your customers aren't difficult! they're just different!

Customer Service and the Difficult Customer

Different

Nicole Wilkins, MS, LPC

Training & Development Director

Objectives

To examine our thinking when it comes to

difficult customers

To address ways in which we can improve

services and as a result minimize

experiences with difficult customers

Why is this important?

How do you define the

difficult customer ?

Difficult

• adjective 1. not easily or readily done; requiring much

labor, skill, or planning to be performed successfully;

hard: a difficult job.

• 2. hard to understand or solve: a difficult problem.

• 3. hard to deal with or get on with: a difficult pupil.

• 4. hard to please or satisfy: a difficult employer.

• 5. hard to persuade or induce; stubborn: a difficult old

man

Is it the person

who is demanding

and angry when

they walk in the

door?

What are we thinking?

Or is it the person

who wants exactly

what they want – and

they want it

YESTERDAY ?

What are we thinking?

Is it the

person who

you just feel

like

strangling…..

What are we thinking?

Is it the person who cusses &

fusses in an effort to intimidate you?

What are we thinking?

You can’t Change

other People

You can only change

the way you

respond to them

What is true in our personal life –

is also true at work

Let’s start by changing their label….

Customer Service and the Difficult Customer

Different

Different

adjective

1. not alike in character or quality; differing;

dissimilar: The two are different.

2. not identical; separate or distinct: three

different answers.

3. various; several: Different people told me

the same story.

4. not ordinary; unusual.

Why does this

matter ?

When we label a customer as

difficult… what happens?

• Quicker to interpret their actions as

negative

• More likely to have strong emotional

reactions to them

• Treat them more abruptly

• Expect less from them

Command & Control

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

• We form certain expectations of

people or events

• We communicate those

expectations with various cues

• People tend to respond to these

cues by adjusting their behavior

to match them

• Resulting in the original

expectation becoming true

”If you label a customer as

difficult, you are more likely

to create more difficult

situations with that person,

since you will be expecting

bad things to happen.”

How do I contribute to negative

experiences?

►I disliked the customer and let it show

►I didn’t express in interest or give my full attention to the customer

►I was impatient and rushed the customer

►I passed the customer to someone else

►Argued with the customer, focusing on how they contributed to the problem

►I made the customer wait too long

►I just wanted the interaction to end and the customer to go away, and it

showed

Consciously or not we tip people off as to

what our expectations are. We exhibit

thousands of cues, some as subtle as the

tilting of heads, the raising of eyebrows or a

sigh, but most are much more obvious.

Customers pick up on our cues.

What is the solution?

Change your Approach!

Difficult Customers Require a Different

Approach

Stay Focused

Give your attention to the service not the

behavior

Respond to the situation instead of reacting

Ignore Challenging Questions

Set and enforce reasonable limits

Choose Peace

• Avoid heated discussions

• Never take words or actions personally

• Don’t feed into it and don’t fight out about it.

The Clear Communication

Approach

H

E

A

R

C

L

E

A

R

Key Strategies

• Listen

• Think, Assess and Respond

• Empathize

• Apologize

• Resolve

• Release

Clear Model of Communication

• C – Compose

Remain calm and control your feelings. Remember the customers are not difficult, It is the situation that has made them so upset. Don’t make it personal – it is not about you – it is about their problem/situation.

What happens when you start to react in an emotional way?

Clear Model of Communication

• L – Listen

• Never argue or be defensive with customers when they are in an emotional state of mind.

• Allow them to vent their frustration, Listen carefully and try to piece together the whole story. Demonstrate attentiveness.

Clear Model of Communication

• E – Empathize with the customer

• Show concern and put yourself in their

shoes…..

– “I can understand why….”

– “I can see how frustrating that must have

been…”

– Don’t blame or embarrass the customer

Clear Model of Communication

• A – Apologize

“I apologize for …”

Express that you are genuinely sorry for

their bad experience.

This can help diffuse even the most challenging

situations..

Clear Model of Communication

• R – Resolve

• After you have all the facts – let them

know how you can help

• Don’t promise what you can’t deliver

Short Video – Bad SERVICE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE2NatsC

5g4&list=FLgsCgXD41xbuJrnVx31upiw&ind

ex=2&feature=plpp_video

What’s the moral

of this Story?

People can get pushed over the edge…

Safety Issues can Surface!

Our Responsibility

In government, we are not

only mandated to give equal

opportunity in our service

delivery, but also obliged

morally to treat all people

with respect. We must strive

to be open, respectful and

responsive to all our

customers...and co-workers.

So what do I do when

the customer is

particularly challenging

Always treat the customer

appropriately and with respect

and work to provide the

service quickly and efficiently

Customer Service and the Difficult Customer

Different

Nicole Wilkins, MS, LPC

Training & Development Director