Dealing With Difficult Customers the Right Way

(Note: This article has been published in numerous trade publications in the equipment distribution industry. However, much of its content can be applied to every business. I hope you find value in reading it.) Christine

Most equipment dealers know that difficult customers and situations "come with the territory." When dealing with expensive transactions or equipment breakdowns, even the most mild-mannered customer may get upset. What is important is learning how to deal with these encounters and mitigating any negativity that may result.

Whether you are dealing face-to-face or on the phone, these situations are more than mere challenges. If you can't handle them professionally, resolve the problem, and satisfy your customers, they will head straight over to your competitor. It's that simple.

Bad news in the equipment distribution business does travel fast. Customers belong to the same associations and they talk to each other at construction association and Farm Bureau events and in the field. The result will be an assault on your reputation - something no distributor can afford.

Whether you are a dealer principal, salesperson, parts manager, or service manager you need to handle difficult or irate customers with the utmost professionalism. This requires shifting into the right mindset and communicating with them in a confident, competent, and non-combative manner. As a start to the process, follow these important guidelines to help you handle a tough encounter:

Step 1: Maintain your cool. First and foremost, prepare yourself for what is to come. There may be angry words, personal affronts, and highly charged emotions. This is the kind of situation where it is easy to lose your cool and become defensive - especially if you think the customer is being unreasonable. Your mounting stress can lead to increased anger, which will only make your customers even more upset. By learning to put some distance between you and the situation, you can control your emotions. This is what I call the "Be Cool" mindset; it is the best protection you have from the angry person confronting you.

Let's assume you are a service manager and you receive a call from an irate customer who is trying to deal with an equipment problem. The customer is very challenging, but you remind yourself that he or she is not as technically proficient as you are.

Therefore, you can be more sympathetic to his or her problem. Assume the "Be Cool" attitude. Be patient, (even if your service department is swamped!), stay calm, and reassure them that you will help them solve the problem. Do not sound impatient or say anything to make it worse. Now is not the time to remind them that they shouldn't have touched anything and that you had given them the proper maintenance procedure when you delivered the machine.

Instead, be cool and start a positive approach. Begin by asking a few questions and talking the customer through the problem, step by step. Reassure the customer along the way. If you can't talk it through, get help to them as quickly as possible.

2. Admit you are wrong. Take responsibility immediately if you or anyone in your company made the mistake. Even if there is some doubt, settle the problem someway. This is hard to do since ultimately there is a financial responsibility in all of this.

Nevertheless, own up to the situation. Hopefully, if you handle everything quickly, the financial burden will be light. At the very least, you will have saved a customer and that will mean business in the future. Everyone can make a mistake-don't make another one by turning off your customer.

3. Know what the customer wants. Generally, an angry person just wants to vent his or her anger. Usually, that means taking the anger out on someone else -- in this case, you. You will get the brunt of it even if you are not to blame. Often, a customer will take it out on you even when the technicians did not respond fast enough or the new equipment purchase was not delivered when promised.

It is always best to let the customer have their say before you respond. Let them blow off steam. They can vent and calm down. Once that happens, they usually just want reassurance that…

? You are concerned about them and their problem. ? They will be taken seriously.

? You are capable of handling the situation.

? You will give them your undivided attention.

? They will be treated with respect.

? They can expect a fast response

? You are on their side.

? They are important to you.

? You are genuinely empathetic

4. Do not judge or correct. Never judge or correct a customer. If they are angry with you, refrain from making any statements that are judgmental or you may cause the customer defensive. Now is not the time to say, "Why didn't you make sure you maintained the excavator properly?" Or, "Why didn't you change the oil?" Now is the time for action; now you must solve the problem.

Apologize, empathize, and help them in every way possible. If you can solve the problem and send them out the door as a happy customers then you have handled the situation well. Studies show that deftly handling tough situations and solving problems with professionalism yields the opportunity to build stronger business relationships.

5. Apply “verbal cushions.” When a customer is angry, you can diffuse the situation by applying verbal cushions, a communication technique taught by customer service trainers. These words and phrases "cushion" a customer's complaint and will help you to service them more effectively. The verbal cushions below communicate a sense of concern, promote cooperation, and display empathy. Memorize them so that you can apply them in challenging situations.

