Despite your best efforts to satisfy all of your customers, sooner or later you are likely to encounter an unhappy customer. Their communication can come in various forms, such as email, phone, text, or chat. You may be left wondering: How do you talk to an unhappy customer? Whether the customer has a good reason to be unhappy or not, it is important to know how to communicate with them effectively to reach the best resolution possible. In this article, we offer some tips on this.

How Do You Talk to An Unhappy Customer?

Stay Focused

An upset customer can affect your mood if you do not remain focused. So stay objective and put your emotions aside. By staying relaxed, you can help to calm the customer down and prevent the situation from escalating. Try to see things from their point of view, concentrate on the situation, and what you can do to solve the problem.

Listen Carefully

At the start of your conversation with the customer, they will probably want to express their frustration. Ask them to tell you about what happened. By listening patiently to their story, you will help them to feel that they have been heard. If you are in person with the customer, make sure to use positive body language and avoid distractions. Avoid making assumptions; ask questions if you need more clarification.

How Do You Talk to an Unhappy Customer While Offering an Apology?

Offering a genuine apology to the customer can go a long way in helping to make them feel better and resolving the problem. Even if you do not think that the customer is entirely correct, an apology can help to keep the customer – and who knows, they might end up staying with you for many more years to come. When apologizing, you can say something like “I’m sorry that X happened. We want to make things right and will do X.

Find a Solution

Once you completely understand the customer’s situation, you can offer an effective resolution. You can more easily decide on an appropriate solution if you know what would satisfy the customer. If they do not feel satisfied with your suggestion, you can ask them what solution they would like. If it’s something that you cannot offer, you can continue to discuss solutions until you find one that works for the both of you.

Deliver the Solution

After speaking with the customer and finding the solution, be sure to deliver it as soon as possible. You don’t want them to be frustrated again by feeling like you have forgotten about them. Therefore, if possible, it’s best to let them know when they should be expecting to receive the solution and what will be included in it. Reach back out to them to make sure that they are happy with the resolution.

A coach can provide training on effective sales skills and problem resolution. Get in touch today!