Your customer is fuming, angry, dissatisfied and he wants you to do something about it NOW!
Here’s a five-step way to turn upset people into satisfied customers:
- Say it again. Paraphrase the customer’s issue (edit out the angry tone and aggravated word choices, of course!) This will confirm you understand the situation and allow him to clarify anything he doesn’t feel you have correct.
- Tame the tiger. Let the customer know he can be angry (but never abusive) by validating his emotions. Show some empathy for the situation with phrases such as, “I can see why you’d be upset” or “You have a right to be angry.”
- Take action. You don’t want to let an upset customer wallow in his emotions too long, so quickly focus on the solution. Try to offer two options so the customer can pick what works best for him.
- Offer to follow up. Ask the customer if you can call or e-mail at a later point to make sure the solution worked. Arrange a time.
- Thank the customer for bringing the issue to your attention, allowing you to resolve it, for his business – anything to make him feel he’s made a good choice sticking with you.
