U.S firms lose around 41 billion dollars every year due to poor customer service, as per the firm NewVoiceMedia. One of the major factors associated with poor customer service is inability of the brands to satisfy the angry customers. The failure to satisfy the irate customers not only results in the monetary losses but it also badly impacts the image of the company.

Let’s look at some practical methods to turn the angry customers into happy and loyal ones.

1. Ask questions
   It is necessary to collect as much details as possible from the upset customers so that you can have in-depth knowledge associated with the problem. Make sure to ask questions calmly so that customers fully understand the context of every question. Also, inform the customers that you are asking questions to help them quickly and efficiently.
2. Follow-up through feedback form
   After completely resolving the issue of the customer, make sure to send a feedback either through outbound IVR (interactive voice response) or an email. It will help you analyze if customer is finally satisfied with the services from your end. Also, if the feedback is still negative, you can further work on making the experience of customer satisfactory.
3. Offer discounts and freebies
   If you are unable to resolve the issue of the customer for the present time, then offer him/her discount or free gift as a part of compensation. Free gifts and lucrative discounts will impact the customers psychologically and most of them will definitely prefer to use your services/products in the future.
   Several online retail firms send ‘Discount Cards’ to the customers that were not fully satisfied with the company’s service.
4. Listen actively
   Usually, the distraught customers want someone from the firm to listen their problem whenever they are full of anger. This role of listening to them actively is played by the agents of contact center. Therefore, you must listen very attentively to the issue of the customer without dividing your attention. The customer will surely feel much better and his/her anger will be minimized.
5. Empathize with the customer
   Empathy is directly linked to the trust factor! Therefore, talking empathetically will make sure that customer starts trusting you. This will also help them calm down if there level of anger is quite high. Staying calm yourself is also necessary to reflect sincere empathy from your end.
6. Apologize whenever necessary
   Make sure that the apology does not sound superficial while interacting with the customer. A genuine apology with assurance to rectify the error is what customers are looking for from a customer support department.Very basic form of apology can be “I am sorry for the issue faced by you, I assure you that I will do my best to make it correct.” Call center agents can modify it as per the nature of the issue and mood of the customer.
7. Stay flexible in your approach
   If customer is not satisfied with a solution offered by you, then do not stick to it. Staying adamant on specific solution may annoy them more which will make the situation more difficult for you. You can make the solution more flexible if there is possibility of calming the customer with it. Companies must also allow agents to make exception in special cases to ensure satisfaction level of customer is maintained.
8. Give them exact time
   If customer is angry due to delay in the resolution of the service, provide him/her with the exact date during which the issue will be resolved. This will give him an assurance that actually care and you have started working for the optimum resolution.
9. Use proactive approach
   Proactively informing the customers about an issue will reduce their chances of getting angry with your firm. For example, if there is delay in the delivery of the product, send an email and text message immediately to inform about the possible delay in the shipping.

Remember! Each happy customer takes you an inch closer to your business goals. Therefore, you should not shy away from dedicating more than 100 percent to turn your distraught customers into happy ones!

Additional Reading:

15 Tips for Effective Chat Support Operations
Everything You Need to Know About Live Chat Support