Don’t win arguments by losing customers!

Have you ever noticed how arguments with your customers never go anywhere? Even when the customers are in error, trying to prove them wrong at all costs won’t make them admit they made a mistake, and be on your side. In fact you will get quite the opposite result: those customers will be lost forever.

In a brilliant chapter of his book “How to win friends and influence people”, Dale Carnegie says that you can never win an argument: 

"If you lose it, you lose it; if you win it by refuting your opponent's arguments, you still lose it".

Why?

Well, you will surely feel victorious after winning the argument, but the other person's pride has been hurt: they will feel inferior, and resent your triumph.

Here are my 4 top tips to help you avoid arguments with your customers:

1. Keep your cool: remain calm and be polite
2. Don't push your customer's buttons: avoid saying things like "I'm right", "You're wrong", "I told you so"
3. Don't take things personally: I know it's hard to do, especially when you are upset after dealing with a difficult customer, but that person is not attacking you personally, but making comments about your company, or the quality of service received
4. Move on: it doesn't matter who caused the problem, who is right and who is wrong. Don't expect an apology from your customers, but thank them for their feedback and move forward with your life