A couple of years ago I had a call from a Customer Service Manager working in the paper industry. He wanted me to run a seminar for his team, on "How to Deal with Difficult Customers".
I had several telephone conversations with this manager organising dates, times and getting to understand his business. If I was to describe his style on the telephone I would use words like, businesslike, cold, curt and somewhat impatient. I started to realise that if I was one of his customers then I might have been a bit "difficult". He certainly knew his business and I don't think he was a bad person but warm and friendly - forget it.
There are actually very few genuinely difficult customers in the world. And I hear you say - "we've got all of them". However the majority of customers in the world are reasonable people. They may not think the way, look the way, sound the way that you do. However they are your customers and if you want their business then you've got to deal with them. They may get "difficult" from time to time if they feel they've been let down. It's how you handle them that'll determine if they continue to be a problem or if you can turn them around.
Difficult customers and situations usually occur because some part of our core service has failed or the customer perceives it to have failed. We've not delivered on time, the customer has the wrong product, it doesn't work or it's not what the customer expected. What happens then is, the customer comes to the interaction with us in a negative frame of mind. It's what happens then that'll decide whether they deal with us again or bad mouth us to other people.
The trick is not just to concentrate on fixing the core service issues. Telling the customer that you'll replace the product, deliver it in half an hour or knock something off the price, isn't the answer. Sometimes you may not have an answer and the customer is going to hear "NO". However as you're aware, it's how you say "NO" that matters. Let's consider some of the reasons customer interactions go wrong and why they may become more "difficult".
* We don't care. - We don't sound or look as if we care, are concerned or appreciate the customer's situation. Maybe you do care, however you've really got to say caring words and look and sound as if you care. After all, the customer can't read your mind.
* We don't listen. - Too often we try to jump in with solutions and don't allow the customer to vent their feelings. Again we need to show the customer that we're listening by what we say, how we say it and our body language.
* We let the customer "get to us". We often allow the customers attitude to irritate or annoy us. This becomes obvious to the customer, again through our tone of voice, our body language and only fuels a difficult situation.
* We use the wrong words. - There are certain trigger words that cause a customer to become more difficult. Some of these are "cant, have to, sorry 'bout that". Even your organisation's jargon can have a negative effect on a customer interaction.
* We don't see it from the customer's point of view. - Too often customer service people think the customer is making too much of a fuss. They think - "What's the big deal, we'll fix it right away". The thing is, it is a big deal for the customer and they want us to appreciate that.
Customers will often judge the level of your service based on how well you recover from a difficult situation and they're very likely to forgive you if you do it well.
Discover how you can generate more business without having to cold call! Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Sales without Selling" This book is packed with practical things that you can do to ? get customers to come to you . Click here now http://www.howtogetmoresales.com/Witho ut%20Selling.htm
![]() Google News Updated : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:07:30 GMT US Jobless Rate Climbs Past 6%, Highest Since ’03 - New York Times New York Times - By LOUIS UCHITELLE The unemployment rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, its highest level in five years, pushing the troubles of American workers to the center of the political debate as the presidential campaign enters its final weeks. Jobless rate at 5-year high Unemployment, mortgage delinquencies soar in worrisome sign for ... Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 02:04:03 GMT A pair of Coens might as well be one at Toronto - Reuters
Reuters - By Janet Guttsman TORONTO (Reuters) - There is a reason they are called the Coen Bros., and not Joel Coen and Ethan Coen: they might as well be one person. Pitt Rocks to Madonna The Coens’ Funny Bones Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:13:38 GMT Obama and McCain to Make Joint Sept. 11 Visit to Ground Zero - Washington Post
Washington Post - By Michael D. Shear COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- John McCain and Barack Obama announced today that they will visit Ground Zero in New York on Thursday to mark the seventh anniversary of the 9-11 attacks that brought down the Twin Towers. McCain's new cast of thousands, all unknown Liking McCain pick, but not McCain Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:48:49 GMT Rosetta spacecraft takes asteroid photos - United Press International
United Press International - PARIS, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- The Rosetta spacecraft has captured images of an asteroid in orbit more than 220 million miles from Earth, a European Space Agency official says. European space probe completes asteroid fly by Spacecraft flies by remote asteroid, camera stops Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:33:25 GMT Rejuvenated Federer Overpowers Djokovic to Reach Final - New York Times
