How to Handle Angry Customers [20 Ways]

How do you handle confrontations with angry customers? Generally speaking, angry customers are one of the more stressful aspects of customer support work.

On the other hand, with the right approach, you can lighten tense situations and keep positive relationships with customers.

Following are 20 of the very practical ways you can communicate to cope with angry customers by being professional along with empathy: from active listening to offering alternatives.

These techniques will equip you to navigate tough conversations and provide exceptional customer experience.

How to Handle Angry Customers [20 Strategies]

As a customer support specialist, you are most likely to be on the front lines for customers. Whenever an angry customer is calling in with a problem, you need to take all the steam out of that situation.

Knowing how to respond to an angry customer is the first step to providing a great experience that builds stronger customer relationships and customer loyalty.

1. Stay Calm And Compose

How to handle angry customers when they are just ranting frustrations out on you, it is the first instinct to take it personally.

If you know you are right, your instincts may be screaming to get defensive. You are there for customer support by which they may resolve their issues and diffuse tensions.

Take a moment, before reacting, to process the situation so you can respond with a level head.
It’s not about you: He’s mad at the product or service, and you’re a handy target. Try hard not to take it personally.

Keep your cool. A soft, even voice will disarm even the most furious customer.

Also, you can always refer to your manager for any additional support you may need, particularly if the customer is being abrasive, aggressive, or rude.

2. Be An Active Listener

They are angry, and they want someone to listen. If you are their first point of contact, give them the floor and allow them to express what’s on their mind.

Now’s the time to have an opportunity to express how they are feeling and living. Take the opportunity to listen to and support them through the resolution process.

The second or third point of contact doesn’t want to be repetitive, recite information, or revisit their experience. With a conversational CRM tool, the history of all of the customer’s interactions is in one place, providing context on how to help them resolve their issue when you have the floor.

Employ active listening skills by:

Seizing every opportunity to verbalise that you’re listening “I see” or “Of course.”
Pay attention to their words so that you can mirror and acknowledge their feelings.

3. Personalize Customer Service

Saying the customer’s name and introducing yourself can be powerful in de-escalating a stressful interaction.

You immediately create a human connection, and it’s an effective way to remind each other you are real people, and not just faceless, nameless voices.

Here are a few examples of personalizing customer service for your customers:

Use customer data and context so customers aren’t required to repeat or rehash things they’ve previously said.
Make suggestions based on their purchase history or preferences to show them that they aren’t just another customer, you aren’t just another rep.

4. Establish Customer Empathy

Instead of jumping straight into problem-solving, take a moment to acknowledge how your customer feels. That’s your time to establish customer empathy.

Whether your team made a mistake, be transparent about what contributed to their issue. That context helps your customer understand that everyone, even the customer service rep they’re angry with is just trying to do their best.

Examples of ways to acknowledge your customer’s emotions:

Try something as simple as acknowledging that you know how much it hurts them.

You can always apologise, or even use such words as “You’re right” if your company messed it up.

5. Positive Language Skills

Using negative language during an interaction with an already angry customer is just about the perfect way to light the fuse of an already explosive situation.

Instead, bring in your soft customer service skills and craft your responses to lift the conversation and move it to a satisfying conclusion with positive language.

Injecting positive language into the interaction suggests to the customer that you’re happy to help and want to work toward a resolution together.

A few positive language tips:

Try not to use language that would make the customer alienate themselves or consider their problems invalid.
Use “absolutely” or “definitely” instead of saying “actually” or “unfortunately.”

6. Paraphrase The Details They Informed You

Restating what the customer said has to do with active listening.
It explains that you are attentive, you understand the pain points of the customer, and you’re interested in helping them solve their problem.

You can also use this tactic to assure yourself that you understand their situation and what they want from you.

After paraphrasing what your customer has told you, you then ask them if you got it right. A little agreement here goes a long way in de-escalating tension and putting you both in a more comfortable space.

Here’s how to restate what the customer is saying and the way it may improve the situation:

Use the customer’s words to signal that you are not minimising their pain.
Look for the opportunities to paraphrase what is being said into something less loaded, more concrete.

