be accomplished, just the main points.
For example, if a client sends you an e-mail with fifteen items that need to be changed, you probably don’t need to address all fifteen items on the phone. It’s sufficient to say, “I will change each of the the fifteen items from your list.” But take care that you do accomplish what you say you’re going to do.
5. Set a time frame and follow up with the client.
Try to give a realistic but conservative estimate for how long it will take to resolve the issues. If you’re unable to give a solid timeline, you should offer to follow up with the client to keep them informed of what’s going on.
You may have to say, “I need to check into more details on what it will take to make this happen. I’ll give you an update before the end of the day.” If the process is going to take several days or weeks to complete, you will want to check in and provide updates periodically. He will likely appreciate the occasional update rather than hearing nothing and wondering if you’re actually working on the issue.
Not every customer service problem can be solved in this manner. However, you may find that you can turn around many situations by taking the time to listen to the client’s problem, empathize with him, set up a plan, and follow up. Going through those steps to help the client, could end up keeping him on board for many more months or years!
About the Author
Brian O’Connell is the CEO and founder of CPA Site Solutions, one of the country’s most successful web design firms dedicated exclusively to accounting websites. His firm currently provides websites for more than 5000 CPA and accounting firms and considers customer service the cornerstone of his business.
Twitter: blogmobilepro
says:
These are nice points. The most important of it all is to listen. You can’t deal with an angry customer if you lack good listening skill. Most often, angry people, not just customers, need someone to understand how they feel. Listening with empathy and an attempt to help will most often go a long way to make the client feel better.. There are exception though..
blogmobilepro recently posted..Can I make a full time living Blogging My Dad Said I can’t! I say YES you can
Twitter: equitiesgroup
says:
I actually very much needed these “secrets” an hour ago! At least I am well equipped for the next conversation with a disgruntled and semi-belligerent client!
equities recently posted..Should Investors Buy Mutual Funds Or ETFs
Ughhh. My heart bleeds for you. There aren’t many things more disheartening than an angry client.
Now some clients are just difficult for the sake of being difficult. I have one fella who calls angry every month. I think he’s subconsciously hoping to get a newbie support person and wrangle his fury into a free month. I actually see value in these difficult of clients. The way I look at it if we can keep them happy, we can keep anyone happy.
Nice tips! It’s great to know that all you have to do is try and be positive, most of the time it may change a person’s view of the situation.
Twitter: CoachNotesBlog
says:
Hi Brian,
Speaking from the other side of the table, I was an angry customer a few months back.
Sounds like a ACA confession (Angry Customers Anonymous)! Jokes aside, I penned a carefully crafted, extremely long letter to the vendor, laying out my sore grievances and making a serious demand.
If you were giving away an award for successfully practicing the 5 Secrets, this vendor would have it proudly displayed on his trophy wall! Not only did they respond, they admitted their wrong-doing, and fixed a system-wide issue in record time.
I used this other-side-of-the-table scenario to point up that we can emulate these best practices to such an extent they become second nature. Thanks Brian for revealing the secrets.
Vernessa Taylor recently posted..All About The Suds- Business Development Video
Great post, You kind of wonder why they want to repeatedly use your service but you can’t say that. Some customers have no interest in your perspective, they are like spoiled brats having a temper tantrum.
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It’s true that customer anger is often misplaced, but if you don’t validate it by at least empathizing with it you’re only going to make it worse. Anger is often irrational. That’s part of what makes it what it is.
The customer is continuing to use your service because whatever else that might be feeling at the moment they recognize your service has value. If you keep this in mind you’ll find it easier to deal with the occasional “tantrum” without getting defensive or bogging down in the blame game.
I’m not suggesting that you should take responsibility for the problem if it’s not your fault, but you need to take responsibility for the solution. Accept the client’s anger, validate it, and help the customer move past it so you can both move on to fixing the problem.
cpasitesolutions recently posted..How to Sell the Client Portal to Reluctant Clients
Vernessa, I see a difference between a belligerent client and a carefully crafted, albeit serious, grievance. These 5 secrets still apply of course, but they are more easily implemented, at least for me, especially when the client shows the patience themselves to carefully write down their complaint, versus say quickly picking up the phone to rip me a new one. Those are the ones that can really be challenging to see through to the end without becoming defensive.
This is great advice. The only thing that I would add is to keep in mind that the customer isn’t angry at you usually, they are mad at the company or the product or perhaps a particular person, you are just the unfortunate one who takes the first call and gets the full blast of their anger. If you keep that in mind, it helps you to remain calm yourself. Also fully agree that if you can’t get the information that people need, if you call back and tell them and give them a time frame, they are usually more than happy with that and very much appreciate the fact that you got back to them.
My summary is emapthise (say something along the lines of oh that’s no good), apologise (if it’s not my fault I say I’m really sorry that happened or similar), tell them what you are going to do to help, give them a time frame, get back to them and keep them updated, even call them once the solution has been implemented to follow up.
Most people who phone up in a right royal rage just want to be heard!
