Everyone in any industry that involves interaction with another human being can expect to, at some point, interact with an angry customer. This is no different at a dealership. Dealing with angry customers is a skill that employees and bosses should familiarize themselves with. Effectively handling angry customers will increase customer retention, reputation, and overall customer satisfaction. When dealing with an angry customer here's what you should do.
- Stay Calm and Focused
The worst thing you could do is get angry with the customer. Anger leads to irrationality and can result in you losing a potential sale and overall a customer. Instead, you should remain calm. A clear mind will enable you to understand the situation more clearly and possibly save the sale and customer. Being focused allows you to keep the goal in mind and helps you maneuver the conversation in the direction that helps resolve the issue.
- Listen to Their Feedback and Understand Where They're Coming From
More than likely, the customer isn't angry for no reason. Your task is to understand the situation and why they are upset. By understanding why they are upset you can think about potential solutions to the problem. Their feedback could reveal an issue in your dealership that needs to be fixed or a small problem that can be improved. By listening, also gives the customer time to calm down themselves which will make the interaction smoother.
- Sympathize and Apologize
Sympathize with the customer. Genuine sympathy can turn the situation around and allows you to understand where the customer is coming from better. Then apologize. Apologies are the greatest neutralizer in situations such as this. When you apologize it tells the customer that you not only sympathize with them, but you are genuinely sorry for the inconvenience it put upon them.
- Offer a Solution
After you've apologized and sympathized, the customer is likely to be much calmer. Even if they aren't, apologizing won't harm the situation. At this moment, the next and final thing you should do is offer a solution. This is the reason why they are there, and they are angry. By offering a solution, it will resolve the issue at hand.
For more information on how to manage a dealership, contact Vanguard Dealer Services. Our experts have knowledge that can assist your dealership in reaching its highest level of success!
