Good customer service is an extremely important part of an effectively operating business. What makes people come back and buy more is closely related to the quality of service they receive from the employees. 3 in 4 consumers will spend more with a business that provides a good customer experience.

That’s why more and more companies are focused on improving their customer service. According to Zendesk, 80% of companies plan to increase investment in their customer experience. People expect to receive better and better customer service in the future, and those companies that want to watch their revenue increase bet on improving the customer experience.

It’s true that customer satisfaction is the priority for big companies, even when it’s over truth and reason. rbb Communications calls this the Age of Entitlement. It’s when customers feel entitled to dictate the conditions by which their issues will be resolved. Dissatisfied customers often will share their complaints on social media, which might devolve into a PR disaster no brand or company wants to find themselves in.

This is what makes it more and more difficult for employees to deal with people’s complaints. As demonstrated in our list, sometimes customers can seriously step over the line and voice demands that are not only ridiculous, but unreasonable as well. Therefore, a job where one has to deal with people is a true balancing act to keep the customer satisfied.

When a person approaches you, it’s hard to tell whether they’re going to give you a hard time or not. That’s why it’s always helpful to know how to recognize a difficult customer. OpenPhone distinguishes four different types of rude customers: complainers, aggressors, indecisive folks and nitpickers.

Complainers can never be fully satisfied, whether they think they’re not given a thorough explanation or had to wait too long to get a response. Customer support experts advise to engage complainers by thanking them and letting them know you understand their frustration. Also, asking questions to find out more about their problem lets them know the employee really cares. 

Aggressors, on the other hand, most of the time need some simple empathy. Although they may start hurling insults and threats, their anger most likely comes from a different angle, not the issue at hand.

It’s very unlikely that the customer is angry at the employee personally, so it’s crucial to not take things personally. The best strategy to deal with an angry customer is to kill them with kindness. Empathize, apologize and offer them a discount or a refund for their previous bad experience.

Indecisive customers are not as extreme to deal with. Their biggest fault is that they hold up the line with their inability to make up their minds. It’s not so much that they’re difficult, but they can be the catalyst to other difficult customers.

In this case, it’s important to help the person make a decision, and be polite about it. Don’t be afraid to nudge them in one direction or another – they’re likely self-conscious about their indecisiveness too.

The fourth type, the nitpicker, is similar to the complainer. They will always find something wrong with the service they’ve been given. When their requests are unreasonable, offer to call your supervisor or give them credit. Also, don’t dilly-dally with nitpickers – the sooner their issue is resolved, the less complaints you’ll hear.

It might seem that a lot of the aforementioned strategies require employees to fulfill any demand the customer makes, but that’s simply not true. It’s important to treat every customer equally, whether they’re being rude or not. Experts advise not to make exceptions for unreasonable customers. It’s important to stick to the policies, and the policies should put the customer first.