How to deal with irate customers?

Technical Support Representatives and Customer Service Representatives are always in danger of receiving nasty phone calls from irate customers. Calls like this comes in, almost always, without warning. Nonetheless, TSRs and CSRs must be able to handle each call calmly and skillfully. If handled properly, a call from an irate customer can become a commendation call.

Here are the basic steps that can help us deal with irate customers.


Listen, listen some more and keep listening.

Let the customer vent out their frustrations as interrupting with excuses or possible justifications before the customer has had their complete story will make them angrier than they already are. Wait for the right time to speak and speak with confidence. Paraphrasing is also a good idea as this can make the customer feel that we really are listening. Parroting however should be avoided during this time.

Empathize.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Don't apologize on behalf of the company early in the conversation. Most likely, you still won't know who is at fault. et us deliver a personalized and sincere empathy statement; avoid sounding robotic or reading from a script.

Maintain Professionalism.

Keep your cool. Remember that they are not actually frustrated at you but the actual problem or its effects on them. One irate Customer Service Representative and one irate customer leads to a greater chaos.

Get both sides of the story.

Utilize all your resources effectively and go on a fact finding mission. Get off the phone if you have to but set the customers expectations that you will do everything that you can possibly do to solve the problem. Find out what really is happening. Identify the correct resolution path.

If the facts warrants it, apologize. Never put the blame on anyone, accept that we made a mistake and that we intend to make it right.

Tell them what you can do.

Educate the customer as to the resolution path you identified through fact finding and the outcome that you are expecting. Be realistic and don't promise the impossible. You'll probably need help from another so set the customer's expectation properly as to your support boundary.

The Resolution.

The resolution path has been identified, expectation has been set, customer has been assured, now what's left is to take control of the call and fulfill those promise. You should have your solution database pulled up by this time and is ready to get the issue resolved. Make sure we exhaust all possible troubleshooting steps and utilize all resources (knowledge base or subject matter experts).

If you cannot reach an agreement, you will probably have to bow out gracefully and turn the problem over to somebody else. Make sure that you put that other person in the frame of mind to do their best.

Make sure to do a follow-through.

We should keep a close watch over events and either you or one from your callback team should call the customer with progress reports. If after all the back and forth, there is no follow through, you and your company have blown it.

The best way to deal with an irate customer is to avoid giving them reason to be angry in the first place. Let us handle every call as if its our first call of the day. Production team and all of support tam should work together to identify and eliminate poor procedures that leads to customer dissatisfaction. Then the new methods need to be implemented, applied consistently and improved upon.