Keeping Your Cool When the Customer Gets Hot

By Lydia Ramsey

Have you ever had a bad day in business? One where nothing seemed to go right and everywhere you turned you encountered angry people? If this has never happened to you, stop reading now. If the scenario sounds all too familiar, read on.

At some point, you've probably had to deal with people who were less than thrilled with you or your organization. Whatever the problem, diffusing anger and handling sensitive situations require special skills and practiced behaviors. It's hard to be calm and courteous when someone else is out of control.

What can you do to keep your cool and resolve the issue when a customer is chewing you out? Try following these five steps to soothe the situation:

1. Listen. Pay close attention to what the other person is saying. Too often we don't hear all that is being said because we are busy trying to come up with a response. If you don't fully understand why the other person is upset, you can't possibly help with the solution. Sometimes people just need to vent, to get whatever is bothering them off their chests.

You may be well on your way to a resolution if you are a good listener who does not interrupt and who lets other people finish what they have to say.

Often people calm down when they realize that you value them enough to hear them out. They may also hear themselves and recognize that they are overreacting or acting inappropriately.

Let your body language reflect your attention as well. Use eye contact, lean in toward the other person and use appropriate facial expressions that show your interest. If you do a good job with step one, you may not need to move on to the next four steps.

2. Apologize. It doesn't matter whether the problem was actually your fault or not. Perhaps the customer received the wrong product. Even if you had nothing to do with filling the order, as the representative of your company you are as responsible as the person who made the mistake. Tell the customer that you are sorry.

Your willingness to be accountable will have a positive effect. All this person may need to hear is an apology (along with receiving the right product or service) to be satisfied. Make your apology with complete sincerity. If your tone of voice doesn't match your words, you are wasting your breath.

3. Sympathize. Let people know that you can identify with their feelings and that you understand why they are upset. A simple and sincere statement both validates the customer's emotions and shows that you are not going to be argumentative. Once again, match your tone to your words.

4. Accept responsibility. Let your customers know that you intend to do whatever it takes to make things right—to get them the product they ordered or the service they expected. You can't change what has already happened, but you can come up with a solution to the problem or find someone who can.

5. Prepare to take action. Decide how you can remedy the situation. Tell the customer exactly what you will do and when; i.e., you will replace the incorrect product as quickly as possible. If the issue was poor service, deliver better service immediately. Offer something extra or unexpected. Whenever you can provide a bonus of some sort or waive fees, the tiger before you will be transformed into a pussycat.

Additional tips

Use the acronym "ASAP" for calming angry people. Each letter stands for part of the process (Apologize, Sympathize, Accept responsibility, Prepare to take action).

Teach your staff that treating people with kindness, courtesy and respect will greatly enhance your company's image and increase customer loyalty. An appreciative customer will also recommend you and your company to others by sharing his or her “happy ending” customer service story.

Learn more in these AMA seminars:

• How to Communicate with Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility
• Responding to Conflict: Strategies for Improved Communication
• Customer Service Excellence: How to Win and Keep Customers

AMA On-site: Every one of AMA's 170+ public seminars can be delivered on-site. This flexible, money-saving option allows you to train ten or more people, when and where you choose, at a low cost per participant.

Author Bio: Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert with over 30 years of experience. She is the author of Manners That Sell—Adding the Polish that Builds Profits and also writes a weekly business etiquette column for several southeastern newspapers. For more information, visit: www.mannersthatsell.com or call 912-598-9812.