Dealing with irate customers can be one of the toughest parts of any customer-facing role.
Whether they’re frustrated about a product, service, or something completely out of your control, how you respond can make all the difference.
The good news is that with the right approach, you can not only diffuse the situation but also turn it around, leaving the customer feeling heard and valued.
In this article, we’ll explore 10 practical tips on how to deal with irate customers, helping you navigate these tricky interactions with confidence.
Types Of Difficult Customers You May Face
1. The “I want it now” customer
These are the impatient, demanding customers who expect everything to be done instantly, no matter the circumstances. They often don’t realize – or don’t care – that some problems can’t be solved with the snap of a finger.
For example, they might not understand that your team only handles requests between 9 AM and 5 PM, that supply chain issues can delay delivery times, or even that adding a new feature isn’t something that can be done overnight.
Their requests can range from a polite, “Hey, can you speed this up?” to a more aggressive, “Give it to me now, or I’m taking my business elsewhere.” Dealing with these customers requires a lot of patience and a clear, firm explanation of what’s realistically possible.
2. The perpetually dissatisfied customer
These are the pessimists – the impossible-to-please customers who always find something to complain about, no matter how much you bend over backward to meet their needs.
For instance, if you manage to deliver their order in three days, next time they’ll want it in two. If you deliver on time, they’ll point out that the new sale price is a dollar lower and demand a discount. It feels like nothing is ever good enough for them, and dealing with them can be incredibly frustrating.
These customers require extra patience and a strong ability to manage expectations while staying firm and fair in your responses.
3. The confused customer
This type of customer is challenging, but not because they’re difficult on purpose. They simply get frustrated because they don’t understand something, and that confusion can quickly turn into upset.
For example, they might not be very tech-savvy and struggle to understand how to add an API key, which seems straightforward to you. Their frustration isn’t about the product or service itself, but rather their difficulty in navigating it.
Dealing with confused customers requires a lot of empathy, clear communication, and sometimes a little extra time to walk them through the steps they’re struggling with.
4. The know-it-all customer
On the opposite end of the spectrum from confused customers are the know-it-alls. Those customers are convinced they know more than you, despite your expertise.
For example, a customer might insist that the software you’re providing has a bug because it doesn’t work the way they think it should, even though they’ve misunderstood the functionality. Or they might claim that a certain ingredient in a recipe is wrong, despite your professional training as a chef.
Dealing with these angry customers requires patience and tact, as you’ll need to correct their misconceptions without coming off as confrontational or dismissive. The trick is to gently guide them to the right information while maintaining their dignity and your credibility.
5. The lazy customer
These customers know exactly what to do and how to do it, but they’d rather have you do it for them.
For instance, they might ask you to help them set up a software program, even though you’ve provided a setup wizard and a help center full of tutorials. And if you don’t step in to assist, they can quickly become upset.
Dealing with lazy customers requires a delicate balance – offering just enough help to keep them satisfied without doing everything for them. Sometimes, a gentle nudge towards the resources you’ve already provided can be effective, but you may need to step in more than you’d like to keep them happy.
10 Tips on How to Deal With Irate Customers
Dealing with unhappy customers requires a cool head and practical strategies.
The following tips will teach you what to do if a customer is upset:
1. Proactively acknowledge the issue
When something goes wrong across the board, like a server crash or widespread shipping delays, the number of dissatisfied customers flooding your live chat can skyrocket.
Normally, your live chat agents can handle requests without a problem, but in these situations, the sudden spike can overwhelm them, leading to even more frustrated customers and burned-out agents.
To avoid this, it’s crucial to get ahead of the situation.
Proactively send out a message acknowledging the issue when someone tries to initiate a live chat. If you’re worried about alarming customers who might not be aware of the problem, have a canned response ready to go.
Even better, consider making an announcement on other channels like email or social media to keep everyone informed. This way, you manage expectations right from the start and reduce the pressure on your support team.
2. Respond quickly
The top reason customers prefer live chat is simple: they want their questions answered immediately.
If you don’t respond quickly, customer dissatisfaction is almost guaranteed. And if they’re already upset when they contact you and you take too long to reply, their frustration can escalate rapidly.
Here are some tips to help you boost customer satisfaction:
- Staff up appropriately: Make sure you have enough agents to handle the usual number of simultaneous chat requests. When hiring, look for key skills like multitasking, fast typing, and strong workload management.
- Leverage canned responses: Save time by using canned responses for frequently asked questions. Consider integrating chatbots to handle FAQs and qualify support queries before they reach a live agent. Learn more about how chatbots can improve the customer experience here.
- Use the right tools: Invest in live chat software that allows the most suitable agent to easily pick up chat requests and quickly transfer conversations to an expert when needed. For instance, Social Intents can seamlessly integrate with Slack or MS Teams, so your customer service team receives chat requests directly in the communication tools they’re already using, leading to faster responses. Learn more about Social Intents’ features here.
