When you first open a dropshipping store, the first few months are great. You get a few orders, you complete them on time, and the customer is happy.
But the harsh truth about a dropshipping business, or any business, is that people make mistakes. We make mistakes sometimes, which makes customers mad. You could also be talking to a customer who is hard to please, but this happens very rarely.
So, what do we do when we have to deal with a customer who is upset? What should we do? Let’s find out!
Listen!
Listening to the customer is the first step to solving any problem in a professional and personal way. Actively listen to the problem instead of just thinking about something else in the back of your mind and not understanding how the customer feels. Try to read their tone, figure out what went wrong, and figure out how the customer is taking in the bad energy of the situation.
The point of listening is to figure out how someone feels about something. Based on this, think about how you should respond to keep your customer. You’ll naturally have more compassion and a calmer voice.
You’ll be surprised to learn that when we understand how something affects us, we automatically connect better.
Sincerely, I’m Sorry
Everyone makes mistakes. There is no question about it. If it’s normal for people to make mistakes, you shouldn’t be afraid to say you’re sorry. If your dropshipping store makes a mistake and someone’s order gets stuck because of it, you should apologise.
We can all say that we’re sorry for the trouble, but customers may have heard this so often that it no longer makes sense.
So, say sorry like you would to a friend. “I’m sorry that your order was late. We didn’t mean to get in the way of your plans. Please know that we will do everything we can to make up for this mistake. Tell us what we can do to help you.”
This sounds more personal and is much easier on the ears. If you sincerely apologise, your customer will immediately calm down and be able to talk to you.
Empathize
It’s important to understand why a customer is upset. Even though you don’t have to agree with what the customer says, you do need to understand how they feel.
What does the customer think about the order being late? Then ask yourself if you can understand what’s going on. Have you ever been where they are? If so, you will automatically feel for the customer and find a way to help them.
The idea is that you should care about people and talk to them nicely to figure out what’s going on and fix it. This will keep the customer from getting even more angry.
Keep your brand’s tone in mind.
When we are in charge of a brand, we need to keep the tone of voice of that brand. When dealing with an angry customer, it’s easy to sound like the customer. Even more so when you are writing an email or posting on a message board. This way, you won’t notice how your tone has changed, which could hurt your relationship with the customer.
Set some rules for the way you talk to keep this from happening.
For instance, you could say, “We understand,” “You must be heartbroken,” or “I’m sorry about what happened.”
Having rules for written communication will help you deal with a situation in a productive way. You will keep the brand’s voice, avoid being rude to customers, and make sure a good thing happens.
If the customer is calling you, you can just stay calm. So, it’s best to know that the customer is probably having problems that your dropshipping business caused.
Talk in a good way.
When talking to a customer who is being difficult, you should use positive words. This is the best tip support teams can give. If you use kind words and positive language, your customer is more likely to calm down and talk to you about what’s going on.
Here are some suggestions on how to do the same: Try not to talk in a way that makes people feel bad. Check the above empathy pointer for how to do this.
Don’t ever say something that makes the customer think you’re not ready to help them. For instance, but this isn’t our problem or just so you know (FYI).
Use words like “absolutely,” “definitely,” “yes,” etc. that mean “yes.”
Some phrases in a foreign language are just rude and hurtful. If you use them on purpose in your communication, the customer is more likely to be upset.
Repeat
After listening carefully to what the angry customer has to say, repeat it in a clear way. When you give details, you can talk about anything, and the customer can see if they are being reasonable or not.
For instance, you could say “I know that our service has caused you some problems. Do you need a refund? “, say, “Let me explain the problem again just to be sure. You ordered a product that you thought would arrive sooner, but the shipment is moving according to the promised delivery date. This meant that you couldn’t use the product when you wanted to.”
Even though this is polite, the customer will still realise that they are being unreasonable.
Give a way to fix it.
There is a chance that you made a mistake that caused the problem. It’s not impossible for that to happen. If you make this mistake, you should understand how upset the customer is and give them a quick fix.
This could:
- Do you need a refund?
- Do you want me to process a refund even though you can still keep the product when it arrives?
- Do you want me to give you a 50% refund and let you keep the item?
- Here’s some store credit that you can use the next time you shop with us to make your experience better.
- Since we made a mistake, here’s a coupon for a discount to say sorry.
Give out a coupon
We’ve talked about how you can offer a coupon already.
This is a separate heading because you can often handle the situation by giving out a coupon.
- If the shipment is late, the customer will be angry, so you can give them a coupon.
- If the customer is upset because you sent them the wrong item, you can give them a coupon.
- The customer is angry because the product is broken, so you can give them a coupon.
- The customer is angry because the item went out of stock, and you can offer a coupon.
- If a customer made a mistake, you may need to give them a coupon if you want to keep them as a customer. If someone brings you business, you might want to give in to their unreasonable requests if you want to keep them as a customer.
Let Go of Fear
We’ve learned over the years that when we talk to customers, we need to let go of our fears. This in no way means that customers shouldn’t come first. It’s still true that the customer is always right. But getting rid of your fear will help you think more clearly.
If you always think that you need to keep this customer, you might make some strategic mistakes that could hurt you in the long run.
So, stop being afraid and be sure when you talk to the customer. If you’re wrong, say you’re sorry and offer something nice. If not, don’t freak out and try to figure out what to do.
Keep Calm
One thing we’ve said over the course of this talk is to stay calm. We keep saying this over and over again because if you treat a customer badly, the domino effect is just too big to stop.
For example, you were rude in an email to a customer. This customer took screenshots and put them on the internet, which makes people dislike your business.
So, never forget that even when things go wrong, you need to stay calm and stick to the tone of voice your business uses.
Summary
Having to deal with an angry person in real life is also hard. We know how to react the same way on a personal level, which makes us feel better emotionally. But when we deal with people who bring us business, getting back at them in the same way always makes us hate them. Even if the customer is very rude, you could still end up in a bad situation.
So, you should know how important it is to deal with angry customers the right way, and you should read the tips above to learn how your dropshipping business can handle the situation in a polite way.
