Is all press actually good press? Recently, I typed ‘local mattress stores’ into Google Maps and without leaving the Google page I could view 30+ reviews on several stores in my area. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t the negative or the positive reviews that I found insightful, but the ones when the customer had a negative experience and someone at the store made a genuine effort to fix the problem. Those are the important reviews.

Why?

They show the store cares about the customer, the issues they have, and ways the store can improve. No one is perfect. Customer experience has to be both proactive AND reactive. It’s the reactive part that sometimes gets overlooked. However, according to the eBook The Marketer’s Guide to Customer Reviews by Jon Hall, 4 out of 5 consumers reverse their purchase decision based on negative online reviews.

So what can you do if you have an angry customer at your dealership?

• Empathize with them. Project your tone of voice and demeanor in a sincere, friendly, and professional way. Show real concern for their issue and empathize with them. This is especially important via email. When you have an upset customer, do your best to connect face to face or over the phone. Too often, tone and demeanor over email are taken the wrong way and opportunities to fix a problem are missed.
• It’s not an arm-wrestling match. After you’ve established tone, don’t initiate push back or put your customer on the defensive. It’s easy to want to defend your employees or dealership, but first you need to hear what the customer has to say. Remember not to take the customer’s anger personally.
• Restate. Listen again. Introduce yourself but then always allow the customer to speak first. Listen to why he is upset and the problem that he is having. Frequently, a customer has already spoken with one or more people before you that tried to help but could not, making the customer more irritated. Realize most customers need to “vent” first before they are willing to listen to you.
• Understanding is half the battle. Now that you’ve given the customer a chance to voice his frustrations, keep calm. This is a good chance to ask for clarification on anything the customer said. Once you fully understand the problem, you and your customer can start working together towards a resolution.

Conclusion

If all else fails, know when to walk away. This one may seem strange but learn to identify ‘screamers.’ These people speak loudly and use negative language. They do very little in the way of describing the problem or working towards a fix. Keep calm but advise these people you are there to help, but the conversation isn’t providing much in the way of understanding the problem.

These guidelines will help you alleviate tension with an angry customer. If you sincerely attempt to help your customers resolve their issues, chances are your reviews will reflect your efforts.

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