There are many different types of customer interactions a customer service employee may have to deal with. Many of those include simple and easy questions such as asking about store hours, though those can be easily answered by an AI Chatbot to avoid wasting employee time. There are also more complicated questions or concerns that may take the creative thinking of a real person to solve. While rare, there is the occasional interaction thanking the company for doing a great job. And then there’s the angry customer, which is probably what most customer service interactions entail. These customers have probably already left before even making their complaint, so how can you get them back? Here are some tips.

Always respond

A customer who takes the time to reach out to your business, whether through social media, email, chat, text or other means, is the kind of customer who can be loyal if you give them the opportunity. Even if they are angry, responding always helps them feel more secure and like the relationship is still in place. Not responding just makes them feel like they aren’t important to your business, and they will leave forever.

Address the issue with empathy

Businesses who try to skirt around the subject instead of responding to the criticism aren’t going to do very well. A customer wants to see their concern is being addressed, even if it is simply an “I’m sorry, and we will work to ensure that doesn’t happen in the future.”

Work fast

When we were in the ICU visiting my brother in the hospital and couldn’t get good service to our phones, we tweeted T-Mobile about the problem. They responded in 45 seconds. The best customer service is responding quickly and getting back to customers right away. Sometimes, waiting too long will mean customers will move on and won’t even care if you’ve fixed the problem or not. They will find a new business to work with in the time it takes you to respond if you wait a week or two. Make sure to work fast, and you’ll have much happier customers.

Don’t ignore the great customers

Sometimes businesses forget that happy customers are your strongest ally. So while it is important to make things right with the ones who are angry or upset, it is equally as important to reach out to happy customers and thank them for their business and respond to them, especially when it comes to their interactions with you on social media sites. It will validate their feelings and the relationship they have with your business.