New York Times - By LIZ ROBBINS Roger Federer was acing like old times - up the middle, out wide, serving up even more frustration for the snarling Novak Djokovic. Federer tames Djokovic to reach final Federer rolls into another US Open final Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:19:52 GMT Stunner - Alex Smith listed as doubtful - San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle - The 49ers just called and said quarterback Alex Smith is "doubtful" for tomorrow's season-opener against the visiting Cardinals. 49ers QB Smith doubtful for Sunday Alex Smith injures shoulder, doubtful for Sunday Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:20:25 GMT Mozilla updates Firefox 3.1 with Alpha 2 build - Computerworld
Computerworld - By Gregg Keizer September 6, 2008 (Computerworld) Mozilla Corp. on Friday launched the second alpha of Firefox 3.1, adding new video support and boosting the speed of some JavaScript computations. Chrome's JavaScript challenge to Silverlight NetSuite Says Chrome-optimized Apps Are Flying Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:15:17 GMT Display RSS Feeds on Your Website |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... A few months ago, I wrote about ingenious styles of... Read More The best way to explain this concept is to tell... Read More Customer service is an integral part of our job and... Read More Quest for new clients shouldn't ignore those who pay the... Read More The relationship between customer satisfaction and success of a service... Read More Every time my firm conducts communication skills training, we know... Read More "Every company's greatest assets are its customers, because without customers... Read More As I waited for an answer to my VCR inquiry... Read More Different people call their Customers by different names. If they... Read More Have you ever been in a department store and known... Read More Customer service is increasingly seen as one of the most... Read More 7:00 a.m., the silence in the house is broken by... Read More Customer service is an essential component of any business. Clearly,... Read More With Some Tips on How to RespondTt has probably happened... Read More One of the mantras we hear repeatedly in business is... Read More Are wholesale buyers and retail customers really different? Frankly, there... Read More So today was the day where I almost stopped going... Read More Do you remember the last time you went into a... Read More One of the basics of acting taught to me in... Read More If you think customer relationship management is just a piece... Read More In a strange juxtapositioning of articles, this month's UK '... Read More Customer retention is vital to a business. If you cannot... Read More With customers being smarter, more cost conscious, more product knowledgeable... Read More Want to know the secret for keeping your clients forever?... Read More The call center represents your first line of communication with... Read More
Adsense
websites
Sorry, No Customer Service After 4:00 P.M.
Making Your Contacts Work For You
At Your Service: The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service!
Dont Forget your Existing Clients
Customer Satisfaction and the Service Business
Why Communication Skills Dont Work In Customer Service
8 Critical Steps to Establish a Customer Service Culture
Customer Service Has Moved Toward Customer Care
What?s in a Name?
Customer Feedback: Everyone has an Opinion - USE IT!
Is your Online Business Customer-Friendly?
My Child Has Opie Eye!
How to Provide Instant Customer Service
6 Reasons Why Complaining Customers are Golden
DONT Give Your Customers What They Want!
Wholesale Buyers Versus Retail Customers
Customer No Service - How to Lose a Loyal Customer!
Whatever Happened To Customer Service?
All of the World of Business Is a Stage
7 Bits Of Critical Information You Cant Afford NOT To Know About Your Customers
Listening to Customers - 5 Tips
How to Retain Your Customers the Dish Network Way
First Contact: The Source of Customer Loyalty
Client Appreciation - It Means Everything!
Call Center Software - Your Tool of Choice in Customer Relations
Five minutes into the call I knew this client was... Read More
Having been in business a number of years, I'm amazed... Read More
Q: In a recent column you made the point that... Read More
Customer service today is getting worse. Win customers over and... Read More
What I am about to tell you may seem very... Read More
Delight = Customer Expectation plus 1. This was the simple... Read More
You probably spend a great deal of your time looking... Read More
How often has your schedule been thrown out of whack... Read More
The relationship between customer satisfaction and success of a service... Read More
A client recently said to me: "Most days things seem... Read More
There are five techniques that have been proven to be... Read More
The other day while at the book store, I came... Read More
Looking For Ways to Improve Sales and Customer Relationships?Find Out... Read More
Q: One of the big chain bookstores recently opened up... Read More
You try to make your customers happy. You sincerely WANT... Read More
The buzz is all about customer service and call center... Read More
Yesterday I went to buy a sandwich at a franchised... Read More
Whether online or off, if you plan on running or... Read More
If you've called for customer service recently you're familiar with... Read More
One of the most important questions people ask when they... Read More
- Excerpt from Richard Saporito's latest e-book "How to Improve... Read More
Do you have good customer service? Even for your free... Read More
Our most powerful instinct is to avoid customer complaints, but... Read More
Why bother? Good customer service is the life blood of... Read More
Are you concerned about customer loyalty? Are your customers so... Read More
Customer Service |