? "I apologize this occurred, John."

? "I can understand why you are upset."

? "I'm very sorry this has happened to you."

? "I apologize if there's been a misunderstanding."

? "I can understand why you would be unhappy."

? "I understand your position."

? "Thank you for bringing this to my attention."

? "I understand. This is crucial to the job you're doing."

? "I recognize the urgency involved. Let me take care of this immediately."

6. Calm out-of-control customers. When dealing with customers who use foul language and just won't back down, steel yourself against the onslaught and stay calm. This is never easy. Your first reaction might be to yell back at them, become defensive, and continue to support your position-right or wrong. Now, more than ever, use verbal cushions such as:

? "Sir, I haven't said or done anything to disrespect you in any way. May I ask the same of you?"

? "Let work this out in a professional manner."

7. Be proactive in problem prevention. Progressive dealers practice Proactive Complaint Prevention. They make it a strong part of their culture. Make sure your dealership has the appropriate, timely systems and procedures in place to avoid problems that can cause customers to become difficult. Consider taking the following leadership actions to ensure that you are ready for any situation:

? Make the creation of a "Service Excellence" culture a major strategic initiative in your company.

? Communicate service excellence continuously and make sure your people take it seriously.

? Provide training to employees on the soft side of customer service and write specifics on how they should think and act as brand ambassadors who will positively represent your dealership.

? Create a written service policy with the highest standards for service excellence.

? Enlist the support of high-performance teams to create guiding principles on how you will communicate, act, and operate that demonstrate the core values of honesty, integrity, caring, professionalism, and respect.

"If a customer calls with a problem, we will own the problem and make sure their problem is resolved."

"Before we leave home each day, we will make sure all parts ordered have been shipped, and make sure backorders have been found."

"If a customer needs a part that we don't have in our inventory, a team of three people will jump in and help the parts manager locate what they need."

"We will apologize immediately if customers have had to wait, or if they have a complaint."

"If our service technician will be more than ten minutes late, he or she will call the customer to let them know."

"We will double-check every order, shipment, and billing entry."

"If a shipment or order will be late, we will call the customer to keep them informed."

"We will always make sure a customer stays informed. We will provide progress updates at all times, and let them know we are working for them."

"If a customer is waiting for important information and we can't obtain it quickly, we will call them to let them know we are still waiting and will advise them the moment the information comes through."

"We will always strive to give the customer more than he or she expects."

"We will follow up with customers to make sure they are taken care of and are happy with our work."

8. Take the leadership role. Work with your team or enlist the help of a professional to create guiding principles that are specific to your business. Print them out so everyone has them and consistently update them.

The following are additional leadership actions to take that will help you to avoid problems:

? Document complaints and talk about how they could have been avoided.

? Work to uncover and eliminate any service flaws.

? Instruct sales reps and service managers to under-promise and over-deliver.

? Strive to seek ways to make it easier for customers to do business with you.

? Train your employees in the philosophy and actions of teamwork.

? Commit to providing the highest quality service to your "internal customers" as well as your external customers. (It can't happen on the outside if it doesn't happen on the inside!)

? Record and distribute service excellence rules so they permeate your entire business.

? Hold weekly meetings to discuss "Hits," "Runs" and "Misses."

? Create a Problem Resolution Report for executives so they can stay informed of any big problems and can pick up the phone and call customers to make sure they are happy. Many use these reports in strategic planning sessions

9. What do you do when you can't help a customer or do as they ask? Let them down gently using a verbal cushion that displays professionalism and demonstrates empathy. The following are examples of some valuable cushions that should help you face these difficult situations. As you review them, note that each example uses the customer's name. Addressing someone by name shows respect and enhances the importance of the relationship.

? "Mr. Smith, would like to be able to tell you I can do this for you. Unfortunately, I'm not able to." Then, follow it with "Here's what I CAN do for you," and tell them what action you will take.

? "I don't blame you for being upset, Mr. Smith. I would feel the same if I were you."

