Cool Down Customer Temper Tantrums

About 80% of respondents to the 2011 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer from each of ten nations say that small businesses place a greater emphasis on customer service than do large businesses.
     Over 70% of U.S. and Canadian consumers report they’ve spent more because they’ve experienced continuing good customer service from staff at that business. The highest percentages were 86% for Mexican consumers and 80% for consumers in India.
     However, when the small business doesn’t get it right, the results can be upsetting. About 56% of the U.S. survey respondents say they’ve lost their temper with a customer service professional. The highest figure, at 86%, was for Mexico, and the lowest, but still considerable at 37%, was for Germany. Of the U.S. and Canadian consumers, 16% said they used profanity when losing their temper. It was 13% for Mexico and 7% for Germany.
     Handling an angry consumer who’s using offensive language requires finesse. The formula for action:

• Allow the person to express their anger in bursts of up to about thirty seconds. This gives you sufficient time to understand their point well enough to ask further questions of clarification. Beyond about thirty seconds, though, there’s the risk of the person getting more and more wound up rather than easing off on their anger.
• Listen attentively. At the onset, resist the urge to interrupt or even to decide what you will say. Then as you get closer to the thirty-second mark, decide what you’d like to reply.
• Avoid interrupting the person in the middle of a sentence. Wait for them to take a breath and then begin to talk. Keep your voice decisive, but calm.
• When the shopping experience itself has been responsible for the consumer’s anger, ask questions like, “What may I do to make things right?” Then decide what action is wisest and either do it or tell the customer when you will do it.
• If you conclude that the customer’s anger is not caused by experiences in your store, say something like, “I treasure our customer’s business, and I’m always looking for ways my store can improve. What suggestions do you have?”

     Keep it brief. Findings from research at University of Maryland and Yale University indicate that too much talking will lock into the shopper's mind the bad feelings they're experiencing, and those negative memories make it less likely they'll buy from you in the future.

Click below for more:
Redirect Consumer Boycott Anger
Avoid Locking In Bad Moods
Tally the Costs of Customer Service