20 Ways to Handle Difficult Customers at Your Call

Center

Introduction

• Dealing with difficult caller is always a difficult task. • Your brand image can be improved or deteriorated by a simple dialogue that is why agents are responsible and liable for customer experiences.• So, it can become fairly a depressing job sometimes. • However, it’s significant to provide your call center agents with the proper tools, training and call center software to help them deal with difficult customer behavior with elegance.

Ways to Handle Difficult Customers

Listen to your CustomerBe Empathetic towards ClientDon’t Raise Your VoiceDon’t think that you are speaking to just one CustomerYou Should Know When to StopDon’t Get Upset or AngryDon’t Take Things PersonallyBe HumanTimely Follow-Up

Summarize at the end of callDon’t Make Customer WaitApologize for the problemTry to Retain the ClientWin over Clients with KindnessMeet Customer ExpectationsReassure the CallerAlways stick to the pointMake it difficult for the customer to stay angryAvoid Saying NOShow Customers You Care

1. Listen to Your Customers

• Listen to their ranting and try to note down the important details.• Do not try to interrupt your customer. • Do not argue with them. • Do not try to stop their rambling. • Do not try to prove that you know better. • Let your customer speak as much as they want to and let them get their frustration out.

2. Be Empathetic towards Clients

• Put yourself in the shoes of your customer.• Make it a point to realize what they feel. • Try to feel what your customers are going through and speak to them accordingly. • That will help you build a bond with your customer.

3. Don’t Raise your Voice

• The customer who is being difficult is likely to speak in a tone that is higher than normal.• Lower your tone and speak in a calm voice.• That can have two effects, i.e. it brings down the anger of the customer himself as well as it averts an ugly situation where both the customer and the agent are engaged in a battle of words.

4. Don’t Think that You are Speaking to Just One Customer

• You should be more careful of what you say and most importantly, how you say it.• Your style of speaking would be more sophisticated and refined and just right for difficult customers.

5. You Should Know When to Stop

• Difficult customers exist for the only reason to make your job harder for you and you shouldn’t let it get to you. • You should know when to give in.• There comes a point during the communication when there’s no point in speaking more. • Then, the wisest thing you can do is to surrender and escalate the case to your superior.

6. Don’t Get Upset or Angry

• As a customer care agent, you are taught to handle difficult situations and customers.• It is your task to ensure that the situation doesn’t go out of hand or that it doesn’t escalate.• Naturally, you as the customer care agent must keep calm and maintain composure. • This will help balance the tensed situation.

7. Don’t Take Things Personally

• Keep in mind, all that client says is in a fit of rage.• In a moment of anger, they could perhaps be trashing your company and your customer care.• But that doesn’t mean they are attacking your individually.• If you feel your rage slithering up gradually, take a deep breath and repeat the above to yourself.

8. Be Human

• The customers aren’t infuriated without a reason. • Something must have gone wrong for them to reach this point.• As the customer care agent, it would be better if you could try and understand their condition and put yourself in their shoes.

9. Timely Follow-Up

• Don’t make empty promises. Empty promises speak volumes about the kind of customer service you offer.• Use the best call center management software which permits you to recall the customer routinely. • That not only makes your work easier for you but also ensures that you never miss a call.

10. Summarize at the End of Call

• You must put all the details regarding the call in call center software solutions. • List the steps they have to take and all that they have to do all over again. • That helps the customer understand better and would ensure that they don’t face similar troubles in the future.

11. Don’t Make Customers Wait Longer

• Efficiency is the one thing customers really want from you.• When you are completely aware of the issues faced by client, you should get to work as quickly as possible.• They would calm down because you’re giving them what they want. • If you know what’s to be done, then don’t wait around. Do it. • Prove yourselves to the customer..

12. Apologize for Problem Caused

• This is the first formality that you need to get out of the way. • It makes the customer feel validated and that you aren’t ignoring his problem altogether. • Thus, apologize before you proceed to the solution.

13. Try to Retain Customers

• You need to take every measure to pacify them and even please them.• One way of doing so is offering them compensation.•  If you feel that you are on the verge of losing a customer, offer them free goodies or discounts, whatever suits you. • That is sure to win the customer over again.

14. Win Over Clients with Kindness

• When the extremely annoyed customer calls you up, you would know from their tone that they are in a fit of rage. • Be extra courteous and polite to them. • Try to be empathetic and kind to them.• But don’t overdo it

15. Reassure the Caller

• Reassure the customers that you are looking into it and that you will do your best to solve it.• Console them and tell them that calling you was the right thing to do. • Or that you are ready to listen to anything the customer has to say. • Or that you understand why or how the problem is distressing the customer.

16. Meet Customer Expectations

• Show them your enthusiasm to help them out.• Delivering more than what you promised is a smart policy that you must have learnt about in your training sessions. • If you promise less than what you deliver, it sets the expectations low. • That way, when you surpass the expectations, your customers are left surprised and blown away by services.• Make sure you exceed their expectations.

17. Always Stick to the Point

• When it comes to difficult customers, it can be pretty easy to stray from the problem as they are way very sensitive and want to focus more on why they are angry.• As a trained customer care agent, it is estimated that you would be able to steer the conversation accordingly and would be able to stick to the facts. • Remaining facts in these cases is crucial so that you don’t anger the customer any further.

18. Don’t Let Customers to Remain Angry

• When the customer calls up to yell at you, they are yelling at the company in general but you become the middleman.• Make them realize that you have a separate identity. • Make them understand that though you represent the company, you aren’t the COMPANY. • That would not only calm down the customer but would also prevent them from attacking you personally.

19. Avoid Saying NO

• The last thing an infuriated customer wants to hear is “no”.• It would actually make matters worse. • It might fuel their anger and they might even hang up. • You definitely want to avoid such nasty situations at all costs. It could permanently hamper your relationship with your customer.

20. Show Customers You Care

• This is equally important for all customers – but for difficult callers, you need to give them special attention. • You need to make them feel wanted, cared for, understood and you need to show them that you are empathetic.• You need to give the customer what he or she wants and you need to give it to them in a manner that they want.

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