HOW TO GUIDE:

DIFFICULT CUSTOMER
INTERACTIONS
Nolan Redhouse
 This manual will be a guide for customer service employees
whether they are in Fast Food, Retail, or any other job that
involves customer relations. This will give a step-by-step
process on how to deal with customers when they are angry,
frustrated, etc., from minor to major, and how to act
professionally during these situations.
Preview
o This manual serves as an educational tool for employees on dealing or
handling difficult customers.
o Great customer service is key for success.
o In this manual we will be going over the basics on how to act and respond
to these situations from minor to major,
o We’ll be understanding and applying the 3 G’s and the HUNGRY principals.
o The limitations of this manual will not be applied on how to deal with
coworkers, or everyday people, just on dealing with difficult customers.
The manual will also not cover sexual harassment or anything in that
region. This manual will give you a better outlook on the basics, further
knowledge will be based on your experience. Not every difficult customer
will be the same, remain flexible and keep open-minded.
Your Goal
The 3 G’s
o Go: Be the first to approach your customers, do not hang back and wait for them,

remember to give great customer service. When approaching them, smile, have good

posture, and speak softly.

o Greet: Thank them first for attending your store. Be sure to welcome them, then say your

name. ‘Hello and thank you for choosing (Name if workplace). I’m (Your first name), how

can I help you?’ Here’s an example so just fill in the blanks. Keep in mind this may

apply for some stores, but if you have a preferred greeting feel free to do so.

o Guide: If the customer chooses then respond with an altercation they have, first

apologize. We will cover the rest the further we go depending on if it is a minor or a

major problem.
 H-U-N-G-R-Y o Grateful: Remain grateful throughout the

entire situation, thank the customer for

bringing this to your attention.

o Helpful: Reassure the customer that they will be
o Relentless: Stay determined to help customers
given your full attention and that you will be of

service if they need anything else.

and uphold your brand.

o Understanding: When a customer comes to us upset, o Youthful: You want to have that youthful

we need to put ourselves in their shoes and spirit that says, ‘I can do this all day’.
understand where they are coming from, we will
Stay positive throughout the entire situation.
cover this more as we go along.
This is how we should approach and
o Never Follow: We want to fix the problem here and
appreciate every customer, show them that they
now, the last thing we need is a customer leaving
matter. Ready for some scenarios?
with their problem unresolved, never to return.

Don’t follow others and say we will get to your

issue in 3 to 5 business days.

Mild Interactions
 Greeting
o No matter which industry you are in, you are going to deal with customer complaints.

Maybe it’s not your fault, maybe it is. Regardless, it is up to you to represent and

uphold your industry's name.

o First, stick to your 3 G’s and remain HUNGRY. When a customer approaches, you can

already tell based on their body language and facial expression they are upset. When

this happens be sure to greet them and ask if they need anything. They will respond

about their current situation. The customer sometimes disregards the employee’s

feelings but don’t worry, its not personal, remain HUNGRY. They’re upset and it is up

to us to make sure that we hear them and do our best to make them leave with a smile.
 o Unavailable or Out of Stock Product: When
customers come to our store with something in
Understand mind just to find out that we don’t have or
no longer carry that item or product, they’ll
Once we get done greeting, let us go head in
be upset.
on the customers' situation and find out
o Repeating a Customer’s Problem: If a certain
what we can do from there. I would like to
customer keeps having to return to our store
thank HubSpot for producing the following-
about a problem that reoccurs consistently,
https://blog.hubspot.com/service/customer-co
it needs to be fixed immediately and
mplaints
shouldn’t happen again.
o Uninterested Service Representatives: Some
Here are some examples: employees might be having a long or bad day,
o Waiting for a Long Time: Customers want to nevertheless, we should remember our HUNGRY

have top-tier service and when they must principles by staying relentless. Most

wait until we can get to them, it is customers want to be given our full

understandable that they might be a little attention, and if we fail to that, they’ll

upset. leave.
 Resolution
In these situations, it is our job to be polite and helpful, also the last
thing we need is to match or exceed the upset customers' energy. The following
resolutions will help turn the tides from a customer being dissatisfied to
relieved.
o Be Accessible: Be available and provide self-service options so to help the
customer resolve there situation faster and efficient.
o Active Listening: Stay focused to their needs and connect with them.
o Acknowledge Your Customers: Empathy is important when it comes to customer
service, letting them know that they’ve been heard makes them feel
appreciated.
o Reiterate for Clarity and Understanding: Making sure that we correct the
mistake is crucial, restate what the problem is and how we will resolve it.
Not every customer will be satisfied with their resolution, nevertheless it’s
up to you to provide exceptional service. Customers will continuously come up
to you with problems they’ve had with your industry, and with that you’ll gain
more experience.
Hot Interactions
Greeting
Your 3 G’s and HUNGRY principles would be a great way to start. Now the

customer may be a little more disgruntled. However, this doesn’t mean we

stray away from our priorities.

