How to Calm And Cope With Angry Customers

Proven Training Blog: Dealing With Difficult Customers

Hello again business operators and staff in training, welcome back to my business training blog!

It is me Bill again, it has been a few weeks since I have written for the Proven Training Blog. Do not worry though, very soon we will be providing regular blog content for those of you who are interested in excelling in the workplace.

I am writing today because I want to talk about something that we all experience that isn't very pleasant. That is, the disgruntled customer. When dealing with an angry or upset customer it is hard to know what to do no matter who you are. Yes - even for experienced managers angry customers are tricky. However, if you follow the expert advice laid out in our Proven Training Solutions Whitepaper: Dealing With Angry Customers you should have no problem. In my blog today I just want to review of few of the tips we discussed in this publication.

How to calm and cope with a difficult customer in 5 steps

"De-personalize the situation. Realize that, in all likelihood, the customer is not angry at you personally. Even if you did something to cause his or her anger (hopefully unintentionally), most difficult customers’ anger is not really personal in nature. They may be angry because their expectations weren’t met, because they feel they were wronged, or because of something personal and completely unrelated to you or the company you work for. Make up your mind when dealing with difficult customers that you aren’t going to take their anger personally.

Lower your voice. It can be tempting when dealing with an angry customer to raise your tone of voice to match his or hers. Not only is this highly unprofessional and a poor reflection on the company you represent, but it will only escalate the situation. When you speak softly, the irate customer will need to quiet down in order to hear the answer to his demands.

Empathize. Even if you think the customer’s demands are crazy, chances are you have been angry yourself a time or two. When dealing with a difficult customer, you don’t have to agree with what they say to put yourself in their shoes and show some empathy for what they are feeling.

Remind yourself that you represent your company. This ties in with de-personalizing the client’s anger. Remember that dealing with angry customers is important even if you aren’t able to satisfy the angry customer’s concerns. Other customers may be watching, and how you handle yourself reflects on you and the company you work for. Dealing with difficult customers appropriately goes a long way towards convincing others that you will also deal appropriately with their concerns (which hopefully will be expressed more appropriately).

Get help. When all else fails, there’s no shame in handing off a difficult customer to someone else. Even if the person you are asking to help doesn’t have more authority, bringing a fresh face into a conflict can sometimes have a calming effect. This is especially helpful if the client is angry because of something you actually did. If you choose to do this, however, be prepared for the client to make angry comments about you which may or may not be true without defending yourself." from Proven Training Solutions: How to Deal With An Angry Customer

Even for the most experienced staff member dealing with an upset customer can be a hefty task. At times it can be frustrating but if you follow these steps the situation should be under control in no time. Anyone who is hoping to learn how to diffuse an upset customer and repair a bad situation can learn a thing or two from this advice.


Thanks for stopping in again, we will be back next week with some more helpful business training tips!


- Bill Walsh