The general public has a reputation as being somewhat difficult to deal with, but that doesn’t mean you can’t handle it with some degree of grace and tact. Handling customers in your business life requires patience, respect, and sometimes even a sense of humour. Here are five top tips for dealing with the general public while staying sane at the same time.
1) Smile
People love to see a smile and hear a friendly tone of voice. A little politeness goes a long way. Whether you are helping customers or speaking to someone who is just trying to be helpful, your attitude can always be improved by smiling and being polite. Even if you don’t feel like it!
2) Stay Cool
If a customer is being difficult, take a deep breath and count to ten. It’s easy to lose your cool when you’re dealing with rude customers. After all, most of us wouldn’t like it if we were treated shabbily. But trying to resolve issues without getting flustered shows clients that you can deal calmly under pressure—an important trait in any service-based business. And keeping calm helps ensure you don’t say anything you might regret later. When emotions run high, remember: Business is business. Keep your emotions out of it!
3) Keep Calm and Carry On
You may be a pro at performing your job, but that doesn’t mean you know how to deal with obnoxious customers. In fact, depending on what type of business you work in, you may receive a great number of unhappy people every day. Ideally you want to calm down irate individuals and keep yourself from yelling back or even worse! If possible, take a few deep breaths before addressing any angry customer. Don’t let them rile you up—remember, they’re not upset with you; they’re upset about something else entirely. This can help make things easier when addressing their concerns calmly. Stay Professional: It can be hard to do sometimes, but keeping a professional attitude when working is important.
4) Walk Away
The last thing you want to do is engage in an argument, no matter how small. Chances are good that if you’re being yelled at, there are other people around who can and will take your side of things. Instead of challenging a crazy person and potentially stirring up more controversy, walk away. Let someone else take the reins if you can whilst you catch your breath.
5) Avoid Arguments
Arguments are stressful, never fun, and a waste of energy. Avoid them if you can; don’t get caught up in silly debates about who’s right or wrong. If someone wants to argue, let them go ahead but don’t ever participate. By not rising to the bait and by being super nice you will take the wind out of their sails!
Feel free to join one of the Savvy Software Communities on facebook if you are having a bad day and need to vent! (https://www.facebook.com/groups/savvypetsoftware/about/) Better to chat to like minded people in a safe environment than escalate an argument with a client.
