Comments on: 4 Tips on How To Deal With Irate Customers http://mywifequitherjob.com/4-tips-on-how-to-deal-with-irate-customers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=4-tips-on-how-to-deal-with-irate-customers Starting An Online Business When Your Wife Wants to Stay at Home With the Kids Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:57:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jamie Dolan http://mywifequitherjob.com/4-tips-on-how-to-deal-with-irate-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-5554 Jamie Dolan Sat, 05 Mar 2011 16:39:04 +0000 http://mywifequitherjob.com/blog/?p=219#comment-5554 What great approach. If everyone could just remain calm enough to apply it. It's hard not to let some people get under your skin. There is always that odd ball that you run into that will never be happy, even if you give them their money back, and do everything else you can think of to appease them. There are just some bad apples out there. Fortunately they are the exception to the rule. The majority of people are fairly reasonable. Through in the industry that I've spent the most time in (web hosting and Internet service), I've seen more than my share of people that are down right irrational. I think part of it may be due to people lack of understanding of the technology, and they don't know who else to blame when their are problems. Many times a problem is due to their computer, the person that made their web site, the phone company, 3rd party software, you help them as much as you can, but there are limits to what you can do. Then at times all their frustration gets taken out on you. What great approach. If everyone could just remain calm enough to apply it. It’s hard not to let some people get under your skin. There is always that odd ball that you run into that will never be happy, even if you give them their money back, and do everything else you can think of to appease them. There are just some bad apples out there. Fortunately they are the exception to the rule. The majority of people are fairly reasonable. Through in the industry that I’ve spent the most time in (web hosting and Internet service), I’ve seen more than my share of people that are down right irrational. I think part of it may be due to people lack of understanding of the technology, and they don’t know who else to blame when their are problems. Many times a problem is due to their computer, the person that made their web site, the phone company, 3rd party software, you help them as much as you can, but there are limits to what you can do. Then at times all their frustration gets taken out on you.

]]> By: Mark Foo | TheBigDreamer.com http://mywifequitherjob.com/4-tips-on-how-to-deal-with-irate-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-1533 Mark Foo | TheBigDreamer.com Sat, 16 May 2009 16:56:56 +0000 http://mywifequitherjob.com/blog/?p=219#comment-1533 Hi Steve, This is a great story and thank you for sharing it! I totally agree that the mantra "customer is always right" is so f***ing crap and the dumbass who came up with this should be sent to the firing squad. Coincidentally, I have recently posted an article on the same topic. And it's based on my personal experience. You can check it out here: <a href="http://www.thebigdreamer.com/how-to-handle-an-angry-client" rel="nofollow">How to Handle an Angry Client</a> Cheers~ Mark Hi Steve,

This is a great story and thank you for sharing it! I totally agree that the mantra “customer is always right” is so f***ing crap and the dumbass who came up with this should be sent to the firing squad.

Coincidentally, I have recently posted an article on the same topic. And it’s based on my personal experience. You can check it out here:

How to Handle an Angry Client

Cheers~

Mark

]]> By: Steve http://mywifequitherjob.com/4-tips-on-how-to-deal-with-irate-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-958 Steve Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:35:01 +0000 http://mywifequitherjob.com/blog/?p=219#comment-958 Hey Slackerjo, Your customer sounds like a complete nightmare and I would have banned her from the course a long time ago. Thanks for sharing your crazy story! Hey Slackerjo,

Your customer sounds like a complete nightmare and I would have banned her from the course a long time ago. Thanks for sharing your crazy story!

]]> By: Slackerjo http://mywifequitherjob.com/4-tips-on-how-to-deal-with-irate-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-954 Slackerjo Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:36:45 +0000 http://mywifequitherjob.com/blog/?p=219#comment-954 Uh, what Jeff said! Sometimes you have to fire customers. We had an irate customer at work who crossed the line into out of control rage and abuse. She basically calls the company, screams at whoever answers or leaves obscenity filled voice mail messages. There is no problem with the product, we have tested it and 1000s of other customers have completed the course without any problems. The problem is that the customer is doing an online course and has no idea how to use a computer. Also she refuses to troubleshoot her computer, despite numerous attempts by the support staff. So, there is very little we can do to resolve the issue. I reported the first incident to my supervisor and instead of refunding her money and banning her from the use of our services, he forced the staff to continue to assist the customer. Well, 30-40 calls later, she is still screaming and swearing at the staff. The extra work and stress created by the customer's never ending list of complaints is preventing the support department from assisting other customers. Unfortunately the customers who are polite and professional are getting less attention because a crazy woman in New York state feels that screaming and swearing is the way to go. I wish I could record her messages and phone conversations and post them along with her picture on You Tube. The revenge would be sweet. But alas, posting the info would violate her privacy and would be completely unethical. This is why the Soup Nazi is a hero to me. His customers are afraid of him. Uh, what Jeff said! Sometimes you have to fire customers. We had an irate customer at work who crossed the line into out of control rage and abuse. She basically calls the company, screams at whoever answers or leaves obscenity filled voice mail messages. There is no problem with the product, we have tested it and 1000s of other customers have completed the course without any problems. The problem is that the customer is doing an online course and has no idea how to use a computer. Also she refuses to troubleshoot her computer, despite numerous attempts by the support staff. So, there is very little we can do to resolve the issue.

