Tell me about a time when you had to address an angry customer. What was the problem and how did you resolve it?

Question

Christine Pasqueretta · Accepted Answer

"(Situation) Last year, I worked in a retail customer care center of a company with many service complaints. (Task) As a Customer Care Representative, I had to navigate angry customer experiences more times than I would have liked. (Action) To cope, I took the stance that people who are upset want to be heard and respected. I would listen, empathize, and reassure the customer that I was there to support them and resolve the matter. If I needed to check on an order or get back to the customer, I would explain what I was doing and when they would hear back. (Result) I am proud to say that I successfully turned more detractors into promoters than anyone else in that organization."

Christine Pasqueretta · Answer

The interviewer wants to know that you can professionally handle stressful or uncomfortable customer-related situations. The goal of your response is to showcase your ability to de-escalate customer issues and deliver professional service.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

Briefly describe a time you resolved a customer service issue. Be sure to highlight your ability to remain patient and rational in the face of conflict. Focus the bulk of your response on the positive action you took and the resolution you came to with the customer rather than details of the conflict itself.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

Behavioral-based interview questions that begin with 'Tell me about a time...' are best answered using the STAR method. STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Organizing your response using this framework will ensure that you provide the interviewer with the right amount of information and detail to form a compelling answer.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

Avoid providing a long, drawn-out story that focuses on the drama surrounding an angry customer. It's easy to get lost in stories surrounding conflicts.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) In my current role, I address angry customers daily. (Task) As an Administrative Assistant, I often encounter people who are upset about being asked to hold. (Action) When this happens, I 'kill them with kindness' by profusely thanking them for their patience and letting them know they now have my full attention. (Result) I would say this communication approach works 99% of the time."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) Just last week, a customer called our design team because he was unhappy with a particular design we were creating for him. (Task) As the Marketing Manager, it was up to me to fix the situation. (Action) I called the client and reassured him that we would modify the design to his liking before finalizing the project. After we spoke further, I realized he was feeling uncomfortable because he was not a part of the decision-making every step of the way. I remained patient, listened to his concerns, and reassured him that we would satisfy his requests. (Result) As a result of the conversation, we were back on track and delivered a stellar design in the end."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) Recently, a client was delivered a damaged piece of goods that we sold him. For a $30,000 piece of inventory, he was understandably agitated. (Task) As his Key Account Manager, it was up to me to turn the situation around. (Action) Within five minutes of receiving his angry email, I hopped on the phone with him to address the issue. I had my COO and Director of Operations in the room so he would feel that the issue was being taken care of by upper management. (Result) Through a 10-minute conversation, we resolved his issue, bought back the piece of inventory, and had a pick-up arranged for that very afternoon. The client was so happy with our proactive approach that he committed to buying another five pieces of inventory that same week."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) I was challenged during a rollout of my current employers' new return policy. (Task) As a cashier, I had to request identification from any customer making a return without a receipt. (Action) One customer became irate after being asked for ID. She assumed it was a race issue. I took a step back and explained the reason for the new policy and assured her it was a new company-wide policy. (Result) After taking the time to hear her concerns, validate her feelings, and explain it all in context, she handed over her ID and apologized for her explosion."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) Last year, I had a parent upset that their child experienced exclusion from Spanish class. (Task) As the primary Spanish teacher, the parent chose to come to me. (Action) I looked into the situation and found that the exclusion was due to the student's IEP and special services scheduling. The student went to speech and social work during my Spanish class. This fact didn't stop the parent from showing frustration with me, so I made sure to find time to sit down and speak with her and show that I heard her frustration. I asked our principal to join us as well. (Result) We were able to figure out a better schedule for the following semester that would allow her child to attend Spanish class. By showing that I understood her frustration and was willing to work with her, she softened and was thrilled that we were so receptive to her concerns."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) I once worked at a call center that took high volumes of client disputes. (Task) As the Call Centre Manager, I took many escalations from angry customers. (Action) I remember one instance quite well. The customers' order was missing items. When I told her that our policy was to send the order back for a refund, she blew up. She just wanted us to ship the missing pieces. I decided to comply, as it was not worth upsetting her further. (Result) The customer ended up getting a refund in the end and was satisfied. After this situation, I spoke with our corporate head office about the possibility of changing our return policies."