Based on how we react to the situation will determine the customer’s

perception on your store. Regardless on how we feel about the situation, we

should remain calm and use a soft voice. Antagonizing the customer will only

lead to a more negative situation than we already have. Remember don’t take

it personally, the customer isn’t angry with you, they are angry at the

service or product they were given. Just be sure to Welcome, Thank,

Introduce, and Help.

Understand
Understanding these problems could be the same from the previous
slide or they could be something entirely different. It depends
on where you work, whether that may be fast food, retail, or
phone customer service rep. This is where our HUNGRY principles
come in, Understanding. Here them out and go from there.
Resolution
As a representative of your brand, you need to listen,
apologize, show empathy, and remain calm in these situations.
You want to rebuild and maintain a trust with that customer
going forward, you can do this by having all the background
information and order history of that customer. Handling angry
customer may be difficult but its not impossible.
The most important thing you want to do is stick with your 3
G’s, HUNGRY principles, and most importantly don’t get on the
same level with you customer. This will help you on the path to
success and you’ll be able to turn negative customer situations
into positive outcome.
Intense Interactions
Greeting
First off, lets stick to our 3 G’s and remain H-U-N-G-R-Y. Now the customer may cut you off

midsentence and talk with a fearsome tone. Remember to stay calm, ask the customer what seems to

be the problem. Now if it comes to the point where you can’t handle it anymore, turn to your

manager/supervisor. If you can resolve the situation yourself, feel free to do so in a timely

manner.

Sometimes it’ll be like that and at times in my experience the customer may barge in and stay

yelling at the top of their lungs and may even throw something, cuss you out, flip you off. When

that happens, get to a safe place, and grab you manager. Remember your manager/supervisor has

been trained to handle these situations, so don’t hesitate to get them.

 Understand
There may be times when a customer is not communicating respectfully, and we know that. We want
you to be prepared when that happens. If you choose to handle the situation yourself, lets
remember to stay CALM.
Calm & Collected: Don’t match someone else anger. Stay engaged with the customer without letting
your temper or judgment get out of hand. Avoid raising your voice.
Ask Questions: Usually you can calm a customer down but asking question, for example: “Could you
tell me what happened from the beginning?” By doing this you’ll make the customer feel heard and
appreciated. Understand that no matter how unreasonable the customer is being in terms of scale
of anger, there may be some truth to what they’re saying. By letting them air their complaint,
you’re letting them vent off some of that frustration and hopefully stopping the situation from
getting worse.
Look Out: Control you body language and tone of voice. We covered this earlier, but its easy to
read the non-verbal cues of aggression and anger in other people’s bodies but be aware of the
messages you’re sending to you customer.
Make them Feel Better: Try to find a solution to the problem. Ask the customer what you could do
to make them feel better about the situation, if its reasonable and within your authority, give
it to them. But what if its unreasonable? In no way, under no circumstances is that tolerated.
Notify your superior and call the police. Remember your safety is out #1 priority.
Overview
Once the situation is resolved, its best to acknowledge what
happened and what you can do to prevent it from happening again.
Anticipate that it might happen again and what can you do to resolve
the situation yourself.
What I personally like to do, is when my manger is resolving a
situation is to examine on how they resolve the situation and take it
into my own learnings and go from there. It won’t be like this every
time and encountering intense customers rarely happens, but it doesn’t
mean you won’t happen. So be prepared and practice on remaining CALM
and H-U-N-G-R-Y.
Conclusion
I’m hoping you can take this learning guide and apply it to your
skills and knowledge in your workplace to help with difficult customers
from minor to major. Applying the 3 G’s and the H-U-N-G-R-Y principles
is a key role in the manual that will help in dealing with these
complications.
Now that you know the basics, further knowledge will be based on
your experience. Not every difficult customer will be the same, remain
flexible and keep open-minded.