I reported the first incident to my supervisor and instead of refunding her money and banning her from the use of our services, he forced the staff to continue to assist the customer. Well, 30-40 calls later, she is still screaming and swearing at the staff. The extra work and stress created by the customer’s never ending list of complaints is preventing the support department from assisting other customers. Unfortunately the customers who are polite and professional are getting less attention because a crazy woman in New York state feels that screaming and swearing is the way to go.

I wish I could record her messages and phone conversations and post them along with her picture on You Tube. The revenge would be sweet. But alas, posting the info would violate her privacy and would be completely unethical.

This is why the Soup Nazi is a hero to me. His customers are afraid of him.

]]> By: Buy From Manufacturers Direct http://mywifequitherjob.com/4-tips-on-how-to-deal-with-irate-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-688 Buy From Manufacturers Direct Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:07:53 +0000 http://mywifequitherjob.com/blog/?p=219#comment-688 Well, sometimes, irate customers are necessary to set things straight for certain outlets, which get away with shoddy jobs and unprofessional customer service from average customers that are too nice. Well, for certain cases only though. ;) Well, sometimes, irate customers are necessary to set things straight for certain outlets, which get away with shoddy jobs and unprofessional customer service from average customers that are too nice. Well, for certain cases only though. ;)

]]> By: Jeff http://mywifequitherjob.com/4-tips-on-how-to-deal-with-irate-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-610 Jeff Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:05:44 +0000 http://mywifequitherjob.com/blog/?p=219#comment-610 The problem with being nice and polite to the rude is you set a precedent. One which they'll take advantage of and try again with other retailers. Essentially you are approving of their behaviour and worse still rewarding it. Every time I have to deal with some obnoxious ass that quotes the "customer is always right" bull at me I want to strangle the twat that popularised it. If your business is built on repeat custom then being nice to the customer is important, unless he/she states "I won't shop here again" If it's a business where the customer is rarely seen again tolerating and validating their behaviour does a disservice to all who have to deal with them in the future. Research in the U.S. showed that if a customer had a complaint and the customer felt the complaint was dealt with in a fair manner they were still as likely to bad-mouth your store as if you had told them to piss off. Strange but true. Basically every time you treat a customer better than they deserve, you deserve the next bad customer as karma. The stress suffered by staff who have to tolerate the intolerable costs society billions in sick days, medical bills, violence and even suicides. Profits are nice, a reduced stress life is nicer. If as the store owner you wish to deal with people as you suggest it is your right but you should never expect your staff to have to do so. The problem with being nice and polite to the rude is you set a precedent. One which they’ll take advantage of and try again with other retailers. Essentially you are approving of their behaviour and worse still rewarding it. Every time I have to deal with some obnoxious ass that quotes the “customer is always right” bull at me I want to strangle the twat that popularised it. If your business is built on repeat custom then being nice to the customer is important, unless he/she states “I won’t shop here again” If it’s a business where the customer is rarely seen again tolerating and validating their behaviour does a disservice to all who have to deal with them in the future. Research in the U.S. showed that if a customer had a complaint and the customer felt the complaint was dealt with in a fair manner they were still as likely to bad-mouth your store as if you had told them to piss off. Strange but true. Basically every time you treat a customer better than they deserve, you deserve the next bad customer as karma. The stress suffered by staff who have to tolerate the intolerable costs society billions in sick days, medical bills, violence and even suicides. Profits are nice, a reduced stress life is nicer. If as the store owner you wish to deal with people as you suggest it is your right but you should never expect your staff to have to do so.

]]> By: Customer Stories: The Customer That Was Too Nice | MyWifeQuitHerJob.com http://mywifequitherjob.com/4-tips-on-how-to-deal-with-irate-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-135 Customer Stories: The Customer That Was Too Nice | MyWifeQuitHerJob.com Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:07:46 +0000 http://mywifequitherjob.com/blog/?p=219#comment-135 [...] nice. The search came up zilch. Perhaps, I’ll write one! In case you missed it, I wrote about how to deal with irate customers [...] [...] nice. The search came up zilch. Perhaps, I’ll write one! In case you missed it, I wrote about how to deal with irate customers [...]

]]> By: 5 Ways to Differentiate Your Online Store From the Competition | MyWifeQuitHerJob.com http://mywifequitherjob.com/4-tips-on-how-to-deal-with-irate-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-89 5 Ways to Differentiate Your Online Store From the Competition | MyWifeQuitHerJob.com Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:21:38 +0000 http://mywifequitherjob.com/blog/?p=219#comment-89 [...] providing great customer service, I don’t just mean being nice to customers and being generally helpful. The type of customer [...] [...] providing great customer service, I don’t just mean being nice to customers and being generally helpful. The type of customer [...]

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