How to Deal with Rude Customers

Most of the time, someone who works in customer service will have to deal with rude customers. Sometimes, customers lose patience with employees, or some people get annoyed by the inconvenience of the situation, and others are simply quite rude. No matter what a customer’s behavior is, dealing with their rudeness is stressful for employees. Knowing how to defuse a stressful situation with a rude customer will help you feel happier and more comfortable at work, regardless of your profession.

Table of Contents

Emotional control

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Maintain composure. The number one rule in customer service is to never lose your temper with a guest, no matter how rude they may be. Losing your temper with a client will only make the situation worse, and possibly cost you your job. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Breathe deeply, breathing through your diaphragm instead of your chest. Taking a deep breath of air into your belly helps relax your body, even in stressful situations. ^{[2] X Trusted Sources American Psychpogical Association Go to Source}
Imagine the element of relaxation. Maybe it’s a place you’ve been to or a situation that’s completely imaginary, but visualizing a place or an element that helps you relax can help ease shallow thinking. your shallow and maintain calm. ^{[3] X Trusted Sources American Psychpogical Association Go to Source}

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Offense should not be personalized. This will be quite difficult for many people, especially those who tend to be self-critical. The key point here is that you should remember that no matter what your customers say, you are not the main cause of their real problem. Often, they feel frustrated about the type of product they have purchased or about the service they expect to experience. Maybe the customer had unreasonable expectations from the start, or perhaps it was some simple momentary mistake that let them down. You should focus on solving the problem, rather than on feeling hurt or offended. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Silently repeating the catchphrase helps to soothe yourself. Anything that keeps you focused and calm will help. You may think, “It’s not my fault. That person isn’t mad at me, and it’s not entirely my fault.” This will help remind you that the mistake wasn’t necessarily yours and that the customer’s anger will pass.

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Listen and find out the real problem. If a customer is being rude to you, it is possible that you or your colleague have made a mistake. Or perhaps they didn’t get what they expected. Regardless of whether the customer’s behavior is appropriate to the situation, you need to listen and try to find out the real cause. It can be hard to listen to an angry customer yelling profanity at you, but behind their tantrum is a problem you or your co-worker can solve. You should ignore their bad attitude and focus on the cause of the problem. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Instead of providing commentary on the situation, you should follow the process of asking the question. This will let the customer know that you are not objecting to their complaint, and by answering your question, the person may see that it was all a misunderstanding. ^{[6] X Research Sources}
Try to ignore any insults or rudeness from customers, and pay attention to their complaints. If the person doesn’t elaborate on them, you can politely but firmly ask about it, “Sir, I don’t quite understand what the problem is. How can I help you? Are not?”.
You should say something like “What are your expectations?” and follow the question with a polite “Why do you have such expectations?”. You should be careful when taking this action, as asking questions in an impatient or impolite tone will cause the other person to see them as insolence. However, they will help you get to the root of the problem – for example, perhaps a customer misread an advertisement, or misunderstood the service provided.
You may also need to state your position on the matter. This is normal, but you should remember to stick to your problem and reasoning without attacking the client or their logic. Doubting their logic or personality will only make the situation worse and make it harder for you to deal with the person. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Speak slowly and softly. If the customer is getting more and more angry, you should try to lower your voice and slow down. This method will have a calming effect, and at the same time let the person know that you are tough and professional. You need to consciously monitor the tone and volume of your voice, because allowing yourself to get angry with the client will only exacerbate the problem. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

If you communicate with customers via email, take a few minutes to calm down before responding. Take a deep breath, focus on what makes you happy, and only start composing your email after you’ve calmed down.

Assess situation

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Empathize with customers. It can be difficult to sympathize with someone who is being rude or even aggressive, but this is the best tactic. This will let customers know that you’re not trying to ruin their experience, and that you’re willing to work with them to solve the problem. This is a way to help ease a tense situation between the two of you. ^{[9] X Trusted Source Harvard Business Review Go to Source}

Show your customers that you understand how they feel and why they’re upset. Tell them something like, “I understand why you’re unhappy. The situation was really upsetting.” ^{[10] X Harvard Business Review Trusted Source Go to Source}

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Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. While you don’t necessarily have to picture the situation from the person’s perspective, it can be quite helpful. At the very least, you should summarize the situation with the client in language so they know that you are on their side. ^{[11] X Trusted Source Harvard Business Review Go to Source}

You can use a statement like “Okay, sir/madam, just to make sure I understand…” and then repeat what the customer told you. This subtle act will help them realize that you believe what they say, and that you take things very seriously. ^{[12] X Trusted Source Harvard Business Review Go to Source}

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Apologize to the customer politely. Once you’ve identified the cause of their anger and summarized the situation with them, you should politely apologize regardless of whether or not you feel the person deserves an apology. . The reality is that you won’t be able to defuse the situation without apologizing and making efforts to remedy the situation. ^{[13] X Research Source}

You should try to say, “I’m really sorry for the inconvenience sir/madam. Let me see what we can do to handle the situation for you”. ^{[14] X Research Source}

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Shouldn’t be condescending. If the customer is the wrong person and they are being unreasonable, you still have to apologize for the inconvenience you have caused them, but at the same time, you must also stand your ground so that the person cannot rub kick you.

