How to calm angry customers by email?

Follow these 10 tips for answering email from angry customers and you’ll solve the customers’ problems and soothe their anger.

1. Restate the problem.
   
   Before you answer an angry customer’s email, show that you understand the problem. If the customer has included all relevant information in the email, you should simply restate the problem and then set about solving it. Quote or paraphrase the customer’s own wording to show you’ve read the email carefully. Include all relevant information you have about the customer: purchase history, account number, previous customer service contact, etc. But if you don’t understand the problem completely, see Tip 2.
   
   
2. Ask for clarification.
   
   Angry customers may not write clearly. The customer may be unskilled, or his email may have degenerated into a rant about the company rather than an explanation of the problem. So you may have to ask the customer to clarify the problem: “I need some more information to solve your problem with the replacement parts for your storm door handle. Were the parts you received broken, or did you receive the wrong parts?” You may also have to clarify how the customer would like the problem resolved. Unless you clearly understand the problem and the preferred solution, you’re bound to make the customer even angrier.
   
   
3. Personalize your response.
   
   Nothing infuriates an angry customer more than the feeling that no one is listening.
   Dear Customer:
   Thank you for your email. We take our customers’ problems seriously and are glad to hear from you.
   Personalizing an email to an angry customer reassures him or her that you’re hearing the complaint loudly and clearly.
   Use the customer’s name and title: Mr., Mrs., Ms. or Dr. Or use the customer’s signature as your salutation: “Tom Marquez,” “Dr. Marquez” or even simply “Tom.”
   Review the customer’s account information and incorporate it into your response:
   We’re proud that you’ve selected us as your solution provider for the last three years, and we would like the opportunity to keep you as a satisfied customer.
   Sign your email. An angry customer needs to know a real human is trying to solve his problem.
   
   
4. Say how you will respond to the problem.
   
   Angry people want action, so you must specifically explain how you will resolve the problem. If the resolution is complicated, outline the steps you will take. If possible, tell the customer when actions will occur:
   
   We will immediately trace the shipment to see exactly what went wrong.
   We will issue a credit for the shipping costs; this credit will appear on your next statement.
   
   
5. Put good news first.
   
   If you can make the customer happy, put the good news first and the empathy second.
   Good news:
   We are happy to refund your money, as you requested.
   Empathy:
   We understand the frustration of not receiving a magazine publication.
   But if you can’t make the customer happy—if you have to tell the customer no—put the empathy first and the “bad news” second.
   Empathy:
   We understand the frustration of not receiving a publication. We can send you out a new one.
   Answering angry emails is hard work. And unlike resolving a customer’s problem over the phone, doing so by email doesn’t give you the chance to hear the relief in the customer’s voice or experience, in real time, the gratification of turning the customer’s anger into appreciation. But by following these steps, you can feel good in knowing that you’ve done your best to soothe the angry customer.
   

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