Anonymous User · Answer

"When I was a reseller at a bookstore I learned how to handle different types of customers in both stressful and calm environments. For example, when it was during Christmas time and many wanted to buy books as presents we needed to say customers to wrap their presents by themselves because of our time limitation due to the number of customers. The result was, of course, some angry customers who thought it was bad service. My approach was then to handle these customers by telling them that we have not resourced to wrap and handle all the customers these days, that if we would do that the queue would be even longer and many customers prefer to wrap their presents by themselves instead of wait in line for a longer time. The result was usually good because they calm down because they understood the situation and by comparing to a worse case if we would have done it in another way, they understood and agreed that this was the best approach right now."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I could recall one time when a client attended our office 10 mins before 5 pm without an appointment. She was a single mother, and her Centrelink payment was suspended due to failing to record her job search efforts via MyGov. Instead of sending her away, I de-escalated the situation by taking her to my desk to resolve the situation. I provided my immediate empathy with active listening skills to hear her out. I remained calm and collected even if she was fuming at the time as her sole source of income was cut off. I explained her obligation in detail to her again before I reinstated her Centrelink payment. I also made sure she understood her requirements so that the same thing won't happen again. She left gratefully and re-assured."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Living in Buffalo, NY, with the winters being crazy, a few times, customers did not receive their shipments when expected due to weather. This made customers very angry due to potential loss in business. I handled these problems by going to talk to the customer, face to face, and offering a discount on the order to make them happy. The customers are what make our business work, so we need to keep them happy for our business to be successful. They were pleased with the discounts and continued to do business with us."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Material was delivered late and was incorrect. I called him and let him know it was an honest mistake and we would resolve the issue ASAP.

I drove up to the warehouse put the correct material in the back of my truck and drove it out to the customer the same day, and the issue was resolved.

The customer was appreciative of the quick turnaround."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I was assigned to a patient on my clinical rotation who was angry that a student nurse was going to be with him that day. This patient was in chronic pain, so I would not blame him for not wanting to be poked and prodded by a student. I sat with him and explained that I would not assess him or do anything that made him uncomfortable. I asked if I could sit and talk to him for a while. I ended up staying with him for 6 hours talking about his life, family, he spoke about regrets he had, and I listened. He was so happy by the end of my day. It was a gratifying experience."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I worked at Wells Fargo, resolving fraud claims and merchant disputes, so I was dealing with angry customers daily. I recall on one call, an angry man was upset because the hold time was longer than expected due to the high volume of calls around the Holidays. His Debit card was compromised, and funds were withdrawn out of his account, he needed the money for his Holiday expenses, so he had every right to be upset. I listened to him vent and air out his frustrations, then I apologized for the long wait and then expedited his claim. His mode completely changed, and he apologized for yelling at me. One lesson I learned is always to show empathy and never take things personal at work."

Anonymous User · Answer

"As a hedge fund accountant, I address clients on a daily basis. The customer was not happy with the reports being delivered late so they threatened to leave after the year. I had a meeting to address our issues and listen to their concern. We came up with a solution to have weekly calls to resolve any issues before the deadline."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I had a student who was not allowed to work in the salon because she did not have the required safety equipment. I could see that the student was angry since she would miss that day's practical training. I explained the importance of our vocational program's health and safety issues and told her we could not take any risk that would lead to serious injury. I gave her an alternative option and offered to have her join a theory class. The student was satisfied with my solution."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I work with customers every day and have learned the most effective way for me to resolve their issue is to listen to them first. I listen to customers and reassure them that I am there to resolve there issue in any way. Customers who are upset want to be heard, and I am there for them to vent to. I also like to frequently communicate with them throughout the process to keep them well informed and ensure that I have resolved their issue."

