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§§ Table of Contents − − − − − − − − −
Ultimate Guide to Difficult
Conversations
1. Introduction 2. When you don’t know the answer 3. When you have to transfer a customer to someone else 4. When a customer requests a feature or product 5. When a customer asks you for a favor that you cannot do 6. When there’s something wrong with the delivered product 7. When you close the conversation 8. When a customer is angry 9. When a customer is unwilling to pay 10. When a crisis occurs 11. When you have a frequently complaining customer 12. When customers complain on social media 13. When you have legal issues 14. When you have to deliver bad news 15. When you have an abusive customer 16. When customers cross boundaries 17. When the customer speaks a different language 18. When a customer asks a vague question 19. When customers ask when something is going to be available 20. When you or your fellow agents made a mistake 21. When a customer wants to speak with a manager 22. When you can’t resolve the issue right away 23. When you need to let a customer know that it was their mistake 24. When a customer reaches you by mistake 25. When a customer asks how your product is different from others 26. When a customer is worried about how secure your service is 27. When a customer says that they forgot their password 28. When you want to point a customer to your documentation 29. When a customer violated your terms of service 30. When a customer is not tech-savvy 31. When a customer is right, but your policy is not 32. When a customer sounds like a bigot 33. You’ve got this!

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20.

When you or your fellow agents
made a mistake

Everyone makes mistakes; we are all human after all. But while it’s easy to make a mistake, it can be incredibly difficult to admit it. Especially when it’s professionally, and it’s something that all of your other colleagues can see — and the customer. If you’ve responded to a customer and made a mistake or given incorrect information in your last email, the best policy is always going to be honest: admit to the mistake and be transparent about why you made it.

When you or your fellow agents made a mistake

It will make the customer see you as slightly more human, and defuse any of the potential anger than they might have been feeling towards you. Here’s an example of what you could say to someone reaching back out to you to let you know you’d messed up:

Hi,

Thanks for reaching back out. I looked into what you mentioned about [whatever you said that was wrong], and it turns out you’re right! I’m sorry that I provided you with the wrong information; it seems like we’d had some switches in policy here and I wasn’t aware. I’m glad that you found the right answer!

Either way, I know how frustrating it can be to have your time wasted, so I apologize for being a cause of that. Thanks for giving me a heads up, and let me know if there’s anything else that I can help you with.

Thanks!

This exhibits a level of humility while still also obviously trying to let the customer know that you are there for them in the event that they need help in the future. The customer knows you are wrong. If you admit it gracefully and with tact, they’ll take it better than if you tried to cover it up and blame it on them — plus, that’s just bad support!

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19.
When customers ask
when something is going
to be available
Next Chapter →
21.
When a customer wants
to speak with a manager
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