7. Instill Confidence

How to handle angry customers when they have probably had a poor experience with either your product, your service, or your company as a whole.

There may be some damage to the relationship, and you want to work on rebuilding lost customer trust to fix it.

Here are some examples to show how you can prove to them that you care, that you understand their issue, and that you want to help them find a resolution:

Accept responsibility: If you are at fault, the customer will respect the ownership of the issue and begin to let down their walls.
Be transparent and candid: Take them through the process step by step to let them understand you are trying to do something to help.

8. Appreciate Their Patience

Thanking the angry customer for making you aware of the problem is often all it takes to build rapport with the customer.

This lets the customer know that they are an important part of your business and one who can help make improvements in issues of which you might otherwise not be aware.

Other examples of when to say thank you are as follows:

When a customer gives feedback
When a resolution has taken a while to complete and you want to acknowledge their patience

9. Migrate To The Right Channel

When providing omnichannel support, empower yourself to take your angry customer on any other medium for their benefit.

For instance, shifting a conversation from social media or text onto the phone humanizes that interaction, where you can convey the right tone and wipe out messages back and forth, enabling quicker resolution.

Similarly, you might have to switch over to a video call to screen share through troubleshooting their problem. This will also let you dissect their body language and empathize with them to hold a more human-like conversation.

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

Don’t force your customers into a channel they are not comfortable or conversant with.
Meet the customer where they are, and only move the conversation to another channel if it’s appropriate for better communication or faster resolution.

10. Analyze The Situation

Do they want a refund, or are they simply looking for someone to validate them? Remember, the reason your customer is angry can change throughout their interaction with you and your team.
Before addressing your customer’s request, you must understand their motivation.

You may need to go above and beyond your usual problem-solving to help your customer out, and that’s okay.

Go back to your customer service training. Use your communication skills to gather all the information the customer gives you and try tracking down the root of the problem.

The issue may not be your fault, after all.

Here are examples of how you can think critically during a situation with an angry customer:

Explain everything step by step to the customer and try to specify what the problem is.
If you suspect that it happened on the customer’s side, then ask for very specific.

answers from them.

11. Don't Take It Personally

Whether you are a customer support representative or the manager an irate customer demands to speak with, most times your customer’s anger will have little to do with you.

But you’ll have to bear the brunt of their venting.

Your unhappy, dissatisfied customers are at the mercy of their situations, ramifications, baseline stress levels, and coping skills. They may be angry, but you’re not to blame.
Keep in mind that this customer is not angry with you.

Research everything that could be at the root of your customer’s anger.
Understanding these things can help you disassociate from any blame the customer might be attempting to place upon you.

It also makes it more likely that you will successfully view the other person as multidimensional, in a state of suffering, and worthy of your empathetic concern.

12. Devise A Plan Of Action

You can’t often fix your angry customer’s problem there and then. Consequently, it becomes even more important to clearly state how your team will fix their issue.

One good practice for that is always guiding the customers through the roadmap on how you will solve their problems. This roadmap includes:

What you’ll do for them straight away
What’s next
When they can expect a follow-up or resolution

Set the customer’s expectations by communicating the next steps.

If your customer knows when you are going to follow up or resolve their issue, then there is no need for them to call every hour requesting an update.

Communicating clear next steps can help not escalate the situation anymore and also put more pressure on your team.

By following through with what was communicated, you can minimize your customer’s anger.

13. Be Consistent

Inconsistent customer service interactions confuse and escalate angry customers. Your entire team needs to be on the same page regarding what is happening and about the solution.

Having an effective customer service plan keeps everyone in the loop and defines a clear way of handling every situation along the customer journey.

Such a plan also helps the customer not repeat details too many times.

The same info can be repeated with a lot of pain, and most consumers reward businesses for saving them from doing so. Examples of how you can remain consistent:

Share customer data, history, and context across channels.
Coordinate with other customer-facing departments so that one and all know what the customer wants, their history, their plan, their pain point, what they have done so far to resolve the issue, and the recommended solution.

