Seven Ways to Defuse Angry Customers

November 27, 2008 from ConnectIT - “Flush with frustration over something gone wrong, the client or customer flies into an uncontrollable rage. Complaints crescendo into shouts, accusations fly and, sad to say, an occasional profanity slices what little silence remains.”

Sound familiar? Let’s hope not. But in case it does ring a bell, read on.

In this article, Jeff Wuorio reviews tried-and-true, old-fashioned methods for cooling off customers so that disputes are resolved with a minimum of fuss. These methods are based on making the customer feel that they are being heard regarding the problem and that they are being included in the solution.

The seven methods all start with “Let’s,” as in “Let’s go over what happened” and “Let’s get together to talk about this.”

180 View (written by Esther Friedberg Karp): These days, we’re trying more than ever to hang on to every paying customer we have, but we want to do so while retaining our sanity. I cannot say that I’ve never had a dispute with every supplier I currently have. But I can say that of I have stuck by any suppliers who have made it their mission to handle customer dissatisfaction quickly and efficiently. It’s no news that a happy customer is probably a long-term one. It is also true that a happy customer will probably refer new customers to your business. Before dismissing this as hokey fluff that belongs in a disagreement at Floyd’s Barber Shop, remember that unresolved disputes are expensive, time-consuming, and take your focus away from other profit-generating initiatives. It is preferable and can be profitable to behave calmly and with dignity in business disputes, generating goodwill and avoiding unpleasantness and extra expenses.