Most service breakdowns can be remedied with the same basic tactics you apply to any customer service situation: Listen to your customer’s explanation of an issue clearly, take ownership of the problem, and turn the problem’s solution into a partnership—you and the customer working together to achieve a speedy resolution and satisfaction. As with every other aspect of customer service, this requires effective communication, a positive attitude, and your demonstrated commitment to fix whatever is wrong.

You might also need to take the issue to a higher level, especially in the event that a problem could result in legal liability for your company. During your training phase for a customer service position, you likely will be instructed on the situations that warrant an immediate referral to a supervisor.

Among the very first steps once you have identified your customer’s unique problem is to offer an apology, with sincere remorse for a customer’s inconvenience. Then, apologize again. A simple apology may go a long way in defusing a customer’s agitation. Don’t argue with the customer, don’t try to make excuses, and certainly don’t try to place blame for a situation back on the customer.

Ultimately, you should try to counter the depth of a customer’s disappointment and inconvenience with a sufficient level of remediation equal to the customer’s loss. Your company’s policies might detail possible remedies and compensations, such as a full and immediate refund, a discount on service for a given period, or a discount on a future purchase. Offering these and other alternatives may require assistance from your supervisor.

As you identify possible solutions to your customer’s problem, you should carefully help your customer assess and choose among the options that may be available. By bringing your customers into the process as a participating partner, you empower them and given them a sense they still have control over a situation that may have left them feeling powerless.

As you resolve service problems, try to exceed your customer’s expectations, to the extent possible. Most importantly, try to return your customer to a reasonable state of satisfaction, and be sure to provide a follow-up to ensure that your customer remains satisfied. And keep in mind, the results of an unresolved customer problem can have ramifications and costs far beyond the immediate issue at hand.

Dealing with Difficult Customers

With some customer service problems, your customer might remain calm and reasonable no matter how upset they might actually be. In other situations, no matter how trivial the problem, your customer will be difficult, demanding, angry, rude, and even potentially violent. Short of hanging up or calling security, there are certain fundamental yet important steps you can take to deal with difficult customers.

One of the first steps when dealing with a challenging customer is to protect yourself with the proper mindset and attitude. Just because your customer is agitated or angry does not mean you need to absorb it or respond in kind. Studies show that just a few minutes of a strong negative emotion such as anger can demolish your body’s immune system for many hours afterward. Remember you cannot always control how a customer reacts to a given problem, but you can control how you respond. Rather than escalate an unpleasant situation, you can try some tactics to defuse it. You can do this by remaining focused, alert, understanding, caring, unemotional, and – most of all – patient.

Defusing Customer Misbehavior

There is an ancient adage that a gentle word turns away wrath, and that’s as true today. A rude, angry, or belligerent customer might be calmed with a simple, “I’m sorry this has upset you … let’s see how we can fix it.”

Dealing with difficult customers will put your communication skills to the highest test. It may be best to let your customer vent a little before you come back with a response. Remember to speak slowly, use short sentences, be tactful, and follow the golden model of customer service: listen, empathize, and take charge.

It helps to use a customer-centric perspective that puts you in the place of your customer. Try to see the situation as they do. What exactly is causing them stress? What are the solutions they might find satisfactory? How can you apply those solutions with minimum effort?

You should also employ tactics of effective listening. This helps your customers feel their message is coming through, and you understand their problem clearly. The first step is to smile, to show you are a friendly ally sent to fix the problem. Smile even if you are on the phone—that gesture might come through in your voice. Do not interrupt while your customer is explaining a problem, other than to help clarify an issue. If it’s in person, lean toward your customers and turn an ear their way to show you are intently listening. Especially if it’s a conversation on the telephone, be sure to use affirmative words and sounds such as uh-huh, yes, I see,to demonstrate that you are listening, and to encourage your customer to continue.

Problem-Solving Model

Another great way to solve customer problems is to apply a problem-solving model. A problem-solving model provides you with concrete, easy to remember steps you can work through when faced with any issue, customer service related or other. Your company may have its own version of how to approach customer problems, but here is a simple breakdown used by many customer service teams around the world in some similar variation.

1. 1. Identify or Define the Real Problem. What exactly is the problem? You may need to ask the customer some open-ended questions to gather more information or do some research to look into some facts, then determine with the customer what the exact problem is. You want to be solving the customer’s problem and not assuming you know what they are upset about.
   2. Compile and Analyze the Data. To be able to effectively determine a course of action you need as much information as possible. You may need to collect information from a variety of sources. Collate the information in a structured way, and focus in on the underlying causes of the problem.
   3. Develop Alternative Solutions. Analytical, creative problem solving is about creating a variety of solutions, not just one. At this stage, it is not about finding one solution but eliminating the options that will prove less effective at dealing with both the symptoms and the root cause.
   4. Select a Solution. You need to examine which alternative solutions best solve the problem as well as which solutions are doable. If your company, for example, is not able to provide the solution you selected, then you would not want to offer it to the customer. You might offer a choice of solutions to the customer, those that are feasible, and let your customer select the one they prefer. If the solution is too unrealistic, too expensive, too time consuming, or too risky for your company, then you need to go back a step and consider additional alternatives. As well, if the solution is not satisfying the customer or solving the problem, you need to backup and consider alternative solutions; you may even need to bring your manager into the conversation.
   5. Implement the Solution. Take action. You may need to communicate with other team members or your manager to put the solution into action, or you may simply need to apologize to the customer, thank them for bringing this issue to your attention, and/or refund the customer. If the problem was more complex you may have to reorder an item and provide the customer with a receipt and expected delivery date. Following up with the customer is a best practice in these more complex cases.
   6. Evaluate the Outcome. Follow up with the customer and/or your team to ensure the solution was implemented and the customer is satisfied. You may need to take action to correct something if things did not go as planned and it is better to catch this before you lose the customer completely. You might even ask the customer to provide feedback, evaluate the service, or complete a survey. You might need to adjust the customer service process if the process was an issue, and this may include sharing the experience with your manager, especially if the process is broken and causes several customers to become dissatisfied. You can suggest improvements to your manager and avoid repeat customer service breakdowns. Your manager will be happy you did.