TIP: If you can’t respond quickly for some reason, keep the customer informed. Let them know their position in the support queue or any delay they might face. Transparency can go a long way in managing expectations.
3. Understand why they are angry
To effectively handle angry customers, you need to really understand where the dissatisfaction is coming from. This is crucial in learning how to respond to an angry customer. It involves two key steps:
Understand the text:
Actively listening (or reading in this case) a live chat query is crucial. It’s easy to miscommunicate when texting with friends because we often read too quickly or jump to conclusions. While that might be fine in a casual setting, it’s a no-go in a professional one.
Here’s what you should do:
- Respond quickly, but don’t rush: Yes, speed is important, but don’t be so quick that you miss key details. Start by greeting the customer and asking for a moment to properly read their query.
- Answer thoroughly: Make sure to address all parts of the customer’s question. If they’ve asked two questions in their initial message, respond to both clearly and individually. If anything is unclear, don’t hesitate to ask for clarification.
Understand the subtext:
Sometimes, what a customer says isn’t the whole story – the subtext, or the underlying meaning, can be even more important, especially when they’re angry.
For example, if a customer is upset because their Christmas gifts didn’t arrive on time, the real issue might not just be the late delivery. What’s really bothering them is that they don’t have gifts for their loved ones, which is a much deeper emotional concern. In cases like this, no amount of gift cards or store points can fully address their frustration.
Understanding this underlying issue will help you respond more empathetically and effectively.
4. Show empathy
Showing empathy is key to dealing with angry customers and turning a negative situation around. It’s about truly putting yourself in their shoes and responding in a way that makes them feel understood and valued.
A well-crafted, empathetic response at the start of a chat can quickly disarm even the most difficult customer.
To effectively show empathy, your response should include elements of all three types of empathy:
- Cognitive empathy: This is about understanding what the customer is feeling. For example, recognizing that the customer is angry or frustrated.
- Emotional empathy: This involves connecting with the customer on an emotional level. For instance, acknowledging that you’d feel the same way if you were in their situation.
- Compassionate empathy: This is where you take or promise supportive action without adding to the customer’s distress. For example, genuinely committing to resolving their issue.
Here’s an example of how to combine all three types of empathy in a response:
“I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this—I’d be upset too if I were in your shoes. Let me take a couple of minutes to look into this on our end and see how we can fix it for you.”
It’s important to remember, though, that empathy has to be genuine. Customers can easily tell when empathy is forced or insincere, and that can make them even more upset.
For instance, imagine a customer reaching out to Hazel from the Apple support team, only to receive a scripted, off-topic empathetic response that doesn’t address their actual concern. This kind of “empathy” can come off as dismissive and can backfire, leaving the customer even more frustrated. Always make sure your empathy is both heartfelt and relevant to the issue at hand.
Here’s an AmericanExpress chat support rep prioritizing the customer’s needs first and displaying empathy second, leading to a better experience:
5. Apologize
It’s important to understand that empathy and an apology serve different purposes when dealing with an upset customer.
As Doug Wojcieszak, founder of Sorry Works, puts it: “Empathy is not an admission of fault. An apology is.”
For instance, saying, “I’m so sorry you have to deal with this,” expresses empathy without admitting fault. But if you say, “I’m sorry about the delay; it’s because our warehouse was late,” you’re acknowledging responsibility and apologizing for it.
Both empathy and a sincere apology are essential when handling an upset customer, with the apology being even more crucial when you or your company are at fault.
Here’s how to make your apology meaningful:
- Be genuinely sorry: An empathetic apology is the best approach. This means combining empathy with your apology. Instead of a generic, “Sorry for the inconvenience,” try something more heartfelt like, “I understand how frustrating this must be for you, and I sincerely apologize.”
- Explain why it happened: When a customer is angry, there’s usually a reason. Acknowledge the issue and provide a brief explanation. For example: “I genuinely apologize. Unfortunately, the delay is due to a supply-chain crisis affecting the entire country, and we’re working hard to address it.”
- Promise to do better next time: After resolving the issue, or if you’re working on a solution, reassure the customer that you’re taking steps to prevent it from happening again. For example, if downtime was the issue, you might say: “We’re immediately adding a backup server to ensure better availability in the future.”
6. Don’t get passive or aggressive
Taking accountability and apologizing for any inconvenience is important, but it’s equally crucial to stay positive and assertive in your communication.
When dealing with demanding customers – like those who insist on immediate results – it’s easy to fall into passive, aggressive, or even passive-aggressive responses, but these can backfire. Instead, aim for a positive and assertive tone.
Let’s break it down with an example:
Imagine an “I want it now” customer is upset because they can’t get what they need immediately. Here’s how different types of responses might look:
- Passive: “I’m not sure if I can do it right now.”
This response is uncertain and doesn’t give the customer any clear direction or confidence in your ability to help. - Aggressive: “I want to help, but you trying to push for faster delivery isn’t helping anyone.”
