While the customer may always be right, he or she isn’t always easy to deal with. In “How to Deal With Difficult Customers,” Glen A. Beres, contributing editor to JCK Magazine, identifies different types of difficult customers.
He shares expert input on how to best handle difficult shoppers:
- The Arguer: Wants the best deal and thinks haggling or arguing will get him there.
- The Solution: Remain calm and professional, listen and show respect -- all of which may disarm him. Avoid debating this customer, and if necessary, turn him over to the owner or sales manager. “When they know they are working with someone with final authority, it takes the salesperson out of the line of fire and shows them you are giving them respect,” says Shane Decker, president of Ex-Sell-Ence.
- The Know It All: Often armed with printouts of online jewelry prices, this type will try to intimidate salespeople their knowledge.
- The Solution: Validate the customers’ knowledge and compliment him on his research. Then use that as a way to emphasize your expertise and what you can offer, through quality merchandise, great service and other value-added factors. “Let them know you respect their knowledge, and tell them you assume they came to your store because they know that a picture on a Web page is no comparison to actually seeing and touching a piece of jewelry in person,” says Brad Huisken, owner and founder of IAS Training. He says this will create value in your store, and plants doubt about buying online and getting the unknown.
- The Cynic: Thinks every salesperson has their own agenda and isn’t interested in what’s best for the customer.
- The Solution: While this person may have had a bad sales experience in the past, Decker says you can disarm them with friendliness and professionalism. “They need to know it is an honor to wait on them, and you’re really glad they came in,” he says. “Show them you care about them and don’t have an agenda.”
Take The Tip:
Click here to get more advice on how to handle these and other types of difficult customers from the full article.
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