How to Deal with Difficult Customers (with Examples)

One of the main reasons that people decide to build a career in customer service is because of how rewarding and fulfilling roles in this type of work can be. From discovering common customer issues to offering tailored solutions using a wealth of knowledge and experience, it can be satisfying to help real people. However, not all customer interactions are easy to deal with.

Difficult customers present unique challenges and when customer support staff are unprepared for handling these types of situations, they can be more likely to handle them incorrectly. This can cause customer service representatives to dread dealing with difficult customers and leave customers feeling misunderstood and poorly treated.

Learning how to properly meet the needs of difficult customers and show them that you understand and care about their situation while also staying calm and professional is a complex skill to master. In this guide, we’re offering our top tips for dealing with problematic customers and highlighting the importance of understanding why they’re acting as they are.

Customer service teams are expected to be all-rounders when it comes to offering excellent service. Regardless of the problem faced by the customer and the emotions attached, a good customer service representative should be able to turn frowns upside-down, fix all kinds of issues with personalised solutions and remain professional throughout.

Dealing with difficult customers with professionalism, empathy and kindness is important for customer retention, maintaining high satisfaction and making sure your team is going above and beyond wherever possible.

Firstly, by being able to turn a negative situation into a positive one, you can encourage and foster better customer relationships built on trust. When your customer care team can spot a difficult customer and begin to provide the responses and solutions they’re looking for, the customer should feel that their concerns are being taken seriously. If this type of customer service is delivered with the right amount of professionalism, the interaction can become much more positive.

Handling difficult customers professionally can also have a big impact on your reviews. If customers are being difficult because they’re angry, frustrated or upset about your products or services and then receive unprofessional and unhelpful customer service, the customer is highly likely to leave a scathing review that could damage your reputation. This is why it’s crucial to bring a professional approach when dealing with these types of customers.

When a customer’s behaviour is proving to be difficult, it’s important to adapt your approach based on their emotions and individual needs. Nevertheless, here are eight general practices to try when faced with a challenging customer situation.

2.    Active Listening

Simply listening to a customer’s complaints typically won’t cut it in these situations. Instead, customer support staff should be practising active listening techniques. Approach each difficult situation with the intent to understand where the customer is coming from and in turn, this will leave you with a deeper knowledge of their issue and show your dedication to fixing it. As a result, difficult customers can be left satisfied with your solution because you’ve taken time and consideration for the scenario.

3.    Give customers time to get their point across

Angry, frustrated or overwhelmed customers might struggle to get their point across initially, which means that customer representatives need to be patient and give them the time they need. Rushing customers to explain their issues or complaints will often end up escalating the situation further, which is the last thing that either party wants. While this might increase the length of the interaction, it’s worth spending more time getting to the root of the problem so that they can be truly satisfied with the interaction rather than leaving some things unresolved because of time.

5.    Offer solutions

A solution-based approach demonstrates to the customer that your team are ready to solve their issues, which should help alleviate their strong emotions. Ensure you’re providing thoughtful responses with accurate and helpful information for the problem being faced, and it should become much easier to work with the customer on finding the right solution for their situation.

6.    Remain professional

Professionalism should never falter, even when faced with a difficult customer directing their frustration or anger onto you. Continue using professional language and maintain a calm and positive demeanour regardless of how a customer is communicating. Your word choices and actions reflect on your entire brand, and if you can keep things professional, there’s a better chance that the experience can become positive for the customer. It can be also helpful to remember that a customer’s frustrations should be taken seriously, but never personally.

7.    Ask the team for support wherever needed

For more complex issues or difficult customers that you’re struggling to de-escalate on your own, it’s crucial to lean on the wider customer service team if you think they could help. It’s best not to rush through support for these types of customers, and instead, you should focus on how best your team can help. This might involve passing them on to a more senior or experienced team member, or asking other customer representatives how they would handle the situation. Regardless of how you use the wider team, don’t be afraid of increasing the interaction time with a difficult customer. While they might be initially frustrated about how much time is being spent on the issue, they’re likely to appreciate the additional thought that has gone into resolving it for them.

8.    Push for a positive relationship

When a customer is being difficult, it’s highly unlikely that the relationship is starting off on a positive footing. So wherever possible, it’s your responsibility to bring positive language into the mix and change their opinion of your brand. The more successful you are at this, the better the payoff will be. A negative experience turned positive can improve loyalty and retention, so it’s worth remembering this in your approach to difficult customers.

It should come as no surprise that different types of difficult customers require varying support approaches. Find out how to handle challenging customers behaving angrily or in a demanding manner with positivity and professionalism in the examples below.

Angry customers

A customer who’s received a damaged product after waiting longer than usual for shipping might begin their customer service interaction with feelings of anger. This could prevent them from getting their point across and lead to frustrations that the interaction isn’t going to help them get the solution they want.

How to deal with angry customers

Calmly responding to angry customers is a must. In this case, empathy and active listening should also be top priorities because this will stop the anger at the initial situation from becoming frustration directed at the customer service interaction. Instead, let them get their point across and encourage them to explain as much as possible using positive language so that you can get to the bottom of the problem.

However, if a customer is using offensive, abusive or threatening language, you don’t need to tolerate this. Anything you feel is a step too far can be reported to a manager or team leader who can assist you with the next steps.

Demanding customers

A demanding customer might refuse to explain their issues and instead present a list of things they want you to do. Typically, this involves speaking to a manager and asking for a refund without saying why. This is usually because they feel like they aren’t being taken seriously enough and want their issue to be taken to somebody higher in the customer support team.

How to deal with demanding customers

If you feel it would help, it’s worth escalating the issue to a more senior member of the customer service team. Not only will they feel that their problems are being taken as seriously as they feel is necessary, but it should also help move the conversation in the right direction for creating a solution.

Angry or frustrated customers can be handled with ease when customer service representatives understand why customers are behaving and responding in a difficult manner. By offering professional, calm and thought-out responses, you can turn negative customer service experiences into positive ones.