Angry customers happen. No matter how good of a product or service you provide, it won’t be perfect.

And sometimes, you have just downright unreasonable customers. Others, you have to deal with someone who’s just having a rough time in life.

There’s an infinite number of reasons that customers become upset.

And here’s how you can deal with them in an effective way:

1. Listen and Show You Understand

Merely reciting the words “I understand” doesn’t build any confidence in your customer. You may have had the same experience. But you haven’t demonstrated you actually do understand.

So instead, show your customer you truly do understand their situation.

If they come to you and say,”We’re not getting the promised discount,” then you simply respond with,”Oh, I’m sorry to hear you’re not getting the discount as advertised.”

That’s much more powerful than saying,”I understand,” or,”Sorry to hear that.”

And that’s because you’ve just communicated that you got the message from your customer loud and clear.

They’ll almost instantly calm down in nearly every case.

2. Humility Makes You Appear On Your Customer’s Side

Ultimately, your customer service time is on your customer’s side, no matter what. You want to provide good customer service so your customers come back to you again and again and say good things about you to others.

But it’s your own mindset that really goes a long way in communication.

So, that’s why it’s important to really have a humble attitude.

And that means approaching the situation as if you don’t really know what’s going on (yet). Also called “the beginner’s mindset,” this simply means asking customers questions until you get to the root of their problem.

You are the expert.

But you don’t fully understand this customer and their situation yet.

Keeping that mindset in place helps your customer stay calm and feel more comfortable talking to you.

It’ll be much easier to fix their problem as a result.

3. Have a Bag of Go-To Tricks Ready

Some customers are just downright difficult. For whatever reason, it’s impossible for you to get them to calm down and move forward.

That’s okay. You’re not in control of other people and their thoughts or emotions.

But, you can still go to your bag of sneaky tricks to try to steer the situation towards an amicable resolution.

For example, you might try these:

1. Put the customer on a hold (even if not necessary) to de-escalate the situation (use only when your judgment indicates this has a high likelihood of working)
2. Set up a screenshare or point your customer to a video to show them what works, rather than trying to explain it
3. If you get a customer who just doesn’t want to trust you, tell them you’ll ask your colleague for the solution

Customer service isn’t easy. But with these techniques at your disposal, you can turn more angry customers into raving fans.