How Do You Handle Difficult Customers?

I have worked in retail so I know it is not an easy job at all. What I always did was be extra super nice to them (even if it kills you). When I am overly nice it actually annoys them more believe it or not. =) And it always made me feel better to be super nice rather than be rude. When they walked away and were gone I would think to myself a few things I really wanted to say. LOL. This always worked for me. It will either make them be nicer at the time or at least make them think about how they treated you later on...

A few years ago I was working at a local McDonalds restaurant which is part of an Entertainment complex on the edge of town with a Cinema and Hollywood Bowl, I was working there during the summer to earn a bit of money before I went to College. I remember two customers who were teenage boys and they said that I had served them and they were still waiting for their food, I am good with faces and I knew I hadn't served them. The manager was called and gave in and got them the food they said they'd ordered. This really annoyed me and it opened my eyes to what some people try to get away with in those places. Retail is not as easy to work in as some many think.

After my newfound plans I've found newfound happiness at work. I had started to get a bit bummed and not very happy, but today I decided I am turning that around. I work at a grocery store, and it's a great place to work. Sometimes it gets busy and we get ignored by the CSM's and dont' get our breaks etc, but well such is life. Today I had a customer, when I asked if he had found everything okay, started to get a bit irritated. He said "no" in a brutish type way, not so much brutish but mad. I told him I am sorry for the inconvenience and kept ringing him up. A moment later I ensured him we could write him a raincheck for the things we couldn't find. He still was a bit mad at the end of the transaction but I could tell his tone changed a little bit when he spoke last to me. I could have gotten irritated and shone it in my own speech but instead I decided that I would sympathize with him. That is sort of what we were instructed to do in our training videos. Even if you know they are wrong, even if you know their attitude could use a little adjusting, act kindly and usually they will eventually in return. Now there was a time months back when I got done ringing up a customer and started ringing up another, or was about to start another. The customer asked me how to link her account to her child's school. I told her "Ma'm the next time you come in just let your cashier know and they will link it for you." She said "I don't want to wait." Well how snobbish, right? ... Okay so I got irritated but didn't let it show, I just sugary sweetly said "Well then ma'am you can go to customer service and they can do it for you." I did it in such a way that she could not genuinely tell that I was being sarcastic. It satisfied her needs as well as mien by getting her to go on so I could take care of the next customer. If there are times you are working and you're thinking "oh it's an hour until quitting time, it's 30 minutes until quitting time, it's 10 minutes until quitting time." Just stop. Keep working, work harder if you have to. Before you know it, it will be time for you to go. If you think of it almost being quitting time you will start getting antsy and irritable, a customer just coming up to you will make you mad. Trust me it's happened to me but no more. If you feel liek you're getting irritated, take a deep breath and smile. Pay a compliment to a customer and watch them smile, it will brighten your day and theirs and help you keep "check" of your emotions. These things have always helped me.

It can be really hard to help customers because they aren't always friendly. I think if a customer really is hard to handle it is just not good for the shop and for your self. I am happy i never had to help customers, so i do not have any experience with it by myself. But sometime i see in some shops some people are really annoying to the seller and they do not have respect for that seller. But as seller you always have to stay as friendly as you can so the an other customers do not have irritations about it and not go to an other shop. But it is hard.

I do understand on how it feels to have a difficult customer. As former Customer Service Representative, I still treat my customer in a nice manner. Not all customers are different to handle, you might not gonna know that they've been in a terrible situation. Always SMILE with your customer. There are customer that changed their moods when they saw a sales Lady SMILING.

I find that hard too. I think a customer should be treated well but not endlessly. So I quite with that. I don't know if that is allowed for you? If not the only advice I can give is to "agree", admit, give in (even if you think the opposite) so you get rid of that customer as soon as possible. And after that customer is gone.. take a break of some minutes and be proud of yourself.

I've worked in retail for years. Like you said, MOST of the customers are decent. Occasionally i've gotten a rude customer. The customer is NOT always right but it is important to treat them politely and calmly and not stoop to their level of rudeness. If a customer is overly rude and I don't feel I can help them with their problem, I call out my boss to deal with the person. If my boss in not available, I calmly tell them to please come back and speak to him and I tell them when he will be available. I saw that you mentioned something about refunding money. If the person has the item and I remember them buying it, I do refund the money. I work in a small town so my situation is different in that I know most of the people and who can be trusted. If I don't know the person and they do not have a reciept then I ask them to speak to my boss or the clerk they bought it from. If they question their change that I hand back, I take their name & # and call them if my drawer is over. I never just hand them back money unless I'm 100% sure that I did make a mistake.

I know it isn't always the case, but sometimes those customers from hell have been shopping all day and have had to put up with retail salespeople from hell and there are a lot of them out there. Keep your cool, look concerned, agree with the customer and ask if there is anything you can do to help them. That's really all you can do.

Well customers not always right but of course I won't say that to them. Sometimes I wear fake smile to cover up my annoyance and just listen to whatever those kind of customers said. They don't come often of course but their visit sure make my day. Meeting all kind of customers are pretty common in business. So I'll just deal with it.

