Acceptable ways to deal with rude and obnoxious customers...?

Kill them with kindness, and try to never loose your patience. In my experience, 8 times out of 10 it works, and they’ll be the ones looking like a douche. Most people will egg you on just to get a raise of you, even though they already know they’re in the wrong. I smile, cordially repeat what I’ve already said, whilst thinking in my head, “oh, fuck you”.

This is a very good question and I think it’s one that many of us can relate to. I actually had a terrible experience with some potential clients a few months ago that literally almost brought me to tears. I would agree with @wordvomit that in most cases and especially in a professional setting it is best to try and kill people with kindness or at least keep your cool. However…........depending on how rude and nasty the person is getting, there should never be a problem with you simply telling them. “Sir or Maam, I will do the best I can to help you but it is NOT my job to be verbally abused or insulted and I won’t tolerate it”. And kindly refer them to your manager. Having good customer service skills and the ability to stay professional when people are being jerks is hard but no one should have to be treated poorly , have their personal space invaded, or be yelled at over popcorn…seriously. Get em’ straight girl! = ) Good luck.

“Never underestimate the capacity of another human being to have exactly the same shortcomings you have.”
Leigh Steinberg

People are tired, people have suffered a layoff or firing.

Is yelling at you the answer? No. The best revenge is to be the better and bigger human being.

As the unappetizingly named @wordvomit has said, people back down if you smile, say that you would like to help them, but you don’t know the release date (or whatever).

If your personal space is invaded, say, “I will try to help you if you step back, sir.”

If someone is persistent or your are genuinely frightened say, “Let me get my manager for you. I am sure he has the answer to your problem.”

It is also OK to say, “Please do not raise your voice to me, sir. I will try and help you, but you have no right to speak to me in that tone.” (substitute use profanity or whatever)

Be glad your shift has an end. Life lesson here: Never abuse a customer service person.

Seriously, the first thing to do?

BREATHE.

Not kidding. I used to be a hostess in a restaurant and was a former McDonald’s employee, so I have some understanding of what you’re going through. After taking a deep breath, I would calmly explain what was going to happen or what the SOP was and then smile. It did irk me that there were more than a few people who thought they were too special to wait their turn in the queue or for a table if they hadn’t made reservations, try to smack me on the bottom, or, as in one lady’s case, loudly complain about every seat she was offered to the point where she stuck her face at others’ patrons while they were having their dinner and said, “Can you believe she’s trying to put me at this crappy table?”

What are you going to do? I came to understand that most people who behaved this way usually had no one else to take their day’s frustrations out on, and I was both convenient and had no way to “retaliate,” unlike a husband or spouse. When people got too obnoxious, I’d summon the manager.

Don’t take it personally, because it isn’t personal. Some people are either spoiling to scream at anybody or just spoilt in general and you can only be grateful that it’s only for a moment or two.

smile and nod, smile and nod.

@aprilsimnel Wow…smack you on the bottom? Seriously? It would take me a little more than deep breathing to get over that one! I mean what kind of a day is someone having that makes them think its ok to smack someone on the @$$???? Geez people can be so rude!

All good answers above. I too have worked in customer service for many years…owning my own business. I always trained my staff ( and myself!) not to engage in verbal abuse.If someone has a problem it’s usually because they are having a bad day, so a genuine smile and an explanation of why they can’t get what they want is all you can do.Just keep pleasant, no matter what! They will look stupid and rude, not you!

I agree with @notabridesmaid taking things lightly is not one of my talents. 15 year olds are the worst though one of my friends at work got called a fat ugly cow by a kid she’d asked for proof of age and she ended up having to leave her till because she was so upset. It is not acceptable to treat people like this whether its personal or not. Makes me very angry.

Just try not to lose your cool. On the ID thing I would just say something like,“Sorry, it’s company policy.. I have to make sure you are old enough to watch this film”. On everything else just try to accommodate them as best you can but if they’re too difficult, I would just refer them to your manager. Nobody has the right to insult somebody else just because they are having a bad day.

Smile, then breathe.

Proceed to moving on.

For what it’s worth, I worked in a movie theater for nearly two years. I know what you mean, but really, you deal with their asshole personality for two minutes, they live with it. Pity them in the moment and smile. A well-timed smile and attitude at an irate person completely disarms them.

Understand that everyone has their problems. If the person wasn’t suffering, they wouldn’t abuse the clerk trying to serve them. So the #1 thing you can do is not make the situation worse. You’re a professional and sometimes that means having to be the mature one.

I worked in a movie theater for 3 years. I now work in a video store in the local mall. Most of the customers at the theater were really nice and never caused a scene. However, we did have our issues. The main one was yelling about prices. Our defense was to calmly explain that the reels of the film cost the theater approx. $5,000 to rent for a week and we had to come up with the money somehow. Even now when we have to deal with an irate customer at the video store, the goal is to stay calm and listen to their complaint and then explain the company’s policies. If you can’t stay calm, politely excuse yourself and ask your supervisor or manager to come help you out. Just keep in mind that they’ll be out of your hair in 5 minutes and sitting in their theater seat, clogging their arteries with butter-flavored oil.

@notabridesmaid – The operative word is try. I could see the guy’s arm out of the corner of my eye, and he was already drunk enough for me to sidestep him without trouble.

Try dealing with pissed off truck drivers. They make whiny teens and other customers in retail seem positively charming. You just have to stay calm and be the bigger person. Ignore the words and gestures they use to get a rise out of you. I’ve had truck drivers tell me that they weren’t going to follow the rules, and I simply brought up the fact that calling the police and having them removed from the premises was going to be my response to their declaration. That is always a last resort though. Usually I try to appease them and to let them know that it isn’t anything personal, it is simply the rules of my employer, which I am paid to enforce. I am simply doing my job, just as they are, and we can meet in the middle, or they can be difficult, which means I bring in the authorities.

Only after they leave can you vent about how fucking retarded they were.

If possible, try to understand their anger and let them know you understand. Then clarify the situation. If they are wrong about a particular matter, remain polite, but be insistent.

@mattbrowne that’s what I was trying to say, and that is what they teach us in our quarterly training classes. I understand truck drivers, and anyone that doesn’t know how to deal with them is going to regret it. You are just better at the wordy part of it. =)