One of the toughest parts of working in retail is dealing with angry customers. Even though we do our best to make them happy, sometimes we can’t win. It’s important to be prepared to deal with wrathy customers so you’re not taken by surprise when they strike. Here are some our top tips that we apply when dealing with our own angry customers:

1. Be responsive
Never ignore an angry customer. Return their calls right away. Respond to their emails immediately. A fast response to a problem goes a long way, so make sure you’re not procrastinating when it comes to dealing with this type of problem.

2. Show some empathy
When a customer is mad, in their mind it’s them versus you. Coming to a resolution will go more smoothly if you can change the mindset to a problem you’re working to solve together. To get them off the offensive, let them know you understand their frustration. Thank them for calling the problem to your attention or taking the time to contact you.

For example, imagine a customer is angry that their order never arrived. You check the package tracking number and see the post office has screwed up. When you respond to the customer, you’ll want to say something like. “Thank you for taking the time to contact me about this issue. I completely understand your frustration. I checked the package status with USPS and it appears they’ve lost the package. Obviously this is very upsetting for me too. I will be filing a claim with them,  but in the meantime, I want you to have your products, so I will put a replacement package in the mail today.”

3. Do NOT lose your cool
People can be really nasty and inappropriate. They call names, they curse, they yell. There’s no need to stoop to their level. Whatever they say or do, it’s important to remain calm and pleasant. Refusing to engage with their boorish behavior sometimes even shames them into changing their tone.

4. Do not make them feel stupid
Sometimes a customer is angry and the mistake was on their part. Maybe they chose standard shipping and then got angry when the order didn’t arrive over night. Maybe they’re freaking out because they had to pay customs fees, even though it clearly stated on your website that customs fees might be incurred on international deliveries.

In these situations, the first thing to keep in mind is that people don’t always follow directions. They’re busy and distracted and maybe did not pay attention when they were shopping on your site. When we get complaints that fall into this category, we always apologize for the confusion and then explain the steps we took to try to provide them with detailed information. We close by asking them for their input on how we could do a better job communicating the overlooked information in the future.

5. Do not give in to unreasonable demands
Angry customers can sometimes expect you to bend over backwards to appease them. Emphasis on the bending over. This kind of thing is often associated with customers who are throwing tantrums. They expect their bullying aggressive behavior will intimidate you into giving them whatever they want.

If the mistake is on your part, you probably should offer them something to make it up to them. When things go awry on our end at our ecommerce company, we often do things like gift cards or free shipping. We don’t give away entire orders for free or hand over hundreds of dollars in product for compensation. You want to make sure whatever you’re giving the customer to appease them isn’t above and beyond.

At the end of the day, the most you really owe them is a refund on returned merchandise, and if someone’s truly being an implacable ass, sometimes that’s the best course of action. When we’re dealing with someone truly impossible in this situation, we’ll typically say, “I’m really sorry you’re not satisfied with any of the offers I’ve made to try to make this right for you. We’d be happy to refund your money in full if you’d like to return your order.”

6. Try to make things right
If there’s something you can do to appease the customer, and it’s not unreasonable, offer to do it. If their order shipped later than it should have, offer free shipping. If their product arrived damaged, offer to replace it free of charge and send them a coupon code for their next purchase.

7. The best offense is a good defense
If you know you’re going to have a problem, communicate with your customer as early as possible and let them decide how they want to handle it. If an item they ordered is out of stock, notify them immediately and ask if they’d like a refund or if they’d like to wait. If they want to wait, offer to ship their order for free if it’s going to be a long wait. If you know 50% of the clasps on the necklaces you sold are breaking, contact customers who ordered the item and offer them a free repair. Taking the time to warn customers about a problem before it starts usually keeps them from throwing a tantrum later.