Accentuating the Positive to Angry
Customers
By EILENE ZIMMERMAN
Q. You receive an angry call or visit from an irate customer. How should you respond?
A. The most pressing need of angry customers is to be heard, says Jonathan Rick, a director at
Levick Strategic Communications in Washington. Listen to them without interrupting, he says,
and then “show you understand their situation by finding common points of frustration.”
If, for example, they say they waited in line for three hours to return something, “you might say
you have been in a situation like that, too, and can understand how frustrating it is,” Mr. Rick
says. Acknowledging that customers have been inconvenienced usually reduces their anger, he
observes.
Say, “I want to help you with this problem, so let me understand everything that has gone
wrong,” and then repeat back what the customer told you, suggests Jennifer Thomas, a
psychologist and customer service consultant in Winston-Salem, N.C.
View this as a learning opportunity and not a shouting match, says Christine Porath, an assistant
professor of management at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. “If
you can come at this with a positive attitude,” she says, “research shows that attitude will spread
to others.”
Q. The customer wants justice of some kind. How can you satisfy that need?
A. Start by apologizing, says Ms. Thomas, who wrote “The Five Languages of Apology” with
Gary Chapman. After that, ask what you can do to correct the situation. Let the customer know
the steps you’ll take to ensure that the situation isn’t repeated, Ms. Thomas says, and ask for
forgiveness for any mistakes.
Research shows that disgruntled customers want accountability. “They want someone
reprimanded,” Ms. Porath says. That could mean a promise to speak to relevant employees, like
customer service or sales representatives, and to take corrective action.
Customers will feel a bond with you if they believe you are making a sincere attempt to solve the
problem, Ms. Porath says. “You are building a relationship with them,” she notes, “and that
means there is a much better chance you will retain that person as a customer.”
Make sure to follow up personally with the customer and confirm that coupons, discounts or
other remedies have been received, Mr. Rick says.
Q. What if the error was actually the customer’s fault? And what if you can’t provide the remedy
requested because the problem was caused by the customer or your company’s policies don’t
allow it?
A. If a customer’s mistake caused the problem, you should neither blame the customer nor
apologize specifically for the mistake; instead, say you’re sorry for the person’s trouble or source
of annoyance, Ms. Thomas says.
If the customer demands something you can’t provide, explain why, Ms. Porath says. “Given the
situation, this is the best we can do because this is our policy,” she suggests saying. Even if you
can’t give customers exactly what they want, you can tell them that you will look into the issue
further with your manager and find ways to avoid the problem in the future, she says.
Q. An angry customer is using social media like Yelp and Facebook to vent his or her
frustrations. What should you do?
A. The Internet, of course, extends the reach of complaints. And social media sites open the door
to those too shy to complain face to face or on the phone, says Dillon White, communications
director for 5Stone Marketing, which focuses on Internet marketing.
Contain the damage by publicly commenting back to the customer, if you can, on the same Web
site. Thank the person for taking the time to comment, then write that you are sorry and that the
complaint is not representative of your brand, Mr. White says. Offer a discount or coupon if
possible, he suggests.
If you do not receive a response, make another public comment, stating that you haven’t heard
from the customer and are concerned. “You want to make sure it’s publicly visible you are trying
as hard as possible to change the situation,” Mr. White says.
Assuming that you can fix the problem, encourage the customer to give your service or store
another try and to reconsider the negative post. In general, Mr. White says, you improve your
brand by fixing a mistake and turning a bad situation into good. “You’ve increased the stature of
your brand far more than you would have just from a positive experience,” he says.