Learn To Say No To Customers Without Getting Them Angry
This might seem weird but why the hell do you need to say no customers? I mean, they are meant to be the bedrock of your business and that is why you always need to be very tactical with them. I mean, you cannot afford to always piss them off. I guess you have heard the saying that the customer is always right.
The fact that they are always right is not the problem, it is part of the package but the real issue is with the outcome of having to accept every shit they come up with. You ain’t gonna make any real progress because humans are selfish which means that they will always put themselves first.
Your success and gains are always secondary to them so they don’t give a shit about the stress and the loss they will likely put you through if you accept everything they have to give you.
Related: How to increase your customer base in new markets
And the dilemma is that you don’t want to lose them either. They are annoying without a doubt but they are the lifeline of your business. How then can you say no to customers without losing them? That is what we are interested in. When you know your customer is wrong, you will need to disagree with them but you also have to be careful so as not lose them.
The truth is that losing one customer will have a multiplier effect just as gaining one customer will have the same effect. Hope you understand the analysis? If you lose one customer, he will go out there and take with him some of your current and potential customers.
However, if you gain one customer, he or she will likely bring more customers. This is the rationale behind putting up this post is to ensure that you learn a little on how you will put with them, how you will say no customers without making them angry.
Related: Tips on how to use social media platforms for customer service
Tips On How To Say No To Customers Without Getting Them Angry
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The customer needs to feel that you are giving him listening ears
Customers are humans and there will be times when they let their frustrations out and embark on a journey of emotional outbursts. This is the time you must give them listening ears. They must believe that what they are saying matter. It is pertinent for that to happen. That is how they will feel that you understand what they are putting up with.
You may or may not be the cause of their frustration but you will still listen to them nonetheless. Find out why they are angry and you can help them better. It is possible that you don’t have what they want but you can build something strong with them; trust, bond or whatever you call it and that will bring them back when they need something else.
Also read: A guide on how to handle customer complaints
You are more likely to get people back when you listen to their opinions even when their demands are impossible to meet. For humans, the thought of the fact that cared about them will always bring them back. I had an experience I did like to share.
There was a day we wanted to buy meat so we went to the market to get it. The seller did something. After we had issues with him on the basis of the fact that what we got wouldn’t be enough. We kept ranting and ranting and ranting. He just sat where he was and listened. After our outburst, he called us and asked us what the issue at home was. Actually, we were not shouting because of us but because our girlfriends were around. They will need more and so we felt we deserved more.
After listening to us, he just told us to either bring more money to buy more and gave us reasons to do or we should go home and tell them to use what we got. He also gave us reasons for that. The end point is that he didn’t give in to what we were saying and he didn’t have to be annoying about it. While I was in that town, we never bought meat from another person.
He just knew how to say no customers and at the same time, endearing them to himself.
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Don’t just say no, say something positive
You don’t want to be perceived as being rude. That is exactly what will happen if you just say “NO” to customers. You need to say no but you will have to be positive about it. Everybody wants to hope on better days and if you can offer something like that then there won’t be an issue.
You should offer a polite explanation of why you cannot provide a particular service or why you don’t have a product that they seek. If it was the issue of the price of the product, then you still owe them the explanation that if it was okay, you did be doing business with them and offer to do business with them next time.
This way, you have effectively removed every possibility of bitterness and sown seeds of regret that the business couldn’t push through. It is a safe bet to say that the person will come back to you next time.
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React politely
These things we are saying may look as if they don’t really matter. On the face level, it may look very insignificant but trust me; you don’t want to start having those negative reviews yet.
How you react to peoples actions and words will go a long way in making your business a success or a failure. You can trust me on that. You must learn to tame any kind of negative reaction even when you are being pushed by their repugnant and rude comments and actions. If you know how to react to the emotional aspect of peoples’ lives, you did be selling crap for money and people may not care.
I suggest you train yourself to be able to manage and curate words so as to manipulate the feelings of your customers and give them exactly what you have and make them always want to patronize you.
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Get customers a close alternative
Your customer has a request. Imagine a scenario where you don’t have what they are asking for but you don’t want to give them a full-blooded no. It happens that while you may need to say no, you have to say yes. Again, there must be a feeling of mutual satisfaction coming up after the deal. What would you do?
I will tell you; offer a close alternative to the customers. Make sure they get a very good deal from the offer you are giving them by bringing up discounts or other incentives. You are going to get that person walk home happy and will talk about the close alternative you gave to him or her and that serves you well because your product is being marketed. Everybody wins. If you just say no to customers, the person will be gone. You see, that will likely be the end of the person in your business life or not.
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Follow the spirit of honesty
In trying to make them happy, in trying to say no to customers without making them angry, it will be wrong to act deceitfully. It will be very wrong to make promises you cannot keep. They will appreciate if you walk honestly with all the way. All you need is to them the truth and be done with it.
Transparency and honesty will buy you the loyalty of many customers and increase your customer base astronomically. When you say no customers without making them angry, you have got to imbibe the spirit of honesty.
