9 tips for handling difficult customers

9 tips for handling difficult customersEvery business, in every sector, in every industry, is filled with difficult clients or customers who make doing your job 10 times harder than it has to be. After a long day of work, it can be enough to make you rage out or crumple into a ball and weep. When you feel like youre going to lose it, try these 9 helpful strategies instead. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) 1. Show how well you can listen.You know theyre totally in the wrong, but they dont understand that yet. Theyve got the situation or the facts all incorrect and you just cant bear to hear them rehash details that dont make sense. All they hear from your impatience is that theyre not being heard. Try just letting them get it all out. Listen patiently to what they have to say. Let them vent. It will help you set them straight if you understand their position better first and if they feel like youve been paying attention.2. Show empathy.For get for a second that this person is rude, mean, and wrong. Whatever their problem, they really want you to understand and help them. Repeat back what you hear as the major issue. Express your genuine regret that theyre having a rough time, and show an honest willingness to help. Even if you have to fake it, use eye contact, body language, and verbal cues to show you care and are engaged. Dont talk over your customerthis just feels like a power play. Let them schliff first.3. Talk slower and sweeter.Just because your customer raises his or her voice doesnt mean you have to respond in kind. Lower your voice and slow your speech down. The calming effect can be immense. You can still be firmthe last thing you want to do is show your fear. But try to inspire the client to relax just with the way youre speaking.4. Look for nuance.Is their ire coming at you from a place of anger, anxiety, annoyance, or frustration? Getting a more specific sense of where their wrath originates can help you figure out how to tackle neutralizing it. Look at the situation from their point of view and try to figure out what may have triggered their (over)reaction. See if theres anything you can accept blame for or fix easily, and abflug with that.5. Imagine you have an audience.If youre having a hard time keeping your cool, just imagine youre not alone. Rather, pretend youre in a room full of clients or customers. Imagine this audience of people is judging your company on your merits as a problem solver. Keep the tone confident and cool. Playing this trick on yourself is a great way to stay professional and courteous, even when you want to scream.6. Find your foothold.Is there anything, in your customers tirade that makes a little bit of sense? Look for something you can work withbreak down the rant into manageable, actionable chunks and talk your customer through those. Finding even one thing you can solve immediately, however small, can really diffuse a situation and make a customer fe el heard and respected.7. Pretend to be wrong.If you flip the tables and start agreeing with everything your customer says to the point of taking all the blame upon your shoulders (where it doesnt belong), you might just find the customer will soften and start saying things like, Well, I understand its not your fault. Its a bit of a hit-or-miss strategy, but can be super effective in certain situations.8. Give them a parting gift.Your biggest goal as a liaison for your company is to repair the relationship. See if you can give your customer a voucher or a bonus discount of some kindanything to make them feel theyve won.9. Dont take it personally.At the end of the day, some customers cant be reason with and some people are irrationally angry. Its not about you. Its probably not even about the company. Let it wash right off your back. Dont take it home.