Slap, punch and knock out: The best way to deal with rude and awful customers.
Tags: Customer, Deal, Customer Service

Slap, punch and knock out: The best way to deal with rude and awful customers. Dan Follow Jun 17, 2020 · 4 min read

The real horrors that every people working in customer service have to face and the best ways we deal with it.

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There are three perfect ways to deal with rude and awful customers. The first step is to slap them. Next is to punch them and then knock them out for the final blow. However, if you ever do that, it’s either you’ll be reprimanded by HR, you’ll lose your job, or you’ll get jailed. Being violent has no room for customer service. In customer service, we have to smile because it is always a requirement to be amiable. We have to be calm and be patient at all costs because we represent the company.

A career in Customer service seems like mundane work, but this is very challenging. Working in customer service, you are ought to encounter people from all walks of life. Some are good, and some are angry down to the core. I always believed that every customer’s situations are unique until it dawned on me that some customers are just made to be rude.

This brutal truth has opened my eyes that there are customers who complain because they want to earn from it—moreover, the art of Slap, Punch, and Knockout have become my mantra every time I have to deal with this kind of customer. It has become my survival kit when I face a situation like this.

First, Slap them with facts.

Facts can hurt customers, but it will be your lifesaver. Customer is always right is an archaic saying, and it gives customers a sense of entitlement to their opinions. That’s a reminder that the best way to change their opinions is by presenting your facts.

Explain to them thoroughly the situation. Understand that some customers are angry for a reason. It’s either she’s dissatisfied with the service or if she wants unnecessary compensation. You can only identify one by asking questions. Learn to ask questions and never guess. The way they how they communicate and coordinate with you can be very telling.

Let them ask their queries and answer them without emphasizing that it’s their fault. Customers don’t want to be blamed for something they did. Instead, promote collaboration by allowing the customers to speak their minds.

Keep in mind that delivering your facts can be tough, but this will also make the conversation lucid and smooth. Facts can make the conversation rough for customers who do not want to believe it. However, facts are facts. Nothing can beat the power of truth, and that same reason why truth is your weapon.

Next, Punch them with a clear response.

Always remember the art of asking questions. That’s very important. If she starts yelling, do not ever stutter with presenting your truths. Because if you do, they might take advantage of the situation. Being unconfident with what will you say will truly affect and impact your credibility.

Believe in yourself. Always remember that you are the driver of the conversation. Hence, as the driver, you should know how to maneuver in the right direction. Finally, be calm at all costs. Customer service representatives must know that they need to be authority figures as much as they need helpers. Sometimes, it’s necessary to politely but firmly tell a customer they are also mistaken.

Go on, and ask questions that would truly address the problem. If the customer is not cooperating and she called a supervisor or manager, then let her be. Shouting and cursing at the customer would not reward you. Remember that in a customer service setup, it’s your words against you. You can never retract your statement. So do not let your anger control you.

Finally, Knockout them with that killer smile.

This is the hardest part of the three because these two aforementioned are prerequisites to do this. This is also a challenge because there are times when your emotions will lord over you and when you can not be impervious with all those words you heard. It’s inevitable to be affected by these words.

Remember to keep your composure at all costs. I know there would be a time where you will lose your temper. There will come a time when controlling your emotions won’t work.

Moreover, keep in mind that these awful customers want compensation. In my experience, I encountered someone who complained because the company would provide compensation to appease him. Their main goal is to drive you crazy so that they will earn something out of it. Let them be crazy, no matter how hard it is for you to stay sane. Do not let your anger control you, for your anger will never reward you. Do your job and smile even when you are gritting your teeth, and you get the manager to deal with that customer. Anger can be detrimental to you and your customer.

The best thing to do is to understand and empathize. You should always see the customer’s point of view and not directly contradict them. It would be best if you understood and also seek to be understood. That doesn’t necessarily mean you give them what they want; it just means empathize and respond appropriately.

If you are an employee that considers revenge as a possible response to rudeness from a customer, then you are unprofessional and unreliable no matter how competent you are in the job.

The saying that “the customer is always right” is archaic, and it irrefutably needs to be reconstructed. Because you can’t win fights with customers who don’t want to lose and accept facts. The customer is always right, but not when they force their beliefs. Conversations with the customer should not be martial but enlightening because customer service should resolve problems not by fighting but with understanding.