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Customer Service Focus Dealing with difficult customers Step-by-step process can defuse a difficult situation By Sharon Denzler, CIC, CPCU Difficult customers are one of the realities of doing business. With the right tools and practice, you can become an expert at turning them into satisfied and loyal clients. Customers behave in ways that are difficult to deal with because of their particular personalities or ways of responding when something goes wrong. The good news is that there’s an easy-to-follow process for effectively dealing with these challenging customers: • Listen Listen. One of the greatest needs of human beings is to be listened to. When your frustrated and angry client calls because the certificate he ordered for the job he’s bidding on wasn’t received on the promised date, you will only add fuel to the fire if you tell him to calm down or if you respond in a defensive manner. Your main objective during this part of the conversation is to let the insured speak. When someone is upset and blaming you for the problem, it’s difficult not to take it personally; but it’s important to remember that 99% of the time, the insured’s behavior has nothing to do with you. With this in mind, it’s easier to stay within the process, which begins with actively listening to the insured. What does it mean to listen actively? If you’re on the phone, you can indicate you’re listening by an occasional “uh huh” or “I see.” If you’re with the insured face-to-face, make direct eye contact to convey that you’re listening. Active listening can also include note taking; those notes will be useful as you move further into this process and begin problem solving. Empathize. The next step is to empathize with your insured, which often includes an apology. For instance, “Mr. Jones, I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with this problem so close to bid time.” You’re not apologizing because you or your agency has done something wrong; you’re simply acknowledging your customer’s upsetting experience. This step is integral to diffusing your customer’s anger; you cannot help him solve the problem while he’s still angry. Clarify. The third step is to clarify—make sure you understand the situation before you move to problem solving. Your questioning skills are an important part of this step, using both open- and close-ended questions to make sure you understand the problem before you move to a solution. For example, “Mr. Jones, did you say the bid is due to the contractor in two days?” or “What is the exact day and time you need to have this certificate?” Solving the problem. Now that you understand exactly what the problem is, it’s time to solve it—with your insured’s help. A great way to begin solving the problem is to ask the insured how he or she would like you to fix the problem. You might say, “Mr. Jones, how would you like me to resolve this issue for you?” You may not always be able to solve the problem in the manner the insured prefers, but this will at least initiate a constructive discussion about resolving the situation. “Mr. Jones, I understand you want the certificate in your hands today. It’s 5:00 p.m. and I need my underwriter to approve this request; I can have that approval first thing in the morning. I can mail the certificate overnight to you for receipt the day after. Based on what you’ve told me, you will still receive it in time to include it with your bid. Will that work for you?” Once a solution has been agreed upon, restate it to make sure you both understand how the situation will be corrected and that the insured is agreeable to the resolution. Implement and Follow up. Next, implement the solution you and the insured agreed upon and follow up with the insured to confirm that the agreed-upon solution did solve the problem (be prepared to handle snags that might have come up). On rare occasions, when your customer becomes abusive and threatening, this process may not work. If you find yourself in this situation: (1) don’t react to the abuse, (2) draw the line—tell the insured what will happen if the abusive behavior continues, and (3) follow through with the consequences. Your office should have procedures in place for situations like this. This process for handling difficult customer situations may seem like a lot of work, but what are the consequences if you don’t deal with them effectively? Research tells us that most unhappy customers don’t let you know when they are upset—instead they choose someone else to do business with. The customer who does tell you what’s wrong gives you the opportunity to keep him or her. A question of style Not all customers are difficult because they are angry and upset about a particular problem. Do you have some clients who seem to have all day to talk and other clients who never call with enough information for you to process their request? Have you found yourself working with a client who is demanding and curt? Some people consider these to be difficult customers as well, but I ask you to see them in a different light. Your challenge with customers like these is usually a matter of understanding differences in personal styles. Behavioral scientists have spent years studying and identifying specific patterns of behavior. Customers whose behavioral patterns differ from ours can sometimes be challenging to deal with. How often have you heard yourself or your coworkers say something like, “Why does that woman talk so slowly?” or “Why does that man insist on giving me so many details all the time?” The way to overcome your annoyance with these customers is to learn more about behavioral styles and effective ways to communicate with different personality types. Don’t forget that people do business with people they like, and our customers will appreciate doing business with someone who is attentive to them and understands and meets their needs. The National Alliance’s Dynamics of Service seminar does a great job of covering this topic. We all have choices about how to respond to people and circumstances in our lives. When dealing with a difficult customer, you have two. You can become defensive and angry and likely lose your customer, or you can remain calm and follow the above process, which leads to satisfied and loyal customer relationships. * The author |
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