kirstie McLellan Day kirstie McLellan Day - The MOMpreneur

sales & Marketing
How to Handle the ANGRY Customer
…and turn their problem into a business opportunity
By Carolyn Guichon
If you are in business, you have almost certainly dealt
with ‘the angry customer’. You know the one I mean –
frothing at the mouth, screaming and hurling invectives
at you while making a scene in public because something
has gone wrong with your product or service. Often
the first point at which you know you have a problem
is when that crazed customer crosses your threshold or
gets you on the phone. So how do you handle this to
construct a win-win for both of you?
How the anger builds
First, recognize that their conversation with you started,
oddly enough, without you present. Strange as it seems,
the angry customer was arguing and upset with you long
before they even met you. The angry customer has played
both your role and theirs for hours in their head. Imagine
the conversation: “I am going to ask for my money back and
they will say no; then I will tell them how bad their product
is and they will tell me I am wrong – how dare they say I am
wrong! Who are they to speak to me that way! Why you
%&*^&*$##! How dare you treat me like this…” and on it
goes until the customer has worked themselves into a state of
rage. While this heated conversation has been going on you
have been blissfully unaware that you are engaged in a battle.
But that won’t last long.
Eventually the angry customer shows up and stands way too
close or phones and blasts you in a way that can raise your
blood pressure through the roof and have you grinding your
teeth in no time. None of this is good for your health (or
indeed for the health of the angry customer). So to bring
the situation under control you must stop the conversation
in their head and have a real conversation that states your
case the way you want it presented. But first you need to stop
the screaming.
Validating their concern
There are many phrases you can apply to produce an
immediate, positive effect:
• “Thank you for telling me this. I am here to help you.”
• “I can see you’re upset and I am going to take care of this.”
• “I am so sorry that this has happened. Let me see what I
can do to make it right for you.”
Speak slowly and softly and be patient. Often it takes some
time for your statement to actually register with the angry
customer; you can tell when this happens because they will
suddenly stop mid-sentence and then really pay attention to
you for the first time.
Once you have their attention, use the problem as an
opportunity to make a customer for life. Chances are there
is an easy solution that will solve the problem – prepared
business people always have options to offer. There is an old
adage that says, “if you like a product, you might tell one other
person but if you dislike a product, you will tell ten people”.
Those are terrible odds to be up against as a business trying
to market your products or services. Interestingly, when you
start with someone who dislikes you or your product and you
turn them around, they still tell ten people but you get the
People are always impressed when they hear stories
about how a company worked to make it right.
benefit of a better outcome because you solved the problem.
People are always impressed when they hear stories about
how a company worked to make it right. The angry customer
feels validated and so is eager to tell others.
16 MOMpreneur ® � July/August 2010