Communicating with Angry Clients

Middle managers spend much of their time discussing work issues with their teams and their supervisors, but perhaps the most difficult communication tasks are those that involve people from outside the organization. 

I learned during my years working for newspapers and other companies that talking to angry customers is never fun. It was usually the part of the job I dreaded the most. Fortunately, interactions with perturbed clients often weren’t as bad as I expected them to be, and I’ve developed a few tactics over the years to help me work through problems while still having my team members’ backs. 

I don’t have formal training in customer service, but here are some ideas that have worked well for me when dealing with a client “escalation.”

• Respond quickly, but take time to prepare. It may seem that these two statements are contradictory, but they aren’t. When you receive a client’s complaint, you should try to get back to them as soon as possible. However, if you’re not ready to address the complaint, your interaction will not go well. If the client sends an email or leaves a voicemail about the complaint, take a few minutes to get up to speed on the background of the situation. Review documents, talk to the team members who were involved, and catch up on any other nuances that will be helpful. You don’t have to be an expert in every aspect of the situation, but you will want that background when you start a conversation with the client. If you answer a call from an angry client without having a chance to do some research, politely tell the client that you are about to leave for a meeting and ask if you can call back later. Set up a specific time, then do your research and be sure you’re not late with that return call.
• Let the client vent. I have found that this is the most important thing I can do when talking to an upset customer. Don’t go into a call expecting to immediately state your case. Instead, your first question should be, “Can you explain to me the specifics of your concern or why we didn’t meet your expectations?” Then let the client talk. No matter how badly you want to interject with the facts as you believe you know them, resist that temptation. Let the client speak their piece in its entirety. Take detailed notes on what they’re saying. Then, after confirming that they have finished, ask if you can restate the main points of the complaint. Summarize those points in a sympathetic tone, sticking to the facts. Remove the client’s emotion, but don’t contradict their opinions or throw your team members under the bus. This can be a delicate point in the interaction, so focus on what you’re saying and how you’re saying it.
• Stay calm. Angry customers can say some pretty awful things. They may be profane. They may be completely incorrect in their assumptions. They may call you and your team members names. You should mentally prepare for this before the call so you can remain calm no matter what they say or how long they rant. However, I would add that you do NOT have to sit there and take it if the client gets out of line or starts threatening you. At that point, it’s appropriate to say you are not comfortable with the conversation and that you would like to speak again later when everyone has had a chance to cool down a bit. This is challenging, but if you allow yourself to jump into a heated argument with the client, you’re only going to make the situation worse.
• Offer a carefully worded apology. If you know your team did something wrong—or even if they did nothing wrong—now is not the time to say that. You want the interaction to be about resolving the situation, not placing or deflecting blame. Most clients want a sincere apology, so offer one, but be thoughtful about what you say. For example, you could say, “I’m sorry our (product/service) didn’t meet your expectations. I can understand why you’re upset. What can I do to help alleviate your concerns?” Validating their feelings may cool their anger a bit.
• Work with the client to develop a solution. If the call is going well at this point, you’ve likely been able to remove some of the emotion from the situation, which will allow both of you to focus on solving the problem. Refer to your notes and move through the customer’s concerns, one by one, this time engaging in conversation after each point to talk about potential resolutions to the problems. Unless the solutions are easy to manage and within your power to implement, don’t promise anything at this point. Let the client know what you hope you can do to resolve the concerns and that you will confirm those plans within a specific timeframe. 
• Express gratitude. This may be the toughest part of the call, but you should end by thanking the client for taking the time to discuss the complaint and work with you on a solution. If the client has been yelling at you for an hour, the last thing you’ll want to do is say, “Thank you.” But it’s important.
• Document your conversation. You took notes during the call. Now go through them and add anything you may have missed. It’s vital to have excellent documentation of what the customer said and how you responded (or didn’t). This is necessary to protect you and your team and to help others in your organization get up to speed quickly if you need additional help.
• Finalize your proposed solution, then follow up quickly. Talk to other team members and/or your supervisor about the situation and proposed solutions. Once the plan for moving forward is confirmed, get back to the client as soon as possible. You may not be able to do everything the customer wants you to do, but if you’re able to come up with a reasonable solution, most people will be understanding and work with you to wrap up the complaint. Once you’ve settled everything, make sure you and your team members do what you need to do to implement the planned solution. The last thing you want to do is create another problem by not keeping your promises.
• If necessary, refer the client up the line. Sometimes clients will not be satisfied with anything you say, and you may need to refer them to your manager or another higher-level colleague. This doesn’t represent a failure on your part. If this situation does occur, be sure to give that colleague your notes and help them gain a thorough understanding of the situation and what you did to try to resolve it.

This all assumes you’re dealing with a person who is angry, but reasonable. Sometimes clients are downright mean, and nothing you say or do will satisfy them. No matter what happens, make sure your comments focus on the facts of the situation and proposed solutions. Never make it about your team members or their supposed faults. Try to keep it professional and hope that the upset customer will respond appropriately.

In cases where you’re dealing with a complete jerk, you may need to find a mostly sound-proofed room in your office or home and scream into your elbow or a pillow for a few minutes after the call. But if you kept your cool during the interaction, you should be able to recover quickly, knowing you did your best to resolve a difficult situation.

What advice would you add to this list of suggestions for working through client complaints? What are some of your best (and worst) stories of managing an angry customer? Please let me know in the comments, and let’s talk about it.