One of the simplest and most efficient ways to increase sales and business growth is to offer superior customer service, but doing so isn’t always simple. In order to meet their needs, difficult customers present particular customer service challenges that call for specialized training and methods. The best way for you and your staff to handle a challenging customer will depend on the circumstance, so you should be knowledgeable about a variety of challenging customer scenarios. There are many training resources available if any of your customer service team members need to refresh their knowledge in order to continue serving customers effectively.
The significance of client satisfaction
The success of your business is directly related to how well you can build and maintain relationships with your clients. Over 700 customers participated in a customer satisfaction survey, and 80% of them indicated that poor customer service would make them switch to a competitor.
The customer may not always be easy to deal with, even though “the customer is always right.” Any business owner, particularly those in the customer service sector, should become adept at handling challenging clients. Even companies offering the best goods and services must occasionally deal with irate clients.
It’s critical to have properly trained staff who can deal with challenging individuals and address customer complaints if you want to develop a positive reputation with customers. According to Kim Angeli, founder and CEO of Grateful Box, the first step in making a dissatisfied customer grateful is to thank them for sharing their negative experience with you.
With a dissatisfied client, “our natural response is to get defensive and get into a negative mindset,” said Angeli. “The response is unusual for them once you flip the switch and begin with ‘thank you. This is effective in all industries, and the results are amazing once the leadership, sales teams, and customer service teams learn it.
But managing a challenging client doesn’t end there. The techniques and strategies that your team can learn to improve the standard of customer service when interacting with various challenging customers are covered in the following section.
The hurried client
The circumstance: A irritable customer may have been in line longer than usual, be running late for their next appointment, or be restless while you try to address their problem or concern.
How to respond: Be succinct and direct without sounding dismissive of their demeanor. Clearly state the cause of any wait or delay without going into detail. Make sure an impatient customer knows that effort is being invested in resolving the situation.
Present your responses in a favorable light. As opposed to stating that an item is out of stock, you might instead mention that a new delivery is anticipated by a specific date or that you are working quickly to restock the impacted items.
