Dealing With Angry Customers

After two years of billing errors from my cell phone company, I finally canceled my service this week when my contract ended. Each month I found I was being charged for a service I did not use (text messaging someone in Australia or downloading video ringers, for example), and would have to endure weeks of being bounced from customer service rep to customer service rep until finally someone begrudgingly agreed to reverse the charges.

It wasn't just the constant errors that bothered me---it was the company's attitude that they were doing me a favor by refunding my money and their refusal to acknowledge the recurring problem (I heard "It's only a couple dollars" several times) that irritated me to no end. If they would have just taken ownership of the issue and made me believe they cared about my experience with their company, I probably would not have canceled my service.

An important tactic when dealing with an angry customer is to simply acknowledge his or her right to be upset, according to this article from BusinessKnowHow.com, which lists 10 steps to diffuse situations with angry customers. Other tips include listening, being patient and owning the problem. The customer might not always be right, but you'll never find out if you just ignore him.