Managing an Angry Customer

Managing an Angry Customer

This time I'm going to share a few ideas about how to manage an angry customer. In business, one of the worst things that can happen is when one of your most important clients gets angry about something. We’ve all been through it at one moment or another, and it can be quite disconcerting.

Perhaps the first reaction is to answer back; point out that the client is wrong, it's only a minor misunderstanding that can easily be rectified, that the incident was their fault, not yours… Although very tempting, this kind of natural, spontaneous reaction is one to be avoided since it may lead to a breakdown in this professional relationship or even the loss of the client.

As a result, when a client of mine mentions this kind of situation, I  suggest the following five-step solution...

Five-step solution to managing an angry customer

N°1. Keep calm

I know, it's not easy at all. You probably want to shout back, but don’t… you’ll regret it later. Count to ten (or even a hundred or even higher if necessary) before you start talking.

Above all, don’t allow yourself to get dragged into an argument.

N°2. Let them speak… and listen carefully

Again, not easy, but also important. Quite often, once the anger has been expressed, the angry customer will calm down, they’ll feel better that they've managed to get something off their chest… and in some cases they might even apologise because they know they've gone over the top. So, try to keep some sort of distance and rather than be side tracked by the emotional aspect of the outburst, focus instead on the person’s message.

Pay attention to specific facts rather than feelings.

N°3 Wait for the right moment

Observe your client carefully and look for the signs that indicate that they're coming to the end of their rant… and try to intervene then (having of course already counted to ten or to a hundred and thought carefully about what you want to say and how you're going to say it).

N°4 Start building on common ground

Rather than apologising for everything or trying to justify the actions which caused this anger, try to adopt a neutral and a conciliatory tone. Welcome the opinions expressed with something like “given what you’ve just said, it’s obvious how important this is for you. It seems that we need to get to the bottom of this and look for a solution. What do you think?”

Either your client will refuse your offer, but probably respect you for trying, or they’ll respond to this conciliatory approach.

I’ve found that most reasonable people do prefer this method.

N°5 Find the best immediate solution

Do all you can to agree on something. It may be as small as an acceptance of your apology and an agreement to meet at a later stage to talk more calmly, or it could be something more dramatic such as your offering to perform a complete overhaul of your relevant internal procedures.

Reassure your client by using the Q-R-V formula (if you remember it's Question-Reformulate-Validate); make sure you really have understood their position don’t just assume you have, since this could lead to further problems of course! In short, Assume Nothing-Validate Everything (A-N-V-E).

But the story doesn’t stop here. If you’ve promised to do something... do it!

Respect the agreed deadline; send whatever documents are required, and so on.

Carry out a very detailed and thorough internal enquiry. Don’t just ask the question “why” once, ask it at least five times to get to the bottom of the matter. What do I need to put in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again for example?

Inform your client of these conclusions and new procedures. It will demonstrate that you really have taken their comments seriously and you want to continue working together in the best conditions possible.

In short, rather than lose a valuable customer, you’ve managed to defuse a difficult situation and strengthen their respect and loyalty. And that's quite an achievement.

Of course, managing an angry customer is in no way an easy thing to do, but it’s probably easier than trying to find new customers … especially if they’ve already heard about how you let down the last one…