Providing good customer service is imperative for any business, whether in face-to-face settings or over the phone. When a customer has an issue with a product or service, they want a quick solution.

Failing to promptly address their issues can lead to an angry customer. It is vital to have a de-escalation strategy ready that all your employees can follow when they are faced with a customer who has become irate.

What Triggers Angry Customers?

Before you can de-escalate a situation with an angry customer, you must understand why they are upset. The vast majority of them will have a reason for their anger. In order to successfully de-escalate the situation, you need to understand their feelings.

What can set off a customer into an angry or aggressive tirade?

• Dealing with Multiple Agents or Employees

  Speaking with multiple people about a problem is one of the most frustrating things to a customer who needs a resolution. When they have to explain the same thing over and over again to others, it can quickly cause them to become upset.

• Lack of Communication

  Waiting on hold on the phone, or not receiving a response, is another trigger for customer anger. If there is no indication as to when or even if they will receive a resolution to their dilemma, it can lead to further agitation.

• Inexperienced Staff

  When customers with issues are handed off to new or inexperienced employees who can’t answer their questions, they can easily become infuriated. They may have been told the wrong information about a product or service or new members of a team may simply be ill-equipped to handle their problem.

Why You Need to Immediately Address Customer Anger 

If you have an angry customer, you must know how to de-escalate the situation effectively. Doing so allows you and your team to serve more customers, while also ensuring that the upset customer will be more likely to continue patronizing your business. Quelling the concerns of an angry customer will also reduce stress amongst your employees.

Not every customer will be happy, and dealing with angry people is part of being in the service industry. However, how you handle complaints will make your business stand out among your competitors.

Improving customer satisfaction will also improve the reputation of your business since an angry customer is much more likely to leave a damaging review than one who is satisfied. Word of mouth is a powerful tool, and a bad review may work against you in attracting new customers.

Angry customers become this way because they have spent their money on your products or services, and now that they have a problem, they feel as though you don’t care. This only makes things worse, and the sooner you learn to de-escalate their anger, the better off you’ll be. You can turn a negative into a positive and then they may be more inclined to leave a review on how you righted a wrong and went above and beyond to care.

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When you are faced with an angry customer, make sure that you and your employees know these five effective techniques to de-escalate them:

1. Stay Calm and Keep Your Composure

One of the worst things you can do when someone is angry is to have the same attitude and body language. It will only escalate the situation further. Instead, stay calm and composed while trying not to take their anger personally. Remember, they’re upset because they have a problem that hasn’t been solved. Your first goal should be to keep them calm so you can understand the issue at hand.

2. Use Active Listening and Empathy

Acknowledging a customer’s feelings and frustrations is important because they want to be heard. By hearing them and actively listening to the root cause of their problem, you will be better able to provide them with a viable solution. 

3. Employ Effective Communication Strategies

While it’s tempting to retaliate in kind when someone is yelling at you, that will only make the situation worse. Let the customer vent and wait for them to stop talking. Throughout the yelling, make sure you’re listening to the reason behind their ire.

Once they’ve finished, make sure you respond in a clear and concise way without acting defensively or confrontational. Remember, you want to work towards a solution, not continue the escalation. Tell them what you are able to do to resolve the problem and set expectations so they will understand what will come next.

4. Find Common Ground in Problem-Solving

Most escalations are due to a lack of empathy or not finding a solution. Be calm as you ask open-ended questions to learn more about their problem. This will help you identify the root cause, allowing you to be able to find a solution. It’s all about collaborating with the customer and you may have multiple solution options that you can offer to them in this situation. 

5. Be Timely with Your Follow-Up and Resolution

In today’s fast-paced world, customers want things resolved quickly. Depending on the circumstances, you may need to take several steps to fix the problem. If so, make sure that you keep customers informed about the progress.

Additionally, every business, whether online or brick-and-mortar, should have policies and procedures. When an issue arises, you should know how to handle common complaints or answer challenging questions. This will reduce the likelihood of angry customers in the future.

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How to Prevent Customer Escalations from Arising

No one ever wants to deal with an angry customer but sometimes these situations arise. Knowing how to effectively de-escalate them is better for your business. You can establish protocols that will help prevent these scenarios from coming up while working on de-escalation techniques for your employees.

Enhancing your customer support systems is one of the best methods for staying ahead of these types of issues. It may be wise to invest in de-escalation training for customer service to help you avoid unnecessary altercations and keep your employees safe and comfortable on the job.

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