How To Deal With Difficult Customers?

Copyright (c) 2011 Karen Chai Kar Siang

Customers are always right. Yes, even difficult ones. So you might wonder, how do we deal with difficult customers? It does not matter what type of business or profession you are in, the idea is to actually be able to sell something to the customers; conversions. They form ultimately our daily objective in working through our jobs day and night. So, what are the most difficult types of customers one can meet? There are plenty including the extremely demanding, intricately detailed, the non-listener, the absolutely defensive which are all quite difficult to please. It can be a little funny and sometimes it could drive a person crazy when one simply does not have enough professional skill sets such as technical, management or interpersonal soft skills to put up with the customers. It all pins down to identifying the needs of the customers, and how much that need costs in their minds; or how we can create that need to enlighten the customers. In other words, if they are not interested, the chances of landing a conversion is almost next to zero; otherwise there must have been some marketing tricks that triggered an almost impulsive decision. These can be driven by aspects such as desire,temptations, creativity, fear or other subtleties in particular to different groups of people. How do we handle difficult customers? Like the types that say nothing or the types that speak everything from their heads?

Identify the Matter of the Situation(Listen First)

Patience come first when dealing with the difficult customers as usually people would have different set of ideas, or be their personal circumstances by which we may not understand at first until we actually start to listen. By knowing where they stand, their set of difficulties, visions, objectives and what they hold as belief, it would be easier to communicate and talk further. If the apprehended outcome turns out negative, by all means it should mean a confirmed sales mismatch or the wrong target market. Either there is no market, or one has not done enough market research or applied the right principles of marketing. At a time like this, one should not coerce further instead should just let go and preserve a good socially contactable lead for the future.


Take a Professional Stance (Negotiate & Explain)

A healthy professional stance shall allow one to walk away if that is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, one should by all means convey accurate information as well as keep all parties due updated from time to time. Aim to explain whenever there are complications, complaints, unsatisfactory concerns or mistakes. This helps minimize further misunderstanding or mishaps as the customers would then be able to understand the actual situation behind the failures in time. When handling difficult situations with customers, one should be able to handle and negotiate well in between an effective blend of customer requirements or corporate objectives. Letting the customers get away is wrong, neither is taking advantage over timid customers. One should understand well the scope (how far one can go) as well as the actual obligated work(what was originally promised).


Take the Blame (Be the Rightful Loser)

Back to the first sentence, the customers are always right, even though they are difficult ones that are so very difficult to deal with. Even if they are not, one should always readily admit upfront the failure to commit to their customers. Let this be the first thing to be done; that is to admit there must have been a loophole somewhere, or there must have been an error that shall be corrected in due time. Allow the customers the pace of getting back to becoming easy going before getting to know the real causes of the problem. Sometimes, a situation like this tells a lot on what is actually happening, so take note. It helps one mitigate the actual risks of the business, either there really is a problem somewhere in the product or there is a flaw in the overall system. By all means, by accepting the mistake, one would most probably lose the business just once instead of keep losing them forever; know the weaknesses and then apply corrective measures, this is how businesses grow.


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Wonder what it means to have positive intention?