A customer is always right, and therefore, a business struggles to create exceptional customer service. However, dealing with customers, incredibly dissatisfied or difficult ones, is not an easy job.

For business owners, it is crucial to learn how to deal with them. It becomes more critical if the niche is the customer service industry. If a customer is satisfied and content with what you offer, it means all is good, but if they are not, you need to put in an effort. Customer complaints are not a bad thing; they give you room for growth.

Remember dealing with angry customers allow you to excel. You can also change a complaint into a happy customer experience, but you need to be patient. Treat every complaint as a gift. Esteban Kolsky, the founder of customer strategy consulting firm ThinkJar, conducted research in which he says that 91% of unhappy customers do not come back to a business or communicate with it.

This article is worth reading for business owners and customer service agents to train their staff to deal with angry customers. Following are ten ways to handle a problematic client, especially if you have just started a new business.

1.Understand Your Customers

It is essential to understand your customer, as every customer has a different personality. Some want attention, while others try to be bossy. Try to know what your customer wants. If they want recognition, encourage them to give suggestions and if your customer wants to be authoritative, provide them with a choice.

2.Respond In a Proper Tone

As we say, a customer is always right. So no matter how loud your customer's tone is, do not respond in the same manner. Keep your tone low, and when you speak up, be polite. This action will calm down your angry customer too.

3.Always Agree

If a client is disappointed and complaining about your product or service, always bob or agree with what they say.  It does not matter if they are right or wrong—all you should understand is that they are your business's valuable clients. Try to negotiate with them. Use sentences like," yes, I understand what you are saying but don't you think….."

This technique cools down your angry customer.

4.Show Some Empathy

Do not defend your position and show some empathy with your client. Understand the point of view of a complaining customer and nod while talking to him. It will calm him down and dissolve the situation. Use kind wording, for instance," Thank you for your feedback; I will look into it….."

5.Listen and Understand

Listening is the best way to resolve an issue.  First, listen to your client with any interruption and then ask a question. For clarifying your customer's concerns, ask a question like what, why, where, when, or what for. Leave the impression that you understand. People usually become reasonable when they believe that they are being understood.

6.Start With a Smile

Smile is one of the world-wide techniques to resolve any conflict. Always put on a smile whenever you encounter an angry client. Giving a smile shows that you are trying to build a friendly relationship with them, which reduces the tension to a significant extent. In this way, you can avoid a harsh scolding.

7.Thank Your Angry Customers

As discussed above, take complaints as a gift, as it allows growth too. Your company can fill the gaps it lacks behind. Say thanks to your dissatisfied customer to let you know where you are lacking instead of not being aware in actual. That could be worse. 

8.Think: Your Customer Is a Human

After your entire difficult client is also a human, and we humans have bad days too. The reason is a busy life and more competition. So if you are a business owner or a customer services representative, while dealing with a complaining customer, always keep in mind that he is a human just like you and has emotions that need to be valued.

One of the customer services representatives of a carpet cleaning business shares his experience of dealing with angry clients. He shared it is important to treat your clients as humans and understand their problems. This way can resolve a dispute.

9.Do Not Take Things on a Personal Level

An unhappy customer of a business at times becomes very aggressive and abusive. Although this is ethically wrong, do not take things personally, even in this case.  If you encounter such a situation, take a deep breath, smile, and ignore. Pretend as if you have not listened.  When he calms down to some extent, come back to the discussion.

Remember, an angry customer does not have anything personal against you; it is just that you are the owner or a company's customer services representative.

10.Say Sorry

Customers bring revenue to your business, so it is vital to make them happy in any way. Accept your fault and say sorry to your valuable clients.  Saying sorry will not harm you or your business.

Think for a moment that if one customer is complaining about your product or service, there are high chances that other people are complaining about it too. But before they also point it out, try to fix the problem and make sure this does not happen in the future.

Our Verdict

Customers are the most critical assets of any business. It is essential to make them happy and keep them loyal for a longer time. However, it becomes tough to deal with a dissatisfied customer at times, but you have to make them calm at any cost. You don't want to lose them.

If you are a customer services representative, we are sure that the above ways must have helped you if you encounter such a situation.