5 Challenging Customer Service Scenarios and How to Handle Them Like a Pro

When it comes to starting your own local business, you soon find out how important customer service is to keep your clients satisfied and engaged. But what happens when there are customers who prove to be more challenging than usual – and how do you switch a scenario from a potentially dreadful one into a manageable one?

Here are five personalized approaches to handling difficult customer service scenarios:

Scenario 1: When an Item Is Unavailable

There’s nothing as unpleasant as having to let your customers know a certain item is unavailable. The way to go around this scenario would be to use positive language in your communication. Instead of saying the product is unavailable until next week, try to rephrase it by saying the product will be available next week, and you will make sure to send it to them immediately after receiving it.

Scenario 2: When a Product Is Defective

Nothing is perfect. As much as you strive for perfection business wise, you will still come across this unwanted scenario. The way to address it to take away the obvious frustration your customer experienced is to show empathy towards their disappointment and then to express very clearly the way you will fix the situation: resend the product, refund, etc. You might also want to include a short explanation of the possibilities why the product acquired arrived defective in the first place.

Scenario 3: When a Customer Is Rude/Angry

As unpleasant as it might sound, dealing with rude/angry customers will be a given, and you want to address the emotional issues behind it. Regardless of whether the anger is justified or not, it’s important to make sure it will not aggravate. The way to tackle this situation is first to empathize with the customer and their emotions and apologize sincerely for what they’re going through. Second, you want to express to them that you accept responsibility for their dissatisfaction and only after can you offer a fix to the situation – such as replacing the order or refunding.

Scenario 4: When You Don’t Know

There will be moments when you won’t know the answer to a question your customer asks you – and that is perfectly fine. The important thing here is never to reply with the not-so-friendly “I don’t know.” What you might want to try instead is an answer such as “What a great question, let me find that out right now” and then come back with the real answer. That will let your customers know you are not only human but that you are interested in further perfecting your small business’ services and knowledge and that your attention to their needs comes first.

Scenario 5: Bending the Rules        

Sometimes customers will ask for favors that you really cannot fulfill – as much as you might want to please every one of them. While bending the rules is sometimes applicable in less important cases, you still want to stick to your basic rules. In these cases, knowing how to say a “No” while being considerate, attentive and willing to provide an alternative is huge. Let them know you care for tending to their needs, but that the policy in place is essential for other customer’s satisfaction, and then offer your help in suggesting how they could get their needs met otherwise.

When you run a local business, you will have the privilege of interacting with your customers directly. Make sure you know how to handle all possible situations to make them really fall in love with your brand.