how to deal with difficult customers?

Answer 1

Yes do smile and be polite. If you must be rude and insulting do it politely with a smile on your face. It will confuse the hell out of them. LOL (the dumb ones anyways)

Answer 2

Be honest and think about it. If you give an answer of how someone else handled it, you will get caught in a lie. They want to know how YOU would handle it. Gather your thoughts and be honest. Would you: Ignore the anger, address it, step around it? Would you: Tell the customer they are right, they are wrong, or see that right or wrong, they FEEL they have an issue and try to solve their problem? The Idea in handling a difficult customer is being able to defuse a bad situation. If you feel things 'getting out of control' you need to know when it is time to get the boss involved in the situation. Think on these things and get a plan of action in your head. Every situation will be different but you will have an idea. The customer is not always right, they are always REAL. There is a difference.

Answer 3

Take a lookat this and tell me if you like it...Looked for it just for you:)

1 - Don't let them get to you - Stay out of it emotionally and concentrate on listening non-defensively and actively. Customers may make disparaging and emotional remarks - don't rise to the bait.

2 - Listen - listen - listen - Look and sound like your listening. The customer wants to know that you care and that you're interested in their problem.

3 - Stop saying sorry - Sorry is an overused word, everyone says it when something goes wrong and it's lost its value. How often have you heard - "Sorry about that, give me the details and I'll sort this out for you". Far better to say "I apologise for ......" And if you really need to use the sorry word, make sure to include it as part of a full sentence. "I'm sorry you haven't received that information as promised Mr Smith". (It's also good practise to use the customers name in a difficult situation).

4 - Empathise - Using empathy is an effective way to deal with the customer’s feelings. Empathy isn't about agreement, only acceptance of what the customer is saying and feeling. Basically the message is - "I understand how you feel". Obviously this has to be a genuine response, the customer will realise if you're insincere and they'll feel patronised.

Examples of empathy responses would be - "I can understand that you're angry", or "I see what you mean". Again, these responses need to be genuine.

5 - Build rapport - Sometimes it's useful to add another phrase to the empathy response, including yourself in the picture. - "I can understand how you feel, I don't like it either when I'm kept waiting". This has the effect of getting on the customer's side and builds rapport. Some customer service people get concerned with this response as they believe it'll lead to - "Why don't you do something about it then". The majority of people won't respond this way if they realise that you're a reasonable and caring person.

If they do, then continue empathising and tell the customer what you'll do about the situation. "I'll report this to my manager" or "I'll do my best to ensure it doesn't happen in the future".

Make no mistake about it; customers, be they internal or external, are primarily driven by their emotions. It's therefore important to use human responses in any interaction particularly when a customer is upset or angry. If customers like you and feel that you care, then they're more likely to accept what you say and forgive your mistakes..

Answer 4

Courteously. I would try to help them the same as any other. Without customers, I would be out of a job.

Answer 5

relax, always be cheerful and stay positive no matter how things turn out to be :)

stay relaxed keeps ya mind alert and ya can answer the customers even better and that will assure the customers that you are genuinely care about them

Answer 6

People have no power in their lives remember that. The retail environment is the only place people can raise their voice and feel strong. Disarm them and you will be fine or get the hell out of retail it's awful and the American public is unbearable.

Answer 7

Just smile no matter what happens, they are the customer.

Answer 8

My attitude usually mirrors theirs, but I try to be extra nice to a-hole customers, because it annoys them even more.

Answer 9

I try to be nice no matter what they say! It makes them mad but sometimes I slip <3

Answer 10

think about them nude and oh wait, that's if your nervous in front ov a crowd, lol. um, just be cool to em and they'll leave eventually