The customer isn’t always right. But the customer is always the customer — so when he’s wrong, you have to respond carefully.
Customers make mistakes but, like many people, are convinced that they’re always right. Those situations and conversations need to be handled with some serious finesse so you don’t damage or destroy the relationship.
Know what to say and when
For everyone who deals directly with customers, here are the keys to handling situations when you’re right and they’re wrong:
- Keep your emotions under control. Customers who are convinced they’re right often get angry — and it can be contagious. Stick to facts and logic to keep the conversation focused and calm.
- Focus on what’s right. Just because customers are wrong about something, doesn’t mean they’re wrong about everything. So find some points in their story or situation that you agree with to jump-start the conversation. It makes it a more comfortable way to segue into what’s wrong.
- Maintain a dialogue. Your customers will naturally try to justify their current ideas. You want to listen to them to show you value their insight and set the stage for customers to listen to you. A back-and-forth conversation will lead to progress.
- Be patient. You probably won’t get customers to see things your way immediately. Back away if you must after an initial conversation. Then ask them when it’ll be a good time to go over the information again and come to resolution.
- Know when to back down. Unless customers are in physical or financial danger, some arguments aren’t worth winning. You don’t have to give in to their every whim. But letting things be, in order to maintain a good business relationship, is sometimes the best decision.
