How to deal with irate customers: As long as you are in a service organization or you are an individual that interfaces with customers, at one point or the other, you will always encounter angry persons.

Being able to practice the virtue of patience is the best remedy for angry and difficult customers. A highly temperamental person will find it difficult to calm a very angry person down.

Therefore, when faced with irate customers, here are some tips you need to follow in order to bring the situation under control.

1. Get a hold of yourself: Do not ever interrupt an angry customer when he is still venting his anger. Allow him speak his mind even if he is using abusive words. Make an effort to put your emotions under control.
2. Desist from telling him to calm down.
3. Listen attentively: This is where you put your listening skills into use. Pay attention to every tiny detail to assimilate everything  the customer says. Giving him a listening ear with undivided attention will make him feel better.
4. Empathize with the customer: Make him know that you feel his pain. You understand what he is passing through. Being empathetic at that point will make him calm down.
5. Render an apology: Apologize on behalf of your organisation or the bone of contention that triggered the customer’s dissatisfaction. Whether his complaint makes sense or not, apologising will always soothe his nerves.
6. Proffer solution: once you are able to understand why the customer was furious, make sure you go out of your way to do everything possible to find a solution to his issues.

It is very important to ensure that an irate customer leaves with a smile and a feeling of satisfaction.