How do you show empathy and understanding to a customer who is frustrated or dissatisfied?

How do you show empathy and understanding to a customer who is frustrated or dissatisfied? This is a common challenge for anyone who works in customer service, sales, or any other role that involves interacting with customers. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and understand their feelings and perspective. Understanding is the ability to listen, ask questions, and acknowledge the customer's concerns and needs. In this article, we will share some tips on how to use empathy and understanding to deal with difficult customers and improve your business relationship building skills.

Find expert answers in this collaborative article

Selected by the community from 2 contributions. Learn more

1 Why empathy and understanding matter

Empathy and understanding are not only beneficial for the customer, but also for you and your business. Demonstrating empathy and understanding can help to reduce negative emotions, build trust, show care and value for the customer, identify the root cause of the problem, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and enhance your reputation and brand image.

Add your perspective

2 How to show empathy and understanding

Showing empathy and understanding can be challenging, particularly when the customer is angry, rude, or unreasonable. Therefore, it is important to use active listening skills and pay attention to what the customer is saying without interrupting, judging, or arguing. Additionally, use verbal and non-verbal cues to show that you are listening, such as nodding or eye contact. Express empathy and understanding with words and phrases like "I'm sorry to hear that" or "I understand how you feel". Avoid using words that minimize or invalidate their feelings. If you or your company made a mistake, apologize sincerely and take responsibility for what went wrong. Offer a solution that meets their needs and expectations and explain how it will benefit them. After implementing the solution, follow up with the customer to ensure they are satisfied and thank them for their patience, cooperation, and feedback.

Add your perspective

Jim Edwards

Western Sales Manager, Hotsy
Report contribution
In different scenarios, I have had customers who were dissatisfied, upset over the transaction or in retrospect communication was lacking or not fully disclosed which led to the "problem" and an angry / upset customer... Being of the mindset that business should always be a win-win for both parties, I have always taken complete responsibility whether I was responsible or not, representation and responsibility are 2 key steps to correct the deficiency and get the transaction back on track... While nothing is perfect, how you engage, treat and show the customer you care, goes a long way in both making it right but necessary to sustain a long-term relationship, after all your customer comes first, not you!

Like

3 How to handle difficult situations

Sometimes, showing empathy and understanding may not be enough to deal with difficult customers. In these cases, it’s important to protect yourself and your business from harm. To do so, you should set boundaries and limits; if the customer is using profanity, threats, or personal attacks, you can politely warn them that you will end the conversation if they continue. If the customer persists, you can escalate the issue to someone with more authority or expertise and explain the situation. Additionally, it’s essential to stay calm and professional during these difficult conversations. To help cope with stress after dealing with a difficult customer, you can seek support and feedback from peers, managers, or mentors.

Add your perspective

4 How to improve your empathy and understanding skills

Empathy and understanding are skills that can be learned and improved with practice and feedback. To do so, you can read books, articles, or blogs on customer service, communication, or emotional intelligence to gain insights, tips, and strategies. Additionally, watching videos, podcasts, or webinars can provide examples, scenarios, or role plays on how to show empathy and understanding to customers. Seeking feedback from customers, peers, managers, or mentors is also beneficial as they can give constructive feedback on your strengths and areas for improvement. Finally, practicing with peers, managers, or mentors can help hone your skills in simulated or real situations while receiving feedback and guidance on how to improve.

Add your perspective

Jim Edwards

Western Sales Manager, Hotsy
Report contribution
Be a good listener, a key portion to customer satisfaction and long term business success...Ask the right questions to understand your customer, their needs / requirements and what is takes to work together... 2ndly, don't take it personal, and leave your ego at home...That isn't to say that showing confidence is a bad thing, but keeping it when and where it's needed vs. injecting it when you didn't have to... Lastly, treat your customer no different than how you want or need to be treated, showing that you care, having an understanding nature and sincere consideration goes a long way, that is as long as you relish success vs. learning how to successful be the hard way!

Like

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Add your perspective

How do you show empathy and understanding to a customer who is frustrated or dissatisfied?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Why empathy and understanding matter

2 How to show empathy and understanding

3 How to handle difficult situations

4 How to improve your empathy and understanding skills

5 Here’s what else to consider

Business Relationship Building

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

More articles on Business Relationship Building

More relevant reading