
Handling Difficult Customers
Overview:
At first glance, handling a difficult customer may seem like a thankless job. Fortunately, you can develop skills to adapt to the challenges difficult customers pose and extend these skills to handling difficult people and situations throughout your daily life. By improving the focus of your thoughts and feelings, how you manage stress, and how well you listen to and empathize with others, you will be better able to meet the challenges other people pose in both your professional and personal life. Implementing the guidelines in this module is the first step in a process towards forever changing how you interact with others.
Workshop Objectives
Research has consistently demonstrated that when clear goals are associated with learning, it occurs more easily and rapidly. With that in mind, let’s review our goals for today.
At the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:
- Cultivate a positive attitude
- Manage internal and external stress
- Develop abilities to listen actively and empathize
- Build a rapport with customers in person and over the phone
- Understand the diverse challenges posed by customers
- Develop strategies to adapt to challenging circumstances
Target audience:
All Sales Professionals and Business Professionals
Course Outline
Module One: The Right Attitude Starts with You
Be Grateful
Make Gratitude a Habit
Keep Your Body Healthy
Invoke Inner Peace
Case Study
Module Two: Stress Management (Internal Stressors)
Irritability
Unhappiness with Your Job
Feeling Underappreciated
Not Well Rested
Module Three: Stress Management (External Stressors)
Manage Your Work Space
Loud Work Environment
Co-Worker Relations
Demanding Supervisor
Module Four: Transactional Analysis
What is Transactional Analysis
Parent
Child
Adult
Module Five: Why are Some Customers Difficult
They Have Truly Had a Bad Experience and Want to Vent
Want Someone to be Held Accountable
They Have Truly Had a Bad Experience and Want Resolution
They are Generally Unhappy
Module Six: Dealing with the Customer Over the Phone
Listen to the Customer’s Complaint
Build Rapport
Do Not Respond with Negative Words or Emotion
Offer a Verbal Solution to Your Customer
Module Seven: Dealing with the Customer In Person
Listen to the Customer’s Concerns
Build Rapport
Respond with Positive Words and Body Language
Aside from Words
Module Eight: Sensitivity in Dealing with Customers
Customers who are Angry
Customers who are Rude
Customers with Different Cultural Values
Customers who Cannot be Satisfied
Module Nine: Scenarios of Dealing with a Difficult Customer
Angry Customer
Rude Customer
A Customer from Another Culture
An Impossible to Please Customer
Module Ten: Following up With a Customer Once You Have Addressed Their Issue
Call the Customer
Send the Customer an Email
Mail the Customer a Small Token
Snail-Mail a Handwritten or Typed Letter
Case Study
Module Eleven: Wrapping Up
Words from the Wise
Review of Parking Lot
Lessons Learned
Completion of Action Plans and Evaluations
Live Workshop: 2 Days (Recommended) or 1Day (Compact)
2 Days (Recommended)
8 pax & above = SGD316/pax
4-7 pax = SGD456/pax
1 Day Compact Workshop
8 pax & above = SGD158/pax
4-7 pax = SGD228/pax
Virtual Classroom:
Full Length: 8 Hours X 2 Days/ 3 Hours X 5 Days + One Hour of Self Directed Work. ($2250 Nett)
(Max 15 participants)
Compact: 8 Hours X 1 Day/ 2.5 Hours X 3 Days + One Hour of Self Directed Work. ($1250 Nett)
(Max 15 participants)
Power Compact: 3 Hours Session / $450 Per session (Max 15 participants)