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Fear not the angry customer.  He is not the enemy!  Quite to the contrary, he is possibly one of the best friends your business has!

Certainly, every business has had to deal with an angry customer or two, some more than others.  But if we can get past the anger, the tone of voice, the occasional insult or invective, we realize that the customer is speaking to us because, although he feels that he has been wronged, he also feels that we can help correct the situation.  And this, friends, is a golden opportunity to win and solidify your customer’s loyalty.

Studies have repeatedly shown that a customer who has had a problem successfully and amicably resolved tends to be more loyal to that business than a customer who has never experienced a problem with said business.  Now, we are by no means advocating that your business should intentionally mess up, so that they can then cheerfully fix the problem and gain their customer’s undying admiration.  However, when that situation arises (and it will) where things do not go the way the customer had hoped, smart businesses use that opportunity to fix the error quickly and happily.  They also learn from the error to ensure that it does not occur again.  And this is where the angry customer helps you.

As all customer-focused businesses know, the world revolves around the customer, not the business.  So when the angry customer calls, it is imperative to let him say his piece.  Do not try to resolve his issue before he’s had a chance to explain not only the nature of his problem, but also the ramifications this problem has had on his life.  This is often where service calls quickly go awry.

Many businesses place a high value on resolving calls quickly, so that the customer service rep can get on with the next call.  Many call centers and service centers measure average length of call or interaction, and reward their reps for lowering the amount of time spent per incident.  While this particular metric seems important to the internal operations of many businesses, I have rarely, if ever, heard a customer say that the most important aspect of their call was to get off the phone quickly as possible.  Frankly, if a customer is concerned enough about an issue to call or visit a business, then he wants that business to know the exact nature of that problem, and why that problem is bothering him.

While it may not always be a pleasant experience, this is just the kind of information that businesses need to hear in order to hone their operations.  Working under the premise that businesses want to provide the best products and services possible to their customers, it stands to reason that these businesses would want to hear what has gone wrong, and the ramifications of that mishap.  Unfortunately, if service reps are rewarded for quickly ending calls, or worse yet, if the reps simply don’t want to be barked at by customers, then an opportunity to collect valuable knowledge on serving your company’s audience is lost.  Also lost is any hope of a repeat sale, because that customer’s next purchase is going from your competitor.

When your organization makes an error, or offends a customer in some way, an apology to the customer is in order.  There are right ways and wrong ways of handling this.  If we want to successfully recover from this mishap, it behooves us to know the best way to apologize.  First thing is to shut up and listen – do not try addressing the problem or the solution until the customer is done saying what he wants to say.  Other than asking questions to clarify the problem, your initial response should be empathetic: “Oh that is not good!  I can understand why that would be upsetting to you.”

 Then, it is imperative that the next words out of your mouth are, “Thank you for telling me about this issue.” Thanking a customer for complaining not only disarms some of the customer’s anger, but it also sets the expectation for the resolution of the issue.  This should be followed immediately by sincerely saying, “I apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced.” Then, and only then, should you start to discuss the resolution, or explanation, of the problem.

This is not the time for a sarcastic or humorous response, even if the customer begins the call in a decent mood.  Nothing will pour fuel on the fire more than giving the customer the feeling that you think his problem is a joke.  Nor should you ever make lame excuses.  The customer does not care (nor should he care) that you have a pile of work on your desk, or that two co-workers have called in sick.  That is your problem, not his.  He called to talk about his problem!  And never place the blame for his problem on another employee / department / vendor, or heaven forbid, on the customer himself!  Even if it’s true, that is not what your customer wants or needs to hear at this point of the conversation.  The goal here is to resolve the issue to the customer’s satisfaction, not to get the heat off of you!

Most importantly, do not EVER use the dreaded phrase “Company Policy.”  Let me repeat that for effect.  Never, ever use the phrase “Company Policy” as an excuse or explanation for a customer problem.  Why?  First of all, company policies are written with the company in mind, not the customers.  Oftentimes, they are created with the intent of blocking any underhanded schemes your customers may have in mind to get over on your business.  The problem there is that just a tiny fraction of your customers are even thinking about getting over on your business.  Thus, the majority of your customers are bearing the brunt of your paranoia because of a devious few.  Not a good strategy.  You will alienate more good customers than you will foil conniving ones.

 But even when your policies are in place for a good reason, still do not use the phrase “Company Policy.”  It is fraught with negativity.  Instead of saying, “It’s our policy to do this…,” simply explain WHY the policy is in place.  “In order to reduce fraud, we collect name and phone number information for every call we take.”  Invoking the “P-word” is very similar to what your mom used to say when you questioned why you had to do something: “Because I’m your mother and I said so!”  Trust me, your customers are not going to fall in line just because your policy tells them this is the way it is.  If there is a good reason for your policy, then share that reason with your customer.  If there is no real good reason for the policy, then re-examine that policy – it may be causing customer unrest!

 One of the most important aspects of providing world-class service is having thick enough skin so that you can hear beyond the customer’s anger, and understand the cause of that anger.  Then, and only then, can you go about resolving that problem and gaining a loyal customer.

                                    -- Charles Dennis, Knowledgence Associates

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