Developing Customer Service Skills For 30+ Years
One of the toughest tasks facing customer service representatives is dealing with angry, frustrated, and difficult customers. Fortunately, there are tried and true methods to defuse these difficult situations professionally, and in ways that save time for everyone.
This section contains tips, techniques, and principles to apply to even the toughest customers no matter what sector: retail, service, regulatory and more. Most are taken from my books. You can browse these books on amazon by clicking here.
Hashtag: #defusingangrycustomers
When your customer believes you are on the same side, the amount of abuse drops to almost nothing How do I use the “We Technique” to send a message I’m working with the difficult customer? Dealing with abusive or difficult customers involves using a number…
How to get a customer who is on the phone, and angry, to stop and listen so you can help I deal with angry customers on the phone. How can I get them to stop talking at me, and start listening? If you deal with…
Surprising behavior stops the other person from running on an abusive auto pilot by pushing him or her to THINK! How can I use surprise as a way to stop an angry or abusive customer from talking at me? One of the biggest challenges in…
Lose control over your own emotions and everyone ends up losing. Why is self-control so important when dealing with difficult customers? When you have anger or aggressiveness directed at you, there’s a natural tendency to respond to the angry customer with your own anger, aggression…
Continuous improvement means learning from our defusing mistakes and successes How can I continue to improve my ability to deal with difficult, aggressive, and insulting customers? Even if you use our Defusing Hostile Customers Workbook, or attend a seminar on the topic of dealing with…
Hot phrases almost automatically cause a negative emotional reaction from the other person What are “hot words” and “hot phrases”, and why should I avoid them with customers? Hot words and hot phrases are words and phrases that tend to provoke emotional reactions in other…
Some methods to keep your cool even with the most annoying customers What techniques, hints, and advice can I use to maintain my cool and self-control when dealing with an obnoxious customer? It’s not easy to maintain self-control when faced with an obnoxious, difficult or…
Disengaging with a customer provides you with breathing space and time for both people to calm down and focus on solving a problem What Is “disengaging from angry customer”, and what is it used for? An angry person tend to to act or think as…
What are possible consequences if I lose my cool and lose self-control with an angry customer? Losing Your Temper With A Customer Means YOU Will Pay The Price and Be Blamed When you “lose your cool” when dealing with an angry or rude customer (we…
CARP reminds us that timing is important when dealing with any upset or angry individual What is the CARP system for defusing angry and difficult customers? The CARP acronym was developed by Robert Bacal to help people in customer service jobs to sequence and time…
