The document provides essential strategies for effectively dealing with frustrated customers in customer support. Key tips include listening actively, taking notes, summarizing the customer's issue to show understanding, and offering solutions or workarounds. It emphasizes the importance of empathy and following up with customers to improve their experience.

1. How to Deal with
Frustrated Customers

2. Customer Support can be…

3. The BEST of
the jobs
The WORST of
the jobs!
or

4. Fret not..
You can make it
through
with these vital hacks!

5. And make both parties
exit with a smile

6. Understand that the customer
just wants to be heard;
They didn’t wake up and
decide to have a bad day or
to make your day worse.

7. Pro tip 1
Don’t take it personally.
Keep calm and breathe.

8. Pay attention to their problem.
Let them get it all out.

9. This will give you enough time
to come up with a good solution
and a brilliant way
to communicate said solution.

10. “And how did that make
you feel?”
Listen; don’t just hear them
out
Pro tip 2

11. Take notes.
Ask them relevant,
standard questions but
be careful of your phrasing.

12. Notes will help you to recollect the issue
at a later stage of the crisis.

13. Empathy over sympathy,
every day
Pro tip 3

14. Summarise, don’t repeat.
Show them you’ve understood the problem,
and you weren’t just pretending to listen.
Throw out the “We” in favor of the more empathetic “I”.

15. Once you’re done summing up the situation
take a moment to apologize.

16. Pro tip 4
Time for the Solution!

17. There’s a quick fix for the customer’s problem.
Phew. Disaster averted.
When you’ve a solution

18. There is no immediate solution
Offer them a workaround. If they’re unappeased,
throw in a discount/a freebie.

19. Pro tip 5
Follow Up

20. Regardless of the channel,
follow up with them through email after a day or two.
Don’t leave them stewing
with the memory of your last interaction.

21. Root cause analysis
The next time an angry customer looks you up,
put on your deerstalker hat and think.

22. The customer is angry, yes, but why?
Did your copy not convey the point properly?
Were your sales people misinformed?
Is there a problem with inventory?
Trace the problem to its root and
fix it before it annoys the rest of your customer base.

23. Your Turn
If we’ve missed out on something fairly obvious,
write to us at love@freshdesk.com.
You will be rewarded handsomely.

24. “Behind every slide share
is a great blogpost”
Read more about how to deal frustrated customers