When You've Got an Upset Customer

by Skip Cohen

​My roots in Customer Service go back to when I was a kid helping my grandfather in a little hardware store in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. But my real education in consumer support started with Polaroid's introduction of the SX-70 camera - estimated to be 300% defective with those first ones off the production line. Fortunately for Polaroid back then word was slow to spread, there was no Internet - just phone calls and snail mail.

Having kicked off my first blog post fourteen years ago, while I know I've written about the topic many times in the past, there's no such thing as too many reminders about the importance of dealing with angry customers!
 
I found a couple of great quotes a while back about angry customers:

 “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning!”
Bill Gates

“Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.”
Zig Ziglar​

​The reality for many of you is too often completely different. You're afraid of angry customers. I've even heard a few horror stories of photographers going head-to-head in arguments with clients. You'll never win in that kind of battle.
 
Here are a few tips and suggestions you can use to help learn from angry customers and, at the same time, become your own bomb squad!

• It all starts with a fundamental understanding of the customer: It doesn't matter if they're right or not; they believe they're right. You also have to accept that something happened that shouldn't have – no matter who or what was the cause, you own it.
• Fine-tune your listening skills. Don't react to anything they say until they're done saying it. This is a tough one, but it can start with a simple opener: "Hi, this is _____, and I understand you're not happy with something we did. How can I help?"

 
Modify the opener any way you want, but the defusing line is: "How can I help?" or another one to use is "Let's see if I can help fix this for you." Your goal is to demonstrate empathy, kick back, be quiet, and listen. (This is where I get to plug in my favorite one-liner: You've got two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you talk!)
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1. Respond promptly – don't let things go more than a day without getting back to your client.
2. Communicate with your client via phone or face-to-face. Email doesn't always work when you've got an argument on your hands. Your customers need to hear your voice, and a little eye contact is that much better.
3. Take the blame – seriously, even if the problem wasn't directly your fault, it's still your business.
4. Don't delegate the battles. There's nothing more frustrating to an angry customer than to feel you're hiding behind one of your employees. And if an employee is on the frontline of "battle," give them the power to resolve the issue.

Resolve issues quickly with solutions that have value to the consumer. Come up with a resolution fast and work towards having one that your client feels is fair.

Years ago, living in the Chicago area, we tried carry-out from a new Chinese restaurant. Halfway through dinner, there was a small dead cockroach in the fried rice. I immediately packaged everything back up and went storming back to the restaurant. Instead of immediately apologizing and doing a refund, the owner wanted to give me a gift certificate to come back! Obviously, we never ate there again, but to try and argue with me about the merits of their food at that point was far from realistic.
 
Remember, one angry customer today can turn into a troll and undermine your credibility throughout the community. And the community, especially in cyberspace, goes far beyond your city limits.

On the other hand, a satisfied customer who feels you've been on their side and working towards solving the problem will help build a foundation for future business.