By Noah Dendinger

 First of all, there’s no such thing as a “typical” difficult customer. Difficult customers come in all shapes and sizes. And, no business is exempt from encountering them. Everyone is difficult at one time or another. Customers might be disagreeable, domineering/superior, suspicious, slow/methodical, or dishonest.  Disagreeable customers  Domineering/Superior customers  Suspicious customers  Dishonest customers  Slow/Methodical customers

 Argumentative: Asking simple, polite questions with options keeps most situations under smooth control.  Impatient: Agreeing first on common points goes a long way in handling situations with difficult customers.  “Leave me alone”: Patience works wonders. Never press customers for sales or decisions.  Irritable/Moody: Do your job well. Be consistent in your positive behavior. You’ll have a natural, calming effect on customers and fellow employees.

 Insulting: Go neutral. Serve customers promptly, and non-emotionally. You’ll feel an energizing powers And power, properly used, is a good thing.  Domineering/superior: Let customers have their say. But in the end, make sure that the right thing is done.  Complaining: Understand and respect what the customers are thinking. Your job is to help them overcome obstacles that prevent them from trusting you and your company. Keep in mind, also, that when you work for and represent a company, you are that company to your customer.  Suspicious: Explain and demonstrate good service as many times as you need to. Some customers just “get it” more slowly than others.

 Dishonest: Don’t jump to quick conclusions. If you say no and your assistant manager says to accept the return, you’ll look bad in front of the customer. Remember that compromising and negotiating are part of normal procedure in serving customers.  Slow/Methodical: Be patient with customers who need it. Mirror their methodical behavior. Help them along by not overwhelming them. They’ll come around when they trust your good intentions.

 Jamie was working as a customer service rep. at a financial services company. A financial advisor called about an error on his commission statement. He was very upset because he felt the company didn’t pay him the correct amount of money. Ed is a very Irritable and Complaining customer.

 Jamie – “Hello, how may help you?”  Ed – “Jamie, I am calling because there is another mistake on my commission statement.”  Jamie – “I’m sorry to hear that Ed I’ll be glad to research that for you. Can you give me some more details?”  Ed – “It looks like the sale I made on October 25 th paid me 5%. I was supposed to earn 10 percent. Why am I only getting paid half? I need my money wired to me immediately!”

 Jamie – “I understand, Ed. Let me look up that transaction to see what happened. I see, It appears that the client you sold that product to is 82 years old. When the client is over age 80 only 50% commission is paid.”  Ed – “Nobody told me that about this product!”  Jamie – “The commission schedule for products are on the website. Would you like me to you them for future reference?”  Ed – “Yes, I suppose.”

 Jamie – “Ok Ed, I will that to you immediately. Is there anything else I can help you with today?”  Ed – “No thanks, Jamie.”  Jamie – “Ok thanks for calling, have a great day!”

 Making mad glad