Dealing With Difficult People: Action Plans On
How To Win Them Over
Author: Steven Taylor
They may be customers, colleagues or even your
superiors. Whoever they are, they have something in common: they are such
a pain to deal with even if your desire is to provide them service that they
would need. It is a necessary challenge, however, to be able to connect
with these internal or external
customers and, in the end, to win them over.
Translating Resolve into Action
It may be our objective to provide our customer
the best service available. It may be our goal to perform in a manner that
would make our customers happy. However, in our pursuit of such deeds, we
come across instances that leave us quite short of that resolve.
Our response to these moments defines what level of service we are capable of
providing. We are judged by our actions and it would be best to try to
resolve the situation in the best manner possible. Assume the
responsibility and apologize for the error and our customer might overlook the
mistake and may even applaud you for your efforts to correct it.
Soothe Then Act
The most important thing to keep in mind when
dealing with irate internal or external customers is that we should always put
their feelings first before we can start working on and fixing their problems.
We should recognize that these strong emotions they are feeling are a result of
our service that has not come up to expectations. The customers’ first
impulse, unreasonable though it may be, is to unleash their negative
feelings on you.
Good customer service takes more than just fixing
the situation that has gone wrong. Here are some action plans on how you
can soothe your incensed customers’ negative feelings and thereby enable you to
deal with the customers needs:
1. Do not let your emotions get the better
of you. Listen objectively and detach your emotional responses from
whatever caustic remarks you might hear. You will be baited constantly, so
be prepared for the onslaught, let it pass, and move on.
2. Listen attentively. Your body language should also suggest
that you are absorbing what the customer is saying. A nod here and there,
indicating understanding and commiseration will be a lot of help. If you
are on the phone with the customer, give out verbal nods (uh-huh, oh, really,
that’s too bad!) to show that you’re listening to their litany of concerns.
The customer would want to feel that you are truly interested.
3. Enough sorry already. Saying sorry all the time gives the
impression that it’s more of an automatic response than a sincere apology.
It would be better to say your apologies with an acknowledgement of the mistake
and an appropriate plan to correct it. Also find other ways of expressing
your heartfelt apologies without groveling and continually saying this
meaningless term.
4. You have to empathize. Understanding your customers’ feelings is
not just an agreement but an acknowledgment of the consequences. It is
also important that customers not feel patronized because that would only
aggravate the situation. Saying you understand why they feel the way they do
will have
to be said in as genuine a manner as possible.
5. Establish a Connection or Rapport. You may try to add to your
response that their reaction is perfectly understandable by saying that given
the same set of circumstances, you will also feel the same way. Before the
conversation ensues, you can engage in small talk that could inject some levity
or lightness to the actual conversation. Once you have successfully built
rapport between yourself and your customer, it is time to inform him of the
steps that you intend to take in correcting the situation and prevent this from
happening to
him again.
Giving your infuriated customers the idea that you truly care about their
situation will soften their stance and prevent them from being too difficult.
If you are able to defuse your customers’ tendency to be difficult, you will be
able to give your suggestions and have these suggestions accepted, followed and
appreciated.
About The Author: Steven Taylor is a Marketing Consultant to
http://www.Retronix.com -
one of the most innovative and effective electronics services suppliers to the
electronics & semiconductor industries. Services include BGA Rework.
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