Innocent bystanders can be caught in crossfire of negative experiences
Most of us have experienced situations in stores, hotels, on airlines and in dealerships, where the behaviour of other customers can leave an indelible impression.
The problem is that those situations not only leave a negative feeling, but can also impact the way in which we perceive our own experience of the service provided by the business.
As you have no doubt felt at times, the old adage that “the customer is always right” doesn’t hold in all situations where you or your employees have to deal with difficult customers.
But there’s difficult and then there are situations where, no matter how well trained or competent your staff are, customer behaviour can spill over and affect both service providers and other customers.
7 Different types of “Misbehaving Customers”
Social media provides an innovative and transparent way of understanding difficult customers, their effect on the business and how to deal with them.
A recent study used the technique of Netnography (identifying and describing different groups of customers based on social media content).
The study was done in 2016 by a group of academics from the U.S., and South Africa). They wanted to understand these groups by looking at comments made on social media by the customers who felt the impact of others crossing the line in a service or retail environment.
These were “by-standing” customers. The researchers analysed by-standers’ comments sites such as Trip Advisor, Yelp, Reddit, Notalwaysright.com, Chowhound.com and others.
They came up with seven main groups of “misbehaving” customers. You and your staff probably recognize most or all of them.
The authors concluded from the statements of by-standing customers that in many cases, these behaviours resulted in “active destruction and disablement of service production.”
In other words, their behaviour and actions impacted more than just their immediate situation. It impacted other customers as well.
They also found that by-standing customers are more sensitive to negative behaviour than to positive behaviour. So, while overhearing some positive feedback from a customer is great for by-standing customers, it doesn’t have the same impact as these disruptive behaviours.
Customers pay closer attention than you think to the way your employees treat each other and other customers.
Speed, clarity, consistency and sharing are key strategies
Sometimes, it’s just the way people are and there’s not much anyone can do. But in many cases, these negative behaviours are a conscious or unconscious attempt by customers to gain control of a situation where they feel powerless or frustrated.
It may be lack of communication on both sides, a misstep in service process, or a misunderstanding, but it is disruptive and clearly has an impact beyond the specific circumstance.
Having some framework to better understand these types of customers can help employees be prepared and deal with them.
Training is obviously a key element, but so is teamwork and empathy from co-workers and especially management.
The most obvious actions are to address the situation quickly and have some plan for doing so where other customers (and employees) are not distracted by what’s going on.
I would focus on four guidelines for addressing these situations:
- Address the situation as quickly as possible and take steps to minimize impact on employees and other customers;
- Develop a simple and clear process for addressing these problems and make sure all employees are aware of the process and understand it;
- Make sure the process is consistently followed; and
- Encourage staff to share their experiences internally so that all learn from both good and bad outcomes.
“Your business is on trial and the judge is your customer”
I saw this quote a few years ago and when reading about the impact of disruptive customer behavior, its validity struck me.
Customers pay closer attention than you think to the way your employees treat each other and other customers.
While they may be going through a routine experience in sales or service, they do pay attention to what’s going on around them. And they judge you.
This impacts their own perceptions of their experience in ways that traditional customer satisfaction surveys won’t pick up. Their true feelings are increasingly expressed in social media and can have a big impact on both customers and prospective customers.
One of the things I learned over years of studying the dealership experience is that the way your dealership handles difficult situations can turn a customer from a potential adversary into an advocate.
A good recovery on their own problem is one thing, but watching your employees handle a difficult situation that makes everyone uncomfortable can go a long way to making your customers respect and admire the way you run your business.
That in turn, makes them more satisfied and more likely to keep their business with you.
Customers are not always right, especially when they behave badly and mistreat your employees or place them in a difficult situation.
Being prepared for this and showing your employees and other customers how well you handle these situations will win you advocates on both sides.
