How can you build rapport with difficult customers?

A great tool that I have utilized is the act of "parroting" where you start by restating what the customer/client said. For example: "There is no budget currently to add anything else as we are tight on money" "I know you said there is no budget currently due to money being tight but..." Restating their own words shows that you are actively listening to them and taking down notes which shows that you care for what they have to say!

I always believe active listening plays a pivotal role in building a rapport between a customer or a client. A smile and use of concrete language goes a long way by establishing trust and interacting with them about open-ended questions and mostly be empathetic.

I believe building rapport starts with a genuine interest in the other party. Empathy, curiosity and great communication start there. In building rapport you want to build a connection; to connect you must care about the other party. Asking great questions to understand their world and perspective is crucial. Listening to learn and understand is also critical. Don't fake it. Once you have built a connection, you maintain rapport by staying connected and following your words with aligned actions. Don't be afraid to be vulnerable (where professionally appropriate), and remember that any real connection with another human comes back to human nature and psychology. Experience s not required to make an incredible connection!

Be emphatic with your customer. Acknowledge their emotions and let them know they you are willing to assist them in anyway you can, even if it means that you take responsibility for their call and will follow through with active feedback. They need to know that they can trust you enough to find the correct information or solution. Always good to know their name and every so often include it in your consideration. And a smile can also be seen as while as heard over a phone. If customer facing, remember eye contact and body language as well as tone of voice, don't sound uninterested and don't sound like you a recording machine or robot. We are all customers in 1 way or another, hence emotional Intelligence goes a long way 😉

Whatever products we offer, start by getting involved in terms of their priorities related to ESG (environment, sustainability and governance) implementation.

I concur with the action of understanding, being aware of and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts will empathise and fully communicated in a objectively explicit manner.

Customers who are rude or hard to deal with are still people, and every person deserves to be treated with respect, dignity, and empathy. I used to have a group of elderly people come in to my coffee shop once a week, and they were consistently complaining about little things like their drinks being too hot/cold, not sweet/too sweet, etc. However, after weeks of dealing with this, I finally asked them, "Hey! I see you all in here all the time, what are your names? I like to know my customers on a first name basis." And from that moment on, every time I saw them, they had smiles on their faces and never complained. Come to find out, they were all widows, and they met at the coffee shop to help with grief. All it takes is a little empathy!

Transparency with the customer on what what exactly your intentions are (often times being outright && honest about the quickest & most effective route to the solution) then following up to ensure customer satisfaction 👍🏼🙌🏼

Often times we fix a problem for one customer not realizing that this situation will come up again. Once a problem is identified it is important that a plan is put in place to ensure that the issue doesn’t happen to any future customers. Simple really just goes back to being treated how you would like to be treated.

Change your mindset. It's hard to build rapport with someone if you view them as "difficult." That makes you naturally defensive. Try to view these customers as people who need your helping getting through a challenging situation. This perspective immediately changes how you interact with someone. You become their partner, rather than an adversary.

I've worked with call centers for the majority of my career. As you know, call centers are notorious for getting very upset people to work with. Things I've shared with coworkers and team members is this. Don't take it personally until it is. People are coming to us upset with something they perceive the company has done to them. You're not the one being wronged or the one that wronged them. Choose to word solutions with the positive first. You can be firm and advocate for yourself and the company but you still need to be engaged with the customer. Most importantly, be personible. Someone wanting resolution doesn't want to speak to a robot.

This is a very interesting subject which really hits home with me as I have been told numerous times by my employer, co-workers and even my own daughter that I can be very difficult which makes me so much more in tune when I have to deal with difficult customers. Difficult customers require an extra level of attentiveness such as truly listening, asking what can or needs to be done to fix/resolve a situation. Trust me the truly listening part really works. I have been asked to deal with difficult customers by my employer and co-workers on numerous occasions. Don’t get me wrong I can’t resolve or satisfy ever customer but the majority of difficult customers can be helped effectively.

Perhaps think of how you would like to be treated if you are the difficult customer. Hey... ever division or department of a company is customer service. 🤔 Think about it.

Don't be afraid to break the ice and have a traditional conversation with the person while you work through the item at hand. Be respectful of boundaries, but if you can connect with the individual, it can start to turn a conversation around. For really difficult situations, follow back up with the customer in a day or two to see how things are going and if there is anything more you can do. This can go a long way into helping build rapport and show the customer is truly valued!