14. Find Alternative Solutions

Exploring solutions shows the caller that you’re doing everything in your power to help the customer.

It also shows them that you are trying to find the best solution, not a quick fix so you can wrap up the call and move on to the next one.

Suppose your customer is asking for a refund, and you know that’s just not an option.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go to your manager and request it anyway.

Even though the chances of a refund are slim, your manager may have other ideas for a solution that could help increase customer satisfaction.

15. Escalate To Colleagues For Help

If you are in an uncomfortable situation or can’t find a satisfying solution that works for your angry customer, don’t hesitate to ask for help.

Let your teammate or manager look at the situation and help you advise on the next best steps for you and your customer. In some instances, managers may be able to conduct further investigations and unlock closed doors for your customers.

Here are examples of times you may want to ask for help:

When a customer uses abusive or inappropriate language, always loop in a manager for subjective review to help route or end the customer interaction.
Reach out for more technical questions to your product team or sales engineers. You may also ask other customer service representatives how they handled the situation.

17. Offer Alternatives Or Compensation And Document The Interaction

How to handle angry customers?

Alternatives: If it is not possible or desirable to fulfill the original request, offer alternatives that can meet the customer’s needs. This may come in the form of suggesting different products, services, or options.

Compensation: If the customer has experienced a negative outcome, consider offering compensation to make up for the inconvenience or loss. This might include refunds, discounts, or complimentary services.

Documentation: Record the discussion, along with the problem the customer is facing and the actions being taken to put the concern to rest. Also, mention the alternatives or compensation, if any. This may be helpful for future reference and in monitoring customer satisfaction.

18. Follow Up

How to handle angry customers?

Follow up: In case of any issue that has been solved, get in touch with the customer to check whether the customer is satisfied. It will depict your interest in serving them well and also help in building up trust.

Gather feedback: Ask the customer for feedback regarding the resolution process, and as a whole, their experience. This information can then be used to identify areas of improvement to further customer interaction in the future.

Proactive measures: Where called for, proactive steps would be taken to prevent issues of this nature or similar from happening again in the future. This could be through new policies and procedures, and even training programs.

19. Empathy And Patience

How to handle angry customers ?

Empathy: Appear genuinely interested and informed about the situation of the customer. Put yourself in their shoes and try to envision the issue as it relates to them. This can help in rapport-building and make an interaction more positive.

Patience: Be patient and allow the customer to express themselves, including their concerns and frustrations, without interruption. Do not rush the conversation or get defensive. This is indicative that your attitude is valued, and you are willing to listen.

Active Listening: You could practice active listening by paying attention to what the customer says, their tone of voice, and their body language. This would mean that you are interested in what they have to say and that you do care about how they feel.

20. Hang Up (As Last Resort)

Yes, hanging up is a course of action. However, if this course of action will be pursued, involve the manager beforehand.

Keep your manager in the loop when you’re dealing with an abusive customer so they can help you think through creative solutions to try absolutely everything.

It gives them the visibility, too, necessary for knowing you did everything possible in that situation.
If there is a customer who continuously calls your team to a harassing point, then it could be counterproductive in terms of the time and resources that will have to be invested into turning them into loyal customers.

Long-standing customer issues can take up hundreds of hours and cost teams more than what the customer is worth.

Hanging up is appropriate:
When the customer throws personal insults at the support agent.
When there are physical threats by the customer.
The customer won’t stop screaming and/or swearing.

Amplify customer experiences with Locobuzz-ensure conversions of customer interactions into positive experiences that will make them loyal and grow your businesses.

Wrapping Up:

Through proper implementation of these strategies, you will have turned a potentially disastrous customer interaction into a positive one.

Remember, showing empathy and patience, and being relentless to resolve the issue, go a long way in building strong customer relationships and creating loyalty over time.

You will be making a very favorable, lasting effect on your customers by delivering consistent superior customer service. You will be encouraging loyalty, trust, and advocacy.

How to Handle Angry Customers [20 Ways]