There are many different types of customers that you can come across on a day to day basis. They could be;

• Happy

• Angry

• Talkative

• Demanding

• Impatient

If a customer is being difficult, you have to be assertive, and being assertive means that you have to act in a confident way, but make sure you talk calmly. You also have to have a physical posture which comes across confident rather than having a stance which comes off aggressive. Every customer is different and they will all react to you in different ways.

If someone is being difficult or coming across as aggressive, don’t take it personally and don’t bring your feelings/emotions into it as it could make the situation worse. Let it wash off your back and carry on with the rest of your day.

Aggressive behaviour may invite confrontation which could lead to an argument. Don’t put yourself at risk by arguing over something which could potentially be resolved in a matter of seconds.

You know that the customer is in the wrong, but they don’t know that. They’re adamant they’re correct and that you should listen to them. One thing to do is to let them explain what’s going on and listen patiently to what they have to say, let them vent to you.

Never raise your voice to a customer. Instead, lower your voice and slow down your speech. You still have to be firm because the last thing you want to show is your ‘fear.’ Try and calm the customer down just by your tone of voice when you’re speaking.

Your biggest goal is to make sure that you help out the customer and repair the relationship that they have with the company. See if your customer will accept a voucher or a discount to try and resolve the problem.