? "I feel really bad about this, John. It's an inconvenience I know." (Great one!)

? "I'm sorry you're still waiting, Mr. Jones. I just spoke with the service tech and he's on his way. Please understand that traffic is backed up due to the storm. I appreciate your patience."

? "I apologize if there's been a misunderstanding. Mr. Smith, I'll talk with the salesperson immediately and get back to you as soon as I obtain answers for you."

? "I am sorry that you think you were overcharged, Joe. Let's walk through the invoice together." If there are any errors, we will make corrections immediately."

? "I understand your position, John. If I could do more for you, I would."

? "Mr. Smith, I would like to be able to tell you I can do this without charging you for it. Unfortunately, I can't. Here's what I can do for you."

A Few More Tips:

Welcome complaints. How else will you know what needs to be fixed?

Know where every part your customers will need is located for when they need it.

Have a team standing by with people who are trained to locate a part when you can't find it in 30 minutes.

Hold weekly meetings on Monday mornings with your service manager, parts manager, branch manager to talk about the week before, and discuss problems.

Salespeople must understand how the service department functions. They should go back, observe, and understand why the department can get backed up for 3 days.

Make sure every department serves other departments exceptionally well. If they don't, how can you provide the highest quality service to customers and develop a reputation for service that is far superior to any competitor?

Check and double-check every sale, maintenance, and billing entry on every order, every day.

Keep your customers and salespeople informed when a problem occurs.

Ask for and obtain accountability from every employee to display a sense of urgency to serve.

Don't suggest the warranty unless you are sure it applies.

Take ownership of any problem you receive. Don't hand it off until you are sure the right person is handling it. Then, follow up with the customer to make sure they are happy. Simply say, "I understand Susan, our Parts Manager took care of you. Great. Let us know if there's anything more we can do for you."

Product support managers: Get out and talk to customers face to face. Take them to lunch. Ask how they are doing. Are we doing okay for you?" Involve smaller customers too. Make the effort to visit customers who are not located near your dealership.

If you send a tech out and they will be more than 10 minutes late, make sure they call the customer to let them know.

If a customer is waiting for important information and you are held up, call to keep let them know it's on the front burner, and you will call them the moment you have the answer.

Never make a promise you can't keep.

Practice safety. Lockout and tag out if necessary.

Ask complete questions, paraphrase to reconfirm what customers want. Obtain complete contact information, machine locations, model, year, hours, etc.

Communicate full, accurate, communication to internal and external customers. This is especially important when it involves overtime. Let the customer know from the "get-go."

Take responsibility to keep customers' equipment up and running.

Don't assume your staff knows how to handle difficult customers and situations. Provide training.

Make sure all managers receive training on leadership and employee motivation.

Create "guiding principles" for how you will treat customers and each other.

Service managers should remind customers about the smallest things - such as checking little o-rings.

On Monday mornings, your GM, service manager, parts manager, and branch manager should have brief meetings to talk about the week before, air problems, etc.

Salespeople must understand how the service department functions. They should go back and observe and understand why they can get backed up for 3 days.

Sit down with your team and add at least ten more to this list. I'm sure you can.

Already doing these things? Great! How well are you doing them? Continuous improvement should be one of your core values. If you think you should be doing some of these things, start doing them!

Finally Words: Never carry an encounter with a difficult customer or situation over to your next customer, or take it out on your team. Understand that if their livelihood has been compromised, they are very likely to get upset.

Accept that in the equipment business, and in every business, difficult customers and situations come with the territory. What is most important is that you have systems and procedures to prevent problems from occurring. Equally important, you and your team must have the training and knowledge to provide flawless customer service and obtain the highest level of customer loyalty.

Develop an obsession to deliver your best performance, with every customer every day. In the end, the customer will be the judge and jury on how well you perform and whether you will experience long-term business growth and profitability. ______________________________________________________________

? 2020, 2021,?Christine Corelli?& Associates??To learn more visit https://christinespeaks.com - To contact?her?for an upcoming meeting, conference, training program (including virtual) consulting project, or special event, call (847) 477-7376.?