{"id":395,"date":"2015-04-28T08:31:21","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T08:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/csm210469\/?p=395"},"modified":"2022-09-29T14:05:25","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T14:05:25","slug":"how-to-handle-difficult-customer-conversations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/how-to-handle-difficult-customer-conversations\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Handle Difficult Customer Conversations"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the world of customer service things don’t always got to plan. In this article you will learn how to deal with difficult client conversations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\"Difficult\n

Your business is rolling. Your products are getting to your customers on time. Everything is working just the way you promised it would.<\/p>\n

Your customers pay their bills on time. No complaints. The bond between you and your customers could not be stronger.<\/p>\n

Then something happens. (You knew it would, right?)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trouble can come from any direction. A delayed product shipment causes a customer to miss a deadline. A salesperson (maybe even you!) promises more than your company could deliver.<\/p>\n

A customer finds a defect in one of your products that needs replacing right away.<\/p>\n

We all know that setbacks are going to occur in business. Setbacks that strain relations between you and your customer.<\/p>\n

Setbacks that can cause anger and mistrust to build. Will this mean the end of a once profitable relationship? Not necessarily..<\/p>\n

When tensions rise between you and a customer, it may be time for a tough conversation. A time to clear the air and address the problems that are causing trouble. But how do you keep a difficult conversation from becoming a full-scale argument that permanently damages relations with your customer?<\/p>\n

Here are 4 tips to get you through the hard talks that can make or break your business.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Communicate early and often.<\/strong> Many of us avoid difficult conversations, hoping that problems resolve themselves. That rarely happens. But you can keep small problems from becoming big problems by addressing them quickly. Let your customer know right away that you recognize the problem, and that you\u2019re working to make it right. Keep them updated so they know what\u2019s happening. Don\u2019t keep your customer guessing about what you\u2019re doing to make things right.<\/p>\n

2. Look at the situation from the customer\u2019s viewpoint.<\/strong> Your first reaction will be to assess what the problem means to your company\u2014lost profits, prestige, or productivity. But your customer has similar concerns. Approach your conversations with an eye toward solving your customer\u2019s problems and quieting their concerns. Take responsibility. A company representative may need to stay at the customer\u2019s site to oversee the problem\u2019s resolution. Do what it takes to fix things with your customer, then clean things up at your end.<\/p>\n

3. Leave the corporate doublespeak behind.<\/strong> Speak clearly and get to the point. Don\u2019t say, \u201cApparently, part X is failing to meet desired effectiveness quotas in real-world applications,\u201d Instead, try, \u201cPart X isn\u2019t working right. We\u2019re going to replace it.\u201d People rightly see doublespeak as an attempt to cloud the issues and avoid responsibility. Say what you mean. Don\u2019t leave any doubt in your customer\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

4. Leave the door open for more conversations.<\/strong> Remember, the problem isn\u2019t solved until your customer thinks it is. Even after you\u2019ve had a hard discussion, your customer is likely to have questions and unresolved issues. Make it clear that you are available to answer questions as they arise. Don\u2019t take offense if your customer isn\u2019t pleasant to deal with at the time. Stress makes all of us do things we wouldn\u2019t normally do. Realize it\u2019s the situation, not you, that is upsetting the customer.<\/p>\n

Of course, the best way to handle difficult times with customers is to avoid them in the first place. But that\u2019s not always possible. If you remember these simple tips, you can get through rough patches with your customer relationships as strong as, or stronger than, they ever were.<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n

Richard Jarman helps companies who experience frustration in getting their message across to their customers. He assists companies in crafting marketing materials that highlight their unique strengths and abilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trouble can come from any direction. A delayed product shipment causes a customer to miss a deadline. A salesperson (maybe even you!) promises more than your company could deliver.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8090,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395\/revisions\/8090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}