Customer Service Do’s and Don’ts

Before we discuss best tips on what to do when dealing with difficult customers, let’s first consider some important things not to do. As mentioned earlier, be sure not to get angry yourself, even if the customer starts to attack you personally as uncaring or incompetent. Your employer hired you because you have demonstrated both an aptitude for customer service and the skills to perform your job well. The customer is responding with a perspective muddled by emotion, and you must keep that in mind.

You should also avoid telling your customer to calm down. That may make you appear adversarial to agitated customers, rather than as a helper trying to understand how they feel. Likewise, don’t feel a need to defend yourself. This can also create an adversarial relation. Rather, try to assure your customers you hear their concern, and you sincerely want to help.

Try not to interrupt your customers, especially while they are venting some of their anger. Once they have raged for a bit, they may be easier to ration with if you simply acknowledge their anger, and let them share some of it with you.

That said, let’s summarize a roster of best tips to settle an upset customer, including a review of some points we may have considered earlier:

• Show empathy for customers’ problems. Let the customers know their problems concern you as well (without letting it actually upset you, of course). Remember to use the magic words, “I’m sorry.”
• Encourage an extremely agitated customer to vent a little before initiating steps to resolve the problem. You can use such phrases as “tell me about what happened.”
• Don’t take a customer’s anger or insults personally. Instead, show you are on the customer’s side. You might say something like, “I can understand why you’re upset.”
• Remain objective and calm. Take responsibility and keep a focus on achieving results. Assure the customer, “I’m sure we can fix this.”
• Involve the customer. This returns a sense of empowerment to a customer who may be feeling powerless. Ask, “How would you like to see this resolved?”
• Provide clear options and steps to a resolution. Say, “Here is what we are going to do.”
• Exceed a customer’s expectations. Let the customer know, “… and here is what else we have for you.”
• Finally, assure the customer that you will advise management of the problem to prevent a similar situation in the future.

If you can apply these simple tips, you might be able to handle most of the difficult customer interactions that come your way. And, the final best tip: when in need, call for help! Your supervisor and coworkers will be quick to come to your aid. Someday, they may call on you for your service skills and cool head.

Preventing Service Failures

Preventing service failures is far more effective than trying to recover from them after they occur. By adopting proactive measures, businesses can identify potential risks, streamline processes, and create a service culture that prioritizes customer satisfaction. These strategies not only minimize disruptions but also build trust and loyalty by ensuring a consistently positive customer experience.

1. Employee Training and Development Well-trained employees are the foundation of effective service delivery. Comprehensive training programs should focus on equipping staff with the technical skills, product knowledge, and soft skills needed to perform their roles competently. For instance, frontline employees should be trained to anticipate customer needs, resolve issues effectively, and communicate clearly. Continuous development through workshops, role-playing scenarios, and coaching ensures that employees remain skilled, engaged, and prepared to handle challenging situations. 

2. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) Clear and well-documented SOPs help ensure consistency and minimize the risk of process failures. These guidelines provide employees with step-by-step instructions for handling routine tasks and unexpected issues. For example, a hotel can create an SOP for responding to guest complaints or managing overbooked rooms. Regularly reviewing and updating these procedures ensures they stay relevant and effective.

3. Technology Integration Leveraging technology can streamline operations and reduce human error, which is a common cause of service failures. Point-of-sale (POS) systems, reservation management software, and customer relationship management (CRM) tools can enhance accuracy, efficiency, and communication. For example, a restaurant can use a digital ordering system to reduce errors in order transmission between the front and back of house. Proactively investing in technology also helps businesses stay competitive and adaptive to changing customer expectations.

4. Quality Assurance Programs Implementing quality assurance (QA) programs ensures that services consistently meet or exceed customer expectations. QA efforts may include periodic audits, mystery shopping programs, or regular performance evaluations. By monitoring service delivery, businesses can identify and address potential weak points before they escalate into failures. 

5. Customer Feedback and Listening Mechanisms Encouraging customers to provide feedback through surveys, comment cards, or online reviews offers valuable insights into potential issues. Analyzing this feedback helps businesses identify patterns, address common pain points, and make informed improvements. Proactively acting on customer feedback demonstrates that the company values its customers’ voices and is committed to continuous improvement.

6. Adequate Staffing and Resource Allocation Insufficient staffing or poorly allocated resources can lead to overburdened employees and longer wait times, increasing the likelihood of service failures. Proactively managing schedules, forecasting demand, and ensuring employees have the tools they need to succeed can prevent operational bottlenecks and service lapses.

7. Building a Customer-Centric Culture A strong organizational culture that prioritizes customer satisfaction can prevent many service failures. Empowering employees to make decisions, rewarding excellent service, and fostering a shared commitment to exceeding customer expectations create an environment where proactive measures are second nature.

By implementing these proactive measures, businesses can reduce the likelihood of service breakdowns, enhance operational efficiency, and create a seamless and positive experience for their customers.