Having spent the better part of a decade (2011 - 2019) as a senior member of Yelp's leadership team, being on the receiving end of a frustrated client call was something we had no option but to get good at very quickly. A business's reputation, after all, is the life blood of their financial existence. It can make or break them, and there's going to be an emotional and passionate response to that, as there should be!
I'm going to walk you through my journey, the mistakes I made and how I learned to turn frustration into revenue.
Grab a pen and pad. You're going to like this:
The Angry Customer: Your Greatest Opportunity to Shine!
In the real world (social environments), when someone is shouting at you and/or saying things to you that may not sit well with your character, you'll likely respond by standing up for yourself, right? In an environment where you represent something bigger than you, calmer head prevails 100% of the time.
The conversation you're having with a frustrated client is not just between the two of you. Your entire team is watching how you interact, and there's an opportunity to shine by setting the tone for the sort of leader you are!
Believe it or not, the frustrated customer mostly wants solutions to their problems as opposed to walking away from the relationship. This is an opportunity to build on an existing relationship and turn a problem into profit.