In a perfect world, businesses would sell their products and services quickly and easily and always encounter only positive-minded customers who are beforehand ready to make a purchase.
Unfortunately, that’s not the world that we live in. Thus, on your path, you will encounter all sorts of customers, including those that might leave you frustrated, empty, and even angry. Who are they, and how to handle them right?
In this article, we are going to help you understand the top five types of problematic customers and give you some ideas on how to deal with them easily and effectively. Let’s dive in!
5 Most Complicated Customer Personalities and Tips for Handling Them
1. Indecisive
The most harmless of all personalities we are going to discuss here is an indecisive customer. The biggest issue with indecisive customers is that they always need to be more than 100% sure that they are getting the best value for money. Unfortunately, no matter how much information you provide, they are still hesitating.
These clients are afraid to make a mistake. You can see plenty of them among students who are looking for academic help. They can come to you saying, “please, help me do my papers,” but they are so afraid of getting a low grade and poor quality work that they will keep asking questions and comparing until they are absolutely positive in their choice.
Tips for Dealing:
- One way to turn an indecisive customer into a buyer is to define their main concern or pain point. Once you do it, you can use it to speed up their decision-making process.
- Another way to deal with them is to offer them a sweeter deal. For example, you can offer them a free trial, discount, special price, or just a money-back guarantee, and this will help them make a decision.
2. The Know-It-All
Another common type of customer that can drain your team’s energy is the know-it-all type of client. These customers seem to know everything in the world and are convinced that there is nothing new you can tell them.
The biggest boundary in the communication with this type of client is that they always strive to dominate in the conversation. They will talk a lot. And, sometimes, they can even get rude. But, the biggest problem is that their attitude often makes it hard to identify what exactly they want.
Tips for Dealing:
- Do not try to argue with them. Instead, if you disagree with something they say, it’s better to use the formulation like “You’re right, but ….”
- Satisfy their ego. This kind of customer responds well to compliments (as long as it’s sincere), so use it to your benefit.
3. No Boundaries
The “no boundaries” customer can be rather irritating. These people see no harm in keeping you busy after-hours or waking you up early on a weekend morning to chat about something insignificant.
These clients have no understanding or respect for other people’s boundaries, and they do expect you to be there for them whenever they need it.
Tips for Dealing:
- The best tactic for dealing with this type of customer is to clearly outline your boundaries at the early stage. For example, you can indicate that you don’t respond to emails or phone calls during the weekend. And, if they ignore this statement, you should confirm your statements with action.
4. All-Time Complainer
One thing crucial to understand about your customers – they do complain, and it’s okay. Complaints trigger sustainable growth as they provide you with constructive feedback.
However, some customers are all-time complainers, and this can be very draining. For some strange reason, these people tend to remain dissatisfied no matter how hard you try to serve them well. Thus, it can be hard to make them happy.
Tips for Dealing:
- Always remember that it’s impossible to make everybody happy. You should accept this fact and keep on doing the best you can, not expecting everyone to be satisfied.
- Most importantly, show complaining customers that you really care. Often, simply listening and giving them your attention might be enough to diminish their complaints.
- Always do your best to address their complaints if they are constructive.
- Stay polite, calm, and smiling.
5. Aggressive
The hardest to handle personality is an aggressive customer. They are very critical, rude, abusive, impatient, and don’t hesitate to demonstrate their anger. Needless to say that encountering this type of customer is a real stress. However, they really have the potential to convert from angry customers into loyal ones if only you find a way to handle them right.
Tips for Dealing:
- Don’t try to prove anything while they’re in a bad temper. Most likely, this will lead to more aggression.
- Maintain eye contact (when possible).
- Stay calm, apologize, and show your willingness to solve the customer’s problem.
- Try to contact these customers later, when they are less aggressive, to settle the issue.
The Bottom Line
There are plenty of different personalities hidden in people, and your customers aren’t an exception. Sometimes your team can encounter some rather difficult customer personalities like the ones we’ve discussed earlier.
Hopefully, after reading this article, you will find it easier to understand your difficult customer and find the right touchpoints with them. Follow the tips from this guide, and it will help you create a better connection with all types of customers and avoid unpleasant situations.
About the Author
This article was written created by Elizabeth, currently a professional academic writer at NoCramming and an experienced specialist in the field of customer communications. In this article, Elizabeth shares with us her vision on the most troublesome customer personalities and effective ways for dealing with them.