Jan recently posted..The psychology of weight loss and dieting
An excellent point. I remember once apologizing to a customer and he snapped at me, “Why are YOU apologizing! YOU didn’t do anything wrong!”
I replied simply, “Because you deserve an apology and nobody else is going to give you one, now let’s get this problem fixed.” The client’s anger was almost instantly diffused and we spent nearly a half hour sorting out a complex DNS problem with his previous website host. Despite the loss of his valuable time, the frustration of not understanding a lot of what we had to do when conferencing (including his old host leaving us on hold for nearly 15 minutes), and the added aggravation of having to wait hours for his website to come up again while the new DNS info propagated he was calm and thankful at the end of the call.
cpasitesolutions recently posted..How to Sell the Client Portal to Reluctant Clients
Twitter: SBMommy
says:
Could you please provide some specific examples how you would empathize with an unreasonable customer, who wants everything yesterday and for free? Usually if I start to empathize I seem to make the matters worse, it sounds like I am getting defensive and overly apologetic. Any help is appreciated!
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Twitter: DennisEdell
says:
Being in direct sales/customer service my entire adult life, I can say easily you’re spot on the money here my friend.
A word of warning to everyone, do not attempt to fake empathy, it is easily spotted and you’re not as good as you think you are.
You’ll just open them up to become your worst nightmare and rightfully so.
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It is really hard to deal with angry customers, you will have to bring out the best in you when conversing with them especially your patience.
Angry customers tend to talk a lot, and you are not there to interrupt whatever the case maybe. You are there to listen and get their point. People will get angrier if they’ll have to repeat their point). It simply means you were not listening.
So, the tendency would be misunderstanding and more and more arguments.
The best is listen, empathize and say you will do the best thing to have it resolved in the best possible time. Remember no to give false hopes just to make them smile. This will surely ruin your company even more in the future.
Twitter: SBMommy
says:
Great article, but what do you do if there is really noticing you can do to get the resolution the customer is looking for? For example, the customer wants to return the product they purchased two month ago and get a full refund including shipping? How do you handle that?
Twitter: bonusmap
says:
Hi there,
in this case I think you should be creative enough to keep the client, understand if the customers are not happy with the product or just want to take an advantage of temporarily using it. As far as I know lots of online companies handling problems with the angry clients asking them to pay for the shipping (if it is not included in the terms of delivery, which is the case in 90 percent of the online commerce)
Regards. Arthur
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Twitter: SBMommy
says:
But how do these companies actually handle the angry clients? How do they make the customer satisfied?
ColorfulChildhood recently posted..Aviation-theme Rooms – Airports- Airplanes- Helicopters
Don’t concentrate on what you can’t do. Concentrate on what you CAN do.
For example in the above confrontation, the first key is just to let them vent. Maintaining that level of anger is hard work. Empathize. Than follow up with…
“Look, I understand why you’re angry. I really do. I’m just not authorized to offer you a refund after 30 days, but and neither is my supervisor. Let me talk to the owner this afternoon and see what we can do and I’ll call you back first thing tomorrow.”
This has bought you a 24 hour cool-down, and is perceived by the customer as forward momentum. But you actually have to follow up: Talk with the boss, and call first thing in the AM.
Now, of course you need to address the issue. Here’s the scoop… if you don’t give the client something she’s not coming back. Ever. So you need decide if that’s a price you’re really willing to pay, especially if she has a purchase history with you. As a rule I give the client what they want the first time (if it happens again it’s a pretty safe bet you’re being played) but I actually have that power. If you don’t and all you can get from the boss is a compromise offer, it will likely be much better received the next day. Not only have you given the client some time to cool down, you’ve showed her that you were willing to do something to help her outside quoting company policy, you actually confronted your superior on her behalf, and that you followed through with your promises. This will make your compromise offer much more palatable.
cpasitesolutions recently posted..How to Sell the Client Portal to Reluctant Clients
Twitter: bonusmap
says:
-”Don’t concentrate on what you can’t do. Concentrate on what you CAN do.”
Thank you Brian. That are exactly the right words of how to handle the angry clients:
1. Positive attitude
2. Patience
And the most powereful is “Talk with the boss, and call first thing in the AM.” Make the angry clients to hide from you soft positive attitude
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Great article. We have to let the client know that we are here to help. I have been a customer service representative myself, and “listening” and “understanding” the customer solves the problem halfway.
The unreasonable client should need to understand that we are just working and ready to help. Keeping your politeness to unreasonable client will surely change their attitude.. great tips here!
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Twitter: MetacomCreative
says:
Although it is never really that fun to deal with an upset customer or client, these tips definitely do make it a little less painful to do so. I also think a lot of problems arise from lack of communication, so I try to avoid these problems by keeping the lines of communication open with my clients. That is also why it is very important to nail down and make clear exactly what you are going to do on each project, and what the final cost will be.
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Twitter: wordpresswb
says:
I absolutely love customer service and I see it as an exciting thing when I have to fix a problem with a customer. It is a fantastic challenge to be able to read a persons personality and give them the result they they want.
One thing that people really love is to see the BOSS …. then they feel they are important enough for someone to take notice of them.
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