Dealing with Difficult Customers

In this podcast episode, Bryan, Erich Vinson, and Anthony Marino talk about dealing with difficult customers in the HVAC industry.

When working with customers in general, it is best to make eye contact with the customer, listen to them, and put yourself in their shoes.

When dealing with difficult customers, we must remember that there are several potential causes for their “difficulty.” You can't control that; you just have to let the anger run its course and diffuse the situation as much as possible. Some customers also try to stir up drama; in those cases, it is best to focus on the mission and stick to fixing the problem at hand to avoid adding negativity to the situation. Instead, we want to focus on communicating the appropriate information while avoiding overcommunication.

Being thoughtful is the key to good customer service. So, follow-up is especially important because it shows that we care about the customer show attention to detail, and have been deliberate in our service. Commercial managers and owners also care about their bottom line. So, we need to be attentive to their business-related concerns.

Price objections are common among difficult customers. You'll want to put yourself in the customer's shoes and give them the choice to order a cheaper part. You can use that situation to explain the value of your labor. If you keep your body language under control, you can handle those difficult conversations well.

Erich, Anthony, and Bryan also discuss:

• Residential vs. commercial HVAC customer experiences
• Managing our own emotions before we approach customers
• Being dragged into corporate or landlord drama
• Being deliberate
• Where price objections come from
• What makes residential and commercial customers upset
• Dealing with disrespect

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