Customers are an integral part of the retail business, but not all customers offer a positive experience. As managers or service agents, it’s your responsibility to ensure each interaction goes as smoothly as possible, even when it’s challenging.
But knowing how to deal with difficult customers is much easier when you understand their perspective. Often, these individuals are stressed, frustrated, or feel ignored, which can lead to rising tension.
As with all customer service skills, practicing how to deal with difficult customers can make the next interaction much easier. So, let’s break down some repeatable steps and sample scripts you can use.
Defining Difficult Customers and Triggers
For our purposes, a difficult customer is someone who requires more time and effort to serve. To put it another way, the amount of difficulty a customer creates is directly related to how much they disrupt your operations.
Typically, the ingredients for a difficult customer include strong emotions, high expectations, and a breakdown in communication.
Some common triggers can include:
- Repeated Issues
- Delays or Setbacks
- Unclear Communication or Expectations
- Feeling Dismissed or Ignored
Step-by-Step Escalation Framework
A big part of knowing how to deal with difficult customers is following an escalation framework. This framework will make it easier to know what steps to take that will be most effective in a given scenario when a customer gets difficult or angry.
Here’s an example.
- Stabilize the Situation – Try to calm the customer and anyone else involved.
- Listen to the Customer – Allow them to explain what happened.
- Clarify the Situation – Set expectations, such as company policies or legal precedents.
- Offer Options – Give the customer a choice of what to do next.
- Follow Through With the Next Steps – Help the customer follow through after they decide.
- Document Everything – Write it down when it’s fresh.
Keep in mind that you won’t have to follow through with each step in every situation. Sometimes, stabilizing the environment may be all that’s required. Otherwise, escalations will need to happen when threats or abuse are involved, or if there are any legal or safety risks, such as needing to call the police.
Always make sure to document any incident, even minor ones. This way, you can reference past actions and save time with customer service skills.
Customer Types and Signals
Broadly speaking, there are three types of difficult customers. Here’s a quick overview of how to spot them and what to do next.
Frequent Complainer
This customer archetype often complains across departments and to different customer service reps. Over time, you’ll likely have multiple incidents logged, along with actions taken to improve customer satisfaction.
With this type of customer, it’s best to compile a list of complaints and flag them in your CRM software. This way, you can be proactive about addressing prior concerns, tailor an action plan to suit their needs, and ensure a smoother, faster experience.
Hard to Satisfy Customer
This customer archetype often sets unrealistic expectations and moves the goalpost based on personal feelings. So, what might be satisfactory in one situation could change in the next, making it challenging for a customer to identify their ideal resolution.
For this customer, it’s best to acknowledge their high standards, then define expectations and success metrics.
Indecisive or Unrealistic Customer
The third customer archetype is someone who may not really understand what they need, creating confusion and making it harder to achieve success. This type of customer may also have unrealistic expectations based on unclear or muddled information.
In this case, make sure to ask focused and targeted questions. Set expectations early and provide examples for clarity.
Core Skills to Deal With Difficult Customers
Learning conflict resolution is the same as any other skills required to handle customer satisfaction. Here’s a quick overview of the basic elements that can make dealing with difficult customers easier.
- Active Listening – Most people listen to know how to respond. Active listening is when you listen and ask questions to understand the other person’s point of view.
- Conflict Resolution in Writing – Not all conflicts happen in person. Customer service email templates allow you to engage and de-escalate digitally when necessary.
- Tone and Sentiment Awareness – Using soft language and a lighter tone can go a long way toward de-escalating a tense situation.
- Mirroring Language and Clarifying Intent – Repeat the customer’s words or complaints to verify what they’re really saying.
13 Tips for How to Deal With Difficult Customers
When practicing how to deal with difficult customers, use these 13 tips as examples:
- Remain Calm – Don’t escalate the situation.
- Engage in Active Listening – Listen to understand, not to respond.
- Show Empathy – Customers want to feel heard and understood.
- Provide Accurate Information – Be upfront and honest.
- Identify an Ideal Resolution as Early as Possible – Don’t wait until things escalate.
- Set Realistic Expectations with Next Steps – Make sure everyone is on the same page.
- Document Each Incident in Your CRM – Even minor incidents can help improve customer service.
- Loop in Management When Necessary – Don’t try to handle everything yourself.
- Offer Realistic Options for Next Steps – Don’t set the bar too high.
- Don’t Take Interactions Personally – Rude customers typically aren’t angry with you personally; they are angry with the situation.
- Take a Moment to Pause – Catch your breath. Don’t let emotions get the best of you.
- Follow Up Within a Provided Timeline – Stick to the schedule you set as closely as possible.
- Turn a Negative Incident Into Customer Loyalty – Even a bad experience can create a loyal customer if you handle it right.
Mini Scripts and Templates
Often, a script can help you stay on track and repeat successful de-escalation tactics. Here are three to use in different situations:
Customer Asks to Speak to a Manager
“I’m more than happy to connect you with my manager [name], but before I do, is there anything I can do to help resolve this issue? And may I clarify the problem so I can get the manager on board with the situation?
Handling a Refund for an Angry Customer
“I’m sorry that our services did not meet your expectations, so I’ll get this refund processed as quickly as possible. For our reference, can you explain exactly why the product or service didn’t deliver?”
Responding to a Negative Review
“Thank you so much for your feedback. We appreciate your honesty. I am sorry to hear that our service didn’t satisfy your needs. Is it possible to discuss the situation privately so we can better serve you?”
The Bottom Line
Learning how to deal with difficult customers doesn’t have to be an ordeal. With the right tools and practice, agents and managers can turn negative interactions into a positive experience, leading to customer satisfaction. Schedule a free consultation today to see how Pollack Peacebuilding Solutions can help you improve your business practices.
