10 Expert-approved De-escalation Techniques for Handling Difficult Customers

How you handle these interactions can make or break customer relationships and impact your company’s reputation. This is where mastering de-escalation techniques becomes invaluable.

What is the De-escalation Technique for Customer Service?

In fine words, de-escalation gets considered as an approach, which helps to reduce aggression and tension in a situation. Now, the situation here can be anywhere and anything. For instance, there may be tension between two persons, businesses, or between a customer and a brand. When it comes to de-escalation, every other firm utilizes it, including mental health facilities, law enforcement departments, and especially call centers.

In addition, the main goal of de-escalation in customer service is to resolve the issue at the first interaction only. It means, your customer service providers prevent a situation from getting escalated to a superior by providing a peaceful resolution. Moreover, this approach comes in handy when you deal with customers with complaints, grievances, and long waiting hours at customer service.

Furthermore, when you implement de-escalation, you start to improve your customer satisfaction and retention rate. Also, according to Salesforce Research, 88% of customers say good customer service makes them more likely to purchase again. However, to make de-escalation work, you need to understand its core techniques.

De-escalation Techniques for Handling Difficult Customers

By incorporating the following techniques, you will get to know how to de-escalate an angry customer. Additionally, you can take all the factors into consideration to practice de-escalating conversations for customer service.

1. Active Listening

When a customer reaches your customer support with an issue, complaint, or query, you should always listen to them first. It’ll help you understand the feelings of the customer and will also improve your further interaction. In addition, when you listen, it’ll calm the customer to some extent.

Moreover, it’ll demonstrate that the brand holds empathy for its customers, listens to them, and moves forward in their favor only. Simultaneously, the anger will go down, and your customer service agent can promptly process further.

2. Stay Calm and Composed

Regardless of the customer’s behavior, all your customer service agents need to remain calm. They need to ensure zero profanity and no misbehavior with any of the customers. It’s essential that agents learn all these things in their training, as it’ll help them to adapt faster.

Further, when you will remain calm, it will positively impact the customers. They will also try to converse in a calming manner that will make the interaction seamless for both parties.

3. Empathize with the Customer

When a frustrated and angry customer reaches the support staff, they need someone who can understand their pain point. Especially, they need someone to empathize with their situation. And you need to ensure that your customer support agents appropriately apologize for the inconvenience.

Additionally, for empathizing purposes, you can avail of de-escalation script call center services. It’ll help your support agents with exact sentences that will calm down the customers. Some of the script examples are as follows:

• I understand why you’re frustrated
• I’m sorry you’re having this issue
• Let me resolve your query on a priority

4. Use Positive Language

Using positive language is going to take you way ahead in handling all kinds of tense situations. You always need to ensure your customers that there’s always a way to resolve their issues. Mainly, you need to maintain their hope and reassure them until they reach a calming point.

Phrases to avoid:

• Please calm down
• You are wrong
• It’s not our policy
• I can’t help you with that.

Phrases to consider:

• Let’s see how we can resolve this.
• I appreciate your patience.
• I’m here to help you.
• Let’s look into this and resolve it.

5. Offer Solutions, Not Excuses

You should make offering solutions a priority during the de-escalation of customer service. For this, you need to make sure of the following factors:

• The entire knowledge base is handy to the support agents.
• The senior staff is available, in case any approvals are required.
• Any resolution can be processed at the moment.
• All the updates get sent to customers in real time.

Additionally, you should offer feasible solutions, to make a win-win situation. But, remember to remain under policies to maintain decorum. Also, to ensure all the above requirements get aligned, you should consider availing of customer service outsourcing.

6. Set Clear Boundaries

It’s not always a situation where the customer complies with your behavior. If you have tried enough and the customer still misbehaves or uses aggressive language, then it’s time to set clear boundaries. However, you need to maintain your professionalism while telling the customer to behave properly, as you are there to help only.

For continuous customer misbehaviors, you should consider creating custom de-escalating conversations for customer service.

7. Seek Supervisor Support

Not each time a L1, L2, or L3 support representative can solve the customer issues. There are numerous situations when instant approvals and higher authorization are required. For such cases, you need to configure a seamless way for agents to reach the supervisor.

Further, the supervisor can manage the customer and provide them with a quick and reliable resolution. As a result, customer satisfaction will increase along with the higher probability of future purchases.

8. Offer to Follow Up

If you need additional time to resolve a customer issue, ask them to follow up. However, you should provide them with a defined time to ensure that they will hear back from you. And, if possible, make the time period as short as possible.

By doing so, you will show the accountability of the situation. Also, your customer will have clarity of their issue getting resolved in the meantime.

9. Use Mirroring Techniques

Mirroring doesn’t mean mimicking the customer. You only have to reflect the tone of voice and motions in a subtle way. The main aim of this technique is to make customers understand that their behavior is not good and someone in front is also a sensible person. In addition, the service agents should not handle any vulgarity or similar things from the customers.

But, make sure not to mimic too closely, as it can cause insincerity and have a negative impact on your organization. To prepare for this, always choose de-escalation phrases for call center services.

10. Customer Service De-escalation Training

Lastly, you should invest in comprehensive de-escalation training for your customer service representatives. Equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to handle difficult situations effectively. You can include role-playing exercises, scenario-based training, and ongoing coaching and feedback modules in the training.

Key Takeaways

From all the above-listed de-escalation techniques for customer services, we get to know that:

• De-escalation requires a positive attitude, a calming nature, empathy, and a customer-centric environment.
• Your support agents need to actively listen to each customer and provide them with a resolution or a follow-up request promptly.
• Mirroring technique is the last resort option. If things get uncontrolled, then only move to mimicking.
• Trainings plays a crucial role, as it helps support agents to understand de-escalation and its techniques.
• You should choose customer service outsourcing, as it ensures the availability of all resources required for de-escalation purposes.
• You should showcase empathy and accountability, as it builds up company reputation and customer trust.

How ContactPoint360’s Agents Helps in Handling Difficult Customer

Recognizing the pivotal role exceptional customer experiences play in sustaining long-term business success, we at ContactPoint360 are committed to more than just providing outstanding customer service. Our focus extends to fostering sustainability within your business while aiding in customer retention.

We consistently deliver best-in-class customer service practices with finesse, ensuring that every interaction reflects our commitment to excellence.

For comprehensive insights into our customer service offerings, visit our customer experience services page. Should you require assistance, our team of experts is readily available to provide you with the information you need.

Frequently Asked Questions