Working with difficult customers is always a challenge, but it becomes easier when you adopt the mindset that the customer's perception is always right.
The total value of your product or service is defined by the customer's perception. It is the only truth your customer can believe in. If the documentation all says the product will last a hundred years but it comes apart when the customer touches it, his perception of the product's quality will differ from the documentation. Is his perception wrong?
When the product or service fails, it naturally produces a negative feeling in the mind of the customer. Although it's usually expressed in terms frustration and disappointment, the underlying problem is most often a blow to the customer's ego. The customer made a mistake in purchasing your product or service, or did something wrong to make it fail. We know the customer's ego is involved because he's taken the trouble to report the problem and has invested the emotional energy to become upset over it.
To help the customer, you have to deal with that emotional issue. The customer doesn't want you to side with him on the issue...how awkward would that be? "You're right, Mr. Customer, our service does stink!" But neither does he want you to flat out disagree with him: "You're wrong, Mr. Customer. Our service is great!" What he's looking for you to do is validate his feelings. He's embarrassed that he bought the defective product, and needs you to reassure him that he didn't make a bad choice.
In my many moons of customer service, I've noticed that an angry customer's call follows a script. The call starts with gushing, angry hyperbole: "you guys are a bunch of baboons", etc, etc. Then come the details of the circumstances. Finally, there's a call to action: "what are you going to do about it?" At no point does the customer tell you how he feels about the event, because he doesn't want to admit that he's embarrassed.
I've found that the key to bringing the call to a positive ending is to repeat back the details to the customer - "the product broke when you picked it up?" Then, and I think this is key, validate their feeling by expressing a similar attitude - "that would make me pretty mad." You haven't invalidated the product. You've simply validated the customer's feelings. By so doing, you've put yourself in his shoes, and onto the same page. I usually make a joke at that point, along the lines of "that was a pretty short lifetime" in reference to the item with the lifetime warranty.
The customer realizes that you're being reasonable, that you don't think he's an idiot, and that his feelings themselves are not unjustified. Once you've achieved that realization, you are on the road to resolving the problem.
Sometimes, the customer's perception is not an accurate representation of what happened. Sometimes the customer is the problem, like the proverbial customer calling to say the cup holder on her PC kept trying to close.
Even in that situation, you can't invalidate the customer's perception. My wife likes to tell me that my feelings on some issues are not right. How can your feelings be right or wrong? That's the truth in the customer's perception as well. They simply perceived what they perceived. Validating that perception with the customer doesn't put your product or service in the wrong. It simply makes you appear to be a reasonable voice for the company.
Having validated the customer's feelings, you can move on to the details of the issue. Now that you have a common base of understanding, the you work your way through the details and sort out the real issue.
Finally, you can work towards a resolution of the issue. Often there are ways to remedy the situation and send the customer home happy. It might take a token of generosity on your part to achieve a solution, but you can most often resolve the problem.
Sometimes, however, you have to send the customer away empty-handed. The customer has handed an unmendable experience. Your resources are limited, and there's just nothing you can do. Even though the customer is always right, the resolution to his problem may not go the way he wants it. In that case, you need to make sure the customer still sees you as a reasonable person. He won't be happy with the resolution, but he will understand that you've done everything you can do.
Working with angry customers gets easier once you can validate their perception. Even though the end circumstance may not meet their needs, you can rest assured you've done your best to represent yourself and your company with compassion and empathy.
