Matt Baril

Currently working in a customer service job, one thing that seems endless is customers calling in to vent and use their anger to threaten, manipulate and extort. This is a situation that any community builder will have to face sooner or later. It might be because you posted an article that some people profoundly disagreed with, it might be something you said in an email, a presentation you gave, something you promised that didn't happen, etc. You have 2 options in such a situation, either you stay calm and listen to the person, or you just get angry yourself and try to end the conversation as soon as possible. In a digital context, that would mean you don't bother replying to the comment, emails, tweet, Facebook message, etc.

I recently had the chance to talk to a really nice customer who had herself a long experience in customer service, and she told me that little trick that I just love. The rumour has it that the golden rule in Customer Service is "The customer is always right", but I strongly believe this is wrong and it can be a slippery slope to tell anyone they're right when they're not and it can seriously harm the company or your brand. It doesn't mean you have to tell them they're wrong though. One thing that has become standard and is taught in most customer service training is "Never interrupt a venting customer". People just want to vent and if you listen to them and agree with them, it's fascinating to see how many of them just calm down very quickly, thank you and end the conversation. For the more "challenging" customers, one sentence can come in handy and give the conversation a new direction: "How can I help you?"

Listen to the customer, agree with him/her that what happened was very unpleasant and offer your apologies, summarize the situation by recognizing the customer's pain, but also explain the situation from the company's point of view. Make sure you end by saying "How can I help you." Here is an example:

Customer: This is the worst service ever, I placed my order 5 days ago and your website says 3 days delivery. I want my money back otherwise I swear I'll go talk to the media about your false advertising and crappy service! This is outrageous! You're quite fast to take the money off my credit card, but when the time comes to deliver on your promises that's a whole different story.

CS Rep: I understand this is very disappointing, and I would feel just the same if I were you. You were hoping to have this order delivered today right on time for your daughter's birthday, but the package hasn't arrived yet. Your order was sent within the 2 business days as promised on our website, but it was unfortunately held at customs for 4 days which is the reason why you still haven't received it. The good news is that it's now on its way and will reach its destination tomorrow according to [enter delivery company here]. I understand your frustration and as a loyal customer I believe you deserve the best service. How can I help you?

While this alone won't solve everything, it's most likely to change the tone of the conversation and put the customer in a different mindset, trying to cooperate instead of fighting with you. When building a company, a blog or your personal brand, it's not the way you deal with your fans that will set you apart, but the way you can successfully deal with people who hate or are really angry with you, what you do and waht you say. Everybody can be nice to their fans, that's not very difficult. Converting an angry customer, reader or user in a fan is however the best advertising you can possibly get. If someone has been ranting about you for some days and then changed his or her mind, it will have a profound positive impact on the people they have talked to about you. You'll need some marketing, PR, psychology, diplomacy and self control to be successful, but all the effort is worth it.