We all encounter angry customers from time to time. The customer is dissatisfied for one reason or another. It's unpleasant for the customer, your organisation, and the customer service representative. Customers become angry for various reasons, sometimes justified, sometimes not. Ultimately, you want the customer to hang up the phone or leave the store feeling satisfied. How you or your employee responds to the angry customer is therefore extremely important.

6 steps

How do you turn an angry customer into a satisfied one? Here are 6 steps for dealing with angry customers.

Step 1: Listen to the customer

An angry customer wants to be heard. Therefore, it is firstly important to stay calm and listen to the customer. Don't take it personally, don't engage in a debate, but offer a listening ear. Why is the customer angry? What does the customer want to convey? Ask relevant questions to fully understand the situation.

Step 2: Show understanding and empathy

After the customer has told their story, show them understanding and respect. Repeat their story and summarise the problem. In this way, the customer feels heard and understood, and possible misunderstandings are cleared up. It is also important to show the customer empathy. Do this by saying things like, “I can imagine this is very unpleasant for you.” By being understanding and empathetic, the customer is likely to calm down, enabling you to look for a suitable solution.

Step 3: Offer apologies

It's also important to apologise, whether you think the customer is right or not. A simple “I’m sorry that you're not satisfied with our product” is often enough to calm the customer a bit.

Step 4: Find a solution

The customer naturally wants an appropriate solution to the problem. Come up with a good solution yourself or ask the customer what they see as a good solution. Often that is enough to reach a resolution. Try to solve the problem above expectations so that the customer is satisfied again.

Step 5: Fulfil your promise

Once you have found an appropriate solution, it is crucial to keep this promise. Failing to fulfil promises is one of the greatest annoyances to customers, particularly angry customers. So be careful with what you promise, and if you do promise something, make sure to fulfil that promise within the agreed time.

Step 6: Prevent the next angry customer

What do you do with the information from the conversation? Can you document or track this somewhere so that you can ultimately prevent it from happening again? The customer service of every organisation holds a wealth of information that can be used to optimise products, services, or service itself. Identify the cause of the problem and consider how to prevent this in the future. Follow the above steps and you will have resolved a complaint from an angry customer in a professional manner. Take a short breather, and you'll be ready to attend to the next customer!