How to Handle a Rude Customer?


Anyone who works in customer service knows how difficult it is to be nice to rude people. Some customers are belligerent, nasty and their main objective is to make your job harder. Rather than lash out and possibly lose your job, here are a few tips to help you cope with rude customers.
 
Keep smiling: In many cases, the rude customers wants to see you upset. Some people have nasty attitudes and they purposely show little respect to individuals who work in the service industry. Rather than react to their baseless complaints, keep a smile on your face. This way, they won't have a reason to complain to your boss or manager.
 
Stay calm: Dealing with a rude customer makes it difficult to continue working. Once the customer leaves, brush off the incident and continue serving your other customers. Take a few moments to calm down. Learn breathing techniques and other exercises to help you relax.
 
Politely ignore: This technique is hard, but effective. At times, a customers will rant and rave over an issue that doesn't involve you. Maybe the price of an item is too high, or the store's policy will not allow them to return an item. Rather than get mad or respond to each individual complaint, let customers express themselves. Afterwards, apologize for any inconvenience. Eventually, they'll get tired and leave.
 
Pity them: Anyone who expresses rudeness for no apparent reason, especially toward someone who is trying to assist them, is likely an unhappy person. Realize that they have the problem, not you. Do your job and assist them. Their bad day should not affect your mood.
 
Remember nice customers: For every rude and nasty customer, there are probably a handful of nice and appreciative customers. Everyone who works in the service industry will eventually encounter a difficult customer. Rather than focus on one bad complaint, reflect on the many nice comments.
 
Ask if they would like to talk to another customer service representative? If a customer is rude and unappreciative, kindly ask whether they would like to be assisted by someone else. Persons who work in the service industry cannot get angry or yell at a customer. However, you can pass them off to a supervisor or manager.
 
Try to help them the best way that you can, and if you can't then refer them to your senior/manager. Ignoring them is definitely not the answer! Try to help them solve the problem. After all, that is your job. The majority of rude customers are just having a bad day. Many times if you just casually say something like "I'm sorry,it sounds like you're having a bad day" or something similar, that's all it takes to diffuse the situation. Many times the customer will realize how they're acting & settle down,maybe even apologize for being so rude-just because you show that you care instead of ignoring them as they rant. Sometimes a little compassion goes a long way!


Article ID: 788
Created: Sat, Jan 15, 2011
Last Updated: Mon, Apr 22, 2019
Author: Administrator

Online URL: https://www.articlediary.com/article/how-to-handle-a-rude-customer-788.html