The customer is right about 3 to 7 % of the time. That "customer is always right" saying has done so much irrevocable damage to the poor people who work retail and customer service. I worked retail for many different places and found that the customer is hardly ever right. It's either an attitude being displayed that's uncalled for, they've stolen and are therefore finding a problem to cover their deed, they didn't read the store policy in one way or another and expect you to bypass it, etc. It's very rare when a customer actually gets screwed over and has a right to be angry with the store employees. What always worked for me when dealing with bad customers was standing firm and killing with kindness. Then, when the situation is done and over with, I feel terrible for them. I think about how horrible it is that they have lived their life up until whatever point and still can't find joy in life; I wonder about the things that have happened to them in which they didn't find a reason to learn and move on but instead found reason to suffer. To be honest, then I would always pray for them and wish them the best. I say that because it's true, and not because I'm trying to bring faith and religion into this discussion. I've had people yell at me until their faces were red because I used the "wrong" sized plastic bag for their product (even though the store asks differently, and the customer didn't make his choice known). I've had a man throw a box of shoes and a coupon at me after I wouldn't take the expired coupon. I've had racist accusations thrown at me because I refuse to be bullied by a customer, and they happened to be Hispanic and black. I've been accused of not doing my job because I refused to return a person's purchases since they were never purchased at all (the woman had walked in with a huge bag, put stolen goods into it, then walked up to the register wanting money for a return without receipt). Stand your ground as long as you are on the side of your store policy. YOU are the one with the law to back you up in this case. A customer cannot get you fired unless the store has reason to, and they cannot end up winning unless your superiors tell you to give in. Smile, be ridiculously kind, and take pride in the fact that you've allowed them to stoop so much lower than you. Even though you might feel like you're "just" a retail clerk, if you kill with kindness you'll be the better person in every situation, and that's something to be proud of.

Even in Italy there is the saying: "The customer is always right". Can you instill the customer is one who brings the money in the company. If the customer is not satisfied, he turns to another side. I know it's difficult to deal with a certain type of people, but what can I tell you, every profession has its flaw

I remember there was a tv show about some people that tested a security in an electronics shop. That shop was really secure : it had some people that were responsible to prevent stealings and they looked like regular customers. Plus , the store had cameras so the worker could see everyone everywhere all the time. Maybe you can have some good friends that will be happy to visit your shop and spend some time there ? I think it will help you if you get their support when the customer from hell comes.

i worked in customer service for the longest time. The rude ones always seemed to be the ones with a problem. I have forund that when they are having a problem the faster you plaster a fake smile on your face and resolve the issue the quicker you can be done with t tme customer service is a very demanding job, descpise what people think. It is always hard to deal with deficult people in this world no matter who you are.

Hello NailTech! I am not so good in sales but I worked like call center operator in a big company and there only angry people called me. So I believe is a challenge to speak with people who are not polite, who don't respect you. Anybody can talk with kind people, repectfuly people, there is no challenge and no love for human being. Finaly I believe you must think about them that they have a problem, a problem with their health, mental health, or even something wrong happend behind them. You can love them and try to understand them. Is just a sugetion. You will feel better when will deiscover that they will apreciate you if you will listen to them carrefully and understand their problems. Don't think about your sales! So, I usually prefer to speak with rude people, people from hell how you said before. It's a challenge for me and then I can prove that I love or not human beings. Hope to talk to you soon! Cata

Sometimes some customers are unreasonable and it is not easy to deal with them. But there is a saying: The customers are always right. The customers are God. So no matter what, you shall be kind to them anyway. I hope that your good attitude and service will change them. They will be kind to you, too. I love China

No, they are not always right. And no, they don't always leave happy. Which is a bummer. I work in the customer service field too, and I work in the service industry, so I typically come across a lot of problems. We are at a very high-volume store too so that doesn't help. Most people I can kind of try to cool down a little bit but some people are down-right rude and think they are the only reason you are working; you are living. It's annoying. I am actually very bad at being fake-sympathetic, because in the big picture, these little issues they are having are totally non-consequential in life. I work at a dry cleaners. So, it's like, A button fell off of their shirt in the cleaning? OH NO!!!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD WILL WE DO!!! Often times, because simply I cannot fake sincere apologies very well, just re-assure them that we will do our best to correct the situation. Some customers look for sympathy though. And are angry when they don't get that from you. And those are typically the ones I have trouble with!!

When I used to work in retail, I found that if a customer started getting nasty and demanding, I would simply ask, "What would you like me to do?". That forces them to stop for a moment and actually think about what it is they want done. Getting a specific answer, too, can help you directly in knowing what to do. Sometimes they would say, "I want to talk to a manager!". That was fine - I'd call one. Other times it would be something such as, "I want to return this for cash!" - when they paid for it with credit. I'd repeat store policy, and ask, "How should i handle breaking our store policy?". That would always get them. Always. hehehe

I work in the food service industry, so I know exactly what you are talking about! Some customers come up to me while they are talking on the phone and I cannot communicate with them when they are in a discussion with another person, and then they get aggravated when the order is messed up! Some of them are just rude all of the time, for no reason. You have to keep you cool when dealing with these kinds of people. Whether or not you like them, they are still customers and they spend money on the service you provide. Sometimes after I take an order from a difficult customer, I go into the back of the store or go to the bathroom to collect myself. Another way is by doodling under my register while the customer is deciding and there is nothing I can do to help.