1. Customer Service: A Practical Approach, 5th ed. By Elaine K. Harris
Chapter 7:
Coping with Challenging Customers

2. Challenging Customers:
Those customer with problems, questions, fears, and personalities that require us to work to achieve true communication.

3. Why are customers challenging?
They do not speak your language.
They do not have expertise or a understanding of the specific product or situation.
They may be openly hostile.
They are visibly upset about something (and it may not have anything to do with you or your company)
They are very quiet and noncommunicative.
They show an attitude of superiority.
They are impatient.

4. Why are customers challenging? (Continued)
They imply that they are doing you and your company a big favor for doing business with you.
They appear to embody the type of person that you have a personal bias against.
They are so nice that you hate to give them bad news.
They are extremely angry.
They have difficulty in making decisions.

5. Five Tips to Keep from Creating Challenging Customers
Respect the customer’s time.
Do not impose your bad or negative mood on anyone else.
Recognize regular customers with a smile and try to learn their names.
Avoid destructive remarks.
Show initiative.

6. Ten Characteristics of Challenging Customers
Language and/or cultural barriers
Older customers
Impatient customers
Angry customers
Analytical customers
Noncommittal customers
Superior customers
Immature customers
Talkative customers
Customers with special needs

7. Respect:
To give someone special recognition or regard.

8. Empathy:
The ability to understand what someone is experiencing and to take action to assist in resolving the situation.

9. Responsibility check:
Assessing a situation and determining who should have responsibility and who really does have the responsibility.

10. What to do when you are wrong
Review the situation.
Observe the customer’s reaction.
Admit the mistake.
Apologize for your actions or error.
Find a solution and implement it.

11. Six Super Ways to Cope With Challenging Customers
Listen
Ask questions
Show empathy
Solve the problem
Follow up
End on a positive note

12. Payoffs of Coping with Challenging Customers
By learning to cope with challenging customers, we become more effective and efficient assets to our company and the job that we were hired to perform!