Use firm and polite phrases such as “Please let me finish the sentence”, “That’s not my question”, or “I didn’t say that”. ^{[15] X Research Source}
If you’re communicating via email and the customer ignores something you’ve said, keep repeating it, or say, “Sir, I brought that up with you. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

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Admit that you can’t do anything else. Angry customers will continue to get angry because they think their actions will change the outcome. If you or your colleague cannot help them, you should let the customer know. Remember to be firm but remain polite – you can say something like “I understand your frustration, and I sincerely apologize, but there’s nothing we can do about it. solve this problem”. The person will probably be more angry, but they will realize that they have lost and leave the place once they feel that they have said everything they wanted to say.

Problem solving

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Don’t hesitate if you can come up with a simple solution. If you’re entitled to a refund or exchange for a product the customer isn’t happy with, go for it. This will make them happier, and reduce your stress. Often, the simplest solution is the best solution for everyone. ^{[16] X Research Source}

You might also consider consulting with your customers as to what they would like you to do to fix the immediate problem. However, you should be careful, because if the client maintains an inappropriate or unreasonable attitude, they will not want to offer a reasonable and practical solution. ^{[17] X Research Source}

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Review required documents. If a customer has a problem with a product they’ve purchased, ask them for an invoice. Or if they make a request that is contrary to the agreement they signed, you can show them the minutes of the agreement. Regardless of the situation, providing some kind of supporting documentation or evidence will help you quickly eliminate an angry customer’s unreasonable request. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

If you chat with customers via email, you can send them proof of contract or agreement, or simply forward the email to them in advance, if any of the previous emails have been resolved. solve this problem.

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Consult with management. If you are not entitled to a refund or a product exchange, or if you are unsure whether this action would be against company policy, you should talk to your supervisor. You need to let your supervisor know when a customer is getting angry or unreasonable, as your manager may need to step in before things get worse. ^{[19] X Trusted Source Harvard Business Review Go to Source}

Tell your supervisor about the customer’s complaint and possible cause of the problem, and mention that they are causing trouble.
The supervisor will provide you with actionable instructions, or they will step in and chat with the client. At the very least, your supervisor will be able to help you come up with the right solution to the problem, ideally one that can be to the satisfaction of everyone involved. ^{[20] X Trusted Source Harvard Business Review Go to Source}

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Breathe after everything is over. Once the situation has been resolved, or at least cooled, it’s a good idea to take a short break (if your job allows it). Step out of the office for some fresh air, have a cup of coffee or tea, or simply go to the bathroom and splash some cool water on your face. Regardless of which tactic you choose, you need to allow yourself time to cool off and relax after a stressful or frustrating situation. ^{[21] X Research Source}

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Learn to let go of everything. After a stressful situation, like dealing with a rude customer, for example, you’ll want to vent your anger on a co-worker, or even a friend or loved one when you get home. But many experts have warned that venting when faced with upsetting situations can take a toll on you if you do it on a regular basis. While it will provide you with a temporary sense of relaxation and contentment, in the long run the act of venting or cursing will become a familiar way for your brain to deal with stress and anger. This will take its toll on you, and may disappoint your friends, family, and co-workers. ^{[22] X Trusted Source American Psychpogical Association Go to Source}

Think positively about yourself. You should allow yourself to enjoy the good feeling after you have de-escalated a stressful situation without losing your composure. ^{[23] X Research Sources}
Eliminate self-doubt by seeing the truth. ^{[24] X Source of Research} This process can be quite difficult, but you need to stop thinking about the situation and again you should accept that the client is not necessarily angry with you, and that they are not. mean rude things. The person is just upset with the situation, and you just happen to be “stuck in the middle.” ^{[25] X Research Sources}

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Make an effort to prevent future problems. Ask yourself honestly if you can change a course of action to prevent the problem. Don’t beat yourself up about this, just determine if there’s anything you or your colleague could have done differently. Then see this unpleasant confrontation as an opportunity to learn. You have succeeded in seeing the problem, talking about it, and solving it – this is well deserved to make you feel better. In the future, things will become easier and you will know how to manage difficult customers. ^{[26] X Research Sources}

Warning

Never ignore a rude customer’s threat to you, your colleague, or your company. You should report any threatening or violent behavior to a supervisor.

Steps

Emotional control

Assess situation

Problem solving

Warning

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