Informing

Defusing Tense Situations

Angry Customers• What do you do when you

have angry customers who

come into your office or

work place and start yelling

at you?

• Do you get upset and

yelling back?

• Do you ignore the

customer’s complaint and

tell them to leave?

Copyrights © 2007 – Retail Mavens Blog

First Experience • My first assistant manager

position in an auto-shop was

anything but a pleasant one

• I had disgruntled customers

• Unsatisfied customers

• Customers who fought every

little thing I did to get a cheaper

price

• Worst of all “Angry” customers

CluelessAt first I was lost and usually sent the customer to

the manager but as time went by I learned that

letting the angry customers vent made them calm

I learned to firmly and nicely say NO

In the end I ended up more able to deal with

customers than my boss

Learning CurveIs it hard for us as humans to

change our nature

We have written in our genetic

coding to be confrontational

We defend ourselves from

verbal attacks by attacking back

We fight fire with fire

Customers are always rightOne thing I learned and was

taught is that customers are

always right

• You should always try to agree

with the customer whether you

think they’re right or wrong

• Don’t fight with the customer

• Don’t argue with the customer

• Don’t be aggressive

Spoken wordsThere is one word in which you

should always use when dealing with

a upset customer or person

“LETS”

It helps the person feel like you’re

listening and care about their

problems

(Wourio, 2010)

Spoken words“Let’s go over what happened” will help ease the tension drastically as it forces

the person to think about what went wrong and not only to vent their anger

(Wourio, 2010)

What do you do?• When confronted by an angry person don’t

panic as it will cloud your thoughts and

judgement

• Stay as calm as possible

• Speak in a nice friendly voice and let the

person know that you care

• Sympathize with the person

(Gadfly, 2008)

What not to do!

What ever it is that has made

the person upset don’t

Blame the problem on other

people like your boss! As that

most like won’t go well with

him/her and it’ll make it seem

as if you don’t want to deal

with the problem

(Gadfly, 2008)

What not to do!

Don’t blame the products as

the customer or person will

most likely get more angry as

they ask you why you sold

them a defective product in

the first place

So you’ll now have two

problems to deal with plus a

lower level of respect and trust

from the person

(Gadfly, 2008)

Apology

When you’ve finally gotten the problem solved

and the situation is somewhat calm it doesn’t

mean it’s done and over with

You’ve got to apologize to the customer even if

you think the person was wrong

Having a person leave happy and thinking they’re

right is better for business and personal image

than arguing over who’s right

(Gadfly, 2008)

ExceptionThere is one exception to the

customer always being right

There are always going to be

people who just want to start

trouble and make everyone

miserable

Sometimes you have to

sacrifice one persons happy-

ness for the happy-ness of a

group (If you’re running a

business)

(Gale, 2008)

ConclusionIn the end whether you’re running a

business or dealing with people you should

always treat them with respect and dignity

• Treat them as a person

• Show sympathy

• Verbally tell them that you care and are

going to do something about it

• Even if they are wrong it doesn’t hurt to

act like they’re right (unless it’s a big

deal)

• Learn to have control over your actions

• Jeff Wourio (2010) 7 ways to defuse angry customers, retrieved November 13, 2010, Microsoft Business, http://www.microsoft.com/business/en-us/resources/management/customer-relations/7-ways-to-defuse-angry-customers.aspx#waystodefuseangrycustomers

• Gabriel Gadfly (2008, December 15) How to defuse an angry customer, Retrieved November 13, 2010, Business and Finance, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1277766/how_to_defuse_an_angry_customer.html?cat=3

• Gale (2008), Tough customers: cool heads can defuse heated exchanges: with difficult diners remain calm and n control, but know when to ask them to leave, industry experts say, Retrieved November 13, 2010, Cengage Learning, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_38_39/ai_n15631756/

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