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We all make mistakes when it comes to attempting to help a frustrated customer. Why? It’s usually because we are rushing or panicking due to the way the customer may be reacting. Here this post will be taking you through 5 mistakes you make with frustrated customers that you may not even know that you are doing!
Let’s be honest, handling angry customers can be quite stressful, especially when you are resolving customer issues and trying to concentrate. Responding to customer complaints is one of the most stressful tasks you can be doing within your business. So, lets help you through dealing with upset clients and talk about the 5 mistakes you probably don’t even know you are doing!
By being aware of your actions, you can improve your customers experience little by little each day.
This post is all about the 5 mistakes you make with frustrated customers.
Customer Frustration Management
Have you ever experienced a frustrated customer? If you haven’t you are a very rare being! Customers get frustrated with everything nowadays, and why is that? We have become people who have everything at our fingertips and also expect everything to work right now! This is really fascinating as growing up this just wasn’t how things worked, not for me anyway. You had to wait for your favourite show to come on TV once a week, if the shops were shut that was that. There was definately no Amazon parcels landing on your door the next day.
Times have certainly changed and we need to keep up to date and in the loop. It’s very important to keep you customers happy and to make sure they have a great experience as otherwise they will just find someone else, it’s as simple as that.
Stick around to find out five mistakes you are making, which makes the matter worse. Let’s turn those frustrated customers into happy, healthy customer relationships.
(Now be sure to pin this to your pinterest to be able to refer back and keep yourself accountable.)
I have now been working with customers through customer support, technical support, and building customer experiences for the past 12 years. I’ve learned a tonne of tips and tricks about frustrated customers and especially how to deal with them.
Mistake No.1 – Rising to an Argument
The first issue is that you rise to the argument. It can be really difficult when someone is potentially shouting at you to not shout back. But if you do this, it makes the situation 10 times worse. Handling angry customers is NOT easy.
The trick here is to take a deep breath, and let the customer get whatever they need off their chest. Listen and ask questions to fully understand what has happened and why the customer is feeling such rage of emotions.
Let’s just recognise before we move on that this can be very difficult to deal with, you are human and can get better and better at this as time goes on. Try and keep your cool, but make sure you empathise with the customer, you don’t want the customer thinking you are ignoring their reaction by staying calm.
Mistake No.2 – Not Listening to Customer Complaints: Why Active Listening Is Crucial
Number two, you don’t allow the customer to talk. It’s vital to allow the customer to get whatever they need out and that you actually listen to what they are saying. Understanding the customer before providing a solution is key, and I know you are all very keen to resolve the issue but sometimes you can be resolving the wrong issue or not providing the BEST or most suitable solution. The issue will just go on for longer than it needs to if you don’t use your listening ears.
Mistake No.3 – Delaying Your Response: The Impact of Slow Customer Service on Satisfaction
Mistake number three, you don’t keep the customer updated and you make them wait too long for the response. Not keeping customers updated because you don’t have an update is the worst thing you can do. And I know you are thinking ‘Well, what do I say then?!’…
What you need to do is drop a message to the customer every few days (or when you have said you will), even if it’s to say you’re still working on it, and we’ll provide another update as soon as possible. Basically what this does is it lets them know that you haven’t forgotten about them or their issue.
Here’s an example:
Hi Fred,
Thanks for your call last Tuesday reporting that you are unable to log into your account. I wanted to let you know that we are still looking into this for you and will provide an update tomorrow afternoon.
Thank you for your patience,
Name
Company, etc
This way you have provided an update by saying you will give an update on Wednesday. The customer is happy that you are working on it and you have given yourself more time to resolve the issue. If you get to the time where you have promised an update and the issue is still not fixed, still email the customer with the fact that the issue is turning out to be harder to resolve than expected. Do not forget to email the customer, this is super important as you have promised.
For example:
Hi Fred,
Unfortunately, I have not managed to resolve your log on issue as of yet. Therefore I have asked the website development team to advise on my next actions. I will touch base with you again tomorrow afternoon and let you know if I have managed to fix the issue.
Many thanks,
Name
Company, etc
Now this is only an example for resolving customer issues and you need to keep on brand with the way that you speak. However, it is a good example of keeping your customers up to date and happy on the other end!
Mistake No.4 – Providing Inadequate Solutions: How to Resolve Customer Issues Effectively
And number four, you don’t resolve the problem. Don’t lead on the customer to believe you’re going to resolve the issue. If that’s not possible, be honest and provide an alternative solution, which could be a refund, a new product or a workaround.
Let’s be honest, not everything can be fixed. Either its impossible or you would need to spend a significant amount of time in order to fix the issue and it is not worth the time or money. Sometimes its a better decision to offer a new product or another solution and that is okay!
Mistake No. 5 – You Don’t Ask for Feedback
And number five, you don’t ask for feedback. This is the biggest mistake I see very often and it tends to be because you might be scared of what they’re going to say, but guess what? These are the people you really need to learn from. They’re the ones that are frustrated with you.
Asking a happy customer yes is a great idea for testimonials, BUT asking a customer who has been frustrated in the past will be honest and tell you exactly what they think of you and your business.
Now, don’t take this personally, but this is the best feedback you will receive. This is the feedback you can actually do something with!
What Can We Do About This?
Firstly, you can learn what good customer service is, what customer excellence is, and the customer’s experience.
Listen Now:
To learn more about your customers so you can provide a better service you can download my free customer avatar guide right here.
If you would also like to look into this further and want to know the signs of frustrated customers so that you can fix the issue early, learn more here.
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