This response is confrontational and could escalate the situation, making the customer even more upset. - Passive-aggressive: “The terms say you’ll receive it between the 20th and 24th, not the 20th.”
This response comes off as defensive and dismissive, which can irritate the customer further. - Assertive: “I’m sorry you didn’t get the ordered item early. Yes, it generally does arrive early, but courier companies are busy this time of year. I’m sure you’ll have it before the last date, though. Please feel free to contact us again if you don’t get it by the 24th, and we’ll do everything we can to help you :)”
This response acknowledges the issue, explains the situation, and reassures the customer, all while maintaining a positive and helpful tone. - Negative: “I don’t think you’ll have it until the 23rd.”
This response is pessimistic and does nothing to reassure or satisfy the customer. - Positive: “I’ll ensure you have it by the 23rd, a couple of days before Christmas.”
This response is optimistic and proactive, giving the customer confidence that their issue will be resolved.
7. Don’t take it personally
When a customer is frustrated, it’s easy to feel like their anger is directed at you personally.
But remember, they’re venting at a customer support agent – someone who represents the company that caused them inconvenience with a product or service. Most of the time, their comments aren’t really about you as an individual.
Yes, sometimes the remarks can get personal, but they’re usually just a result of the customer’s anger or frustration. If you take these comments to heart, it can drain you both mentally and physically, and in some cases, it might even bring you to tears.
To keep your cool and stay professional, here are a couple of tips:
- Ignore personal comments: If the customer starts getting personal, steer the conversation back to the issue at hand. Remain calm and focused on resolving the problem.
- Politely set boundaries: If a customer crosses the line, gently remind them that you’re there to help and that keeping the conversation respectful will give them the best chance of getting their issue resolved. Something like, “I understand you’re upset, and I’m here to help. Let’s focus on the issue so we can get it sorted out for you.” can work wonders.
By not taking things personally, you protect your own well-being and keep the customer conversation productive.
8. Resolve the issue
While responding, understanding, empathizing, and apologizing are all crucial steps in handling an upset customer, the ultimate goal is to resolve their issue.
All the calming and reassuring is important, but at the end of the day, what really matters is fixing the problem that brought them to you in the first place. So, once you’ve fully grasped what’s wrong:
- Resolve the issue on the spot: If you can solve their problem right away, do it. Whether it’s suggesting a workaround, offering a solution, or giving the customer what they want (like a full refund), taking action quickly can turn things around. If the problem requires someone else’s expertise, make sure to pass the request to the right person without delay.
- Promise a resolution: If the issue can’t be fixed immediately, be upfront about it. Let the customer know what’s happening and give them a clear timeline for when they can expect a resolution or an update. For example, “Our IT team will look into this and get back to you within 8 hours.” Honesty and clear communication will help maintain trust, even if the solution takes a bit of time.
Resolving the issue is the final, and most critical, step in making sure your customer leaves the conversation satisfied and with a positive impression of your company.
9. Ask for their feedback
After you’ve worked through the issue with an upset customer, it’s important to know how effective you were in handling the situation.
One of the best ways to gauge this is by asking for their feedback at the end of the chat session. For example, you could send them an NPS (Net Promoter Score) survey that asks them to rate their experience and provide any additional comments.
Why is this so crucial? Statistics show that 80% of consumers say they would switch to a competitor after just one bad experience.
This means you really can’t afford to deliver anything less than great customer service, even when dealing with a “difficult” customer. Their feedback will not only help you understand how well you handled the situation but also give you insights into where you can improve.
10. Follow a set live chat etiquette
Having a set live chat etiquette isn’t just about keeping things polite. It’s about making sure every single customer interaction is smooth, professional, and leaves a good impression.
Learning how to handle upset customers becomes much easier when your team follows set guidelines that keep conversations on track. These ensure that agents know how to handle an irate customer, respond quickly, and keep a positive tone, even when things get a bit heated. This consistency makes the customer feel like they’re in good hands, which is especially important when they’re already frustrated.
Plus, following a set etiquette means less room for errors like miscommunication or accidental rudeness. It helps agents stay professional, even if they’re multitasking or handling back-to-back chats.
From Friction to Satisfaction: Implementing Your New Skills
Dealing with angry customers can be challenging, but with the right approach, it’s possible to turn even the most difficult interactions into positive experiences.
Throughout this article, we’ve covered various strategies on how to deal with irate customers, from understanding their frustrations and showing genuine empathy to resolving their issues and maintaining a positive tone. The key is to stay calm, professional, and solution-focused, no matter how tough the conversation gets.
Speaking of making things easier, implementing the right live chat software can be a game-changer in handling angry customers. Social Intents integrates seamlessly with platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams, allowing your team to manage live chats efficiently and respond quickly, even during high-volume times.
With features like canned responses and easy chat routing, your team can stay on top of customer issues without getting overwhelmed, ensuring that every customer feels heard and cared for.
Why not give Social Intents a try? Start your 14-day free trial today.