Anonymous User · Answer

"A customer had come to me to complain about an interaction he had with my staff pharmacist the day before. After hearing the story, I understood his frustration and shed light on where my pharmacist was coming from. He was following the procedure but failed to explain that to the customer. The customer thanked me for taking the time to explain in detail why the pharmacist made the decision he did."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I was working in the pharmacy and a patient called and asked if his prescription was ready. I looked at the patient's profile and the prescription was not ready. The patient replied by saying he called three days ago to order the medication; however, this order was not documented in our system. The patient was very upset. I took it upon myself to search every pharmacy in the area to find a pharmacy that had the medication, and I was able to transfer the medication to the pharmacy. The patient was able to get their medication that day."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I had the customer who was mad because her blood pressure medicine wasn't ready, and she didn't have any more medication. The medicine was on backorder for a few months, and we couldn't order it from a different warehouse. I asked her if it was ok to call her Dr to ask if we could split it since it was a combo. She gave me the ok, and I called her Drs office to split it. In the end, she was happy to receive her prescriptions."

Anonymous User · Answer

"(Situation) I had addressed angry customers when the sales team representative was out of town for vacation. (Task) As a developer of the team, I took the escalations from angry customers in such scenarios. One time, the customer was not able to use a recent feature implemented by us in our web application. (Action) I spent around half an hour with the customer detailing the step for using the feature. This feature was about processing the refund requests of users who returned their items sold on their website. (Result) The customer ended up processing the request successfully and understood the process of using the new feature. After this situation, I spoke with my manager to simplify our existing UI design to a single page and add descriptions to each field so that the customer can add the required information in the field."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I once received an email from an angry client saying he was displeased with the branding design we had proposed. I decided to call the client to discuss this matter, and I assured him that we could change the design to his liking, and tried to get some proper feedback from his side. It seemed like he was partially angry because he had suggested an idea in his original email that we had not taken into consideration. I promised to prepare an additional option for him as per his idea, and the project carried on smoothly since."

Anonymous User · Answer

"understand the reason why he is angryhelp him to calm down"

Anonymous User · Answer

"last week, a customer called our design team because he was unhappy with a particular design we were creating for him. As the Marketing Manager, it was up to me to fix the situation. (Action) I called the client and reassured him that we would modify the design to his liking before finalizing the project."

Anonymous User · Answer

"A patient's medicine wasn't delivered on time, and the patient went without their meds for several days. The problem was logistics because the pharmacy that provided it was several states away and there was a delay with all shipments coming out of that state. While there was nothing I could do about the delayed delivery, I was able to find a local pharmacy to prevent this from ever happening again which I had the medication delivered the same day."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I have angry patients in the Urology Clinic. Especially when I have to tell them bad news such as they will need some form of assistance to empty their bladder. I always let them talk and get out their frustration. It is important to hear someone out and acknowledge them. I say things like, "I am sorry. I know this is not what you wanted to happen". Then I offer the options for help and talk through the best option for them. I try to show them that I will help them as much as I can."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I work at a flea market with my family. We sell sunglasses and other items primarily. In the summer, while servicing customers on sunglasses, a frequent customer shows up often at the flea market and is angry about not having a bargain on the deal and the hot temperature. I told the customer that we don't do bargains on those brands' sunglasses. Our business no longer has that deal available. We have other sunglasses that have an open exchange. The customer is confused about why there was no bargain because there used to be a bargain. To make the customer happy, I told them I would do a discount between their bargain and our bargain because they're a frequent customer and the sunglasses are their best fit that suits their desire, as well as a financial benefit for the business."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Over the last few years, the biggest cause of concern for our customers has been product availability and supply issues. One customer, in particular, was affected multiple times by my company's missing product delivery windows. After much "discussion," his biggest concern turned out to be the lack of proactive information he was receiving regarding his orders. I took this to sales ops and was able to set up parameters in the system that kicked in upon an order being placed. This account was given "white glove service" with weekly tracking update calls. If supply was going to be an issue it was not a surprise and the customer could plan accordingly."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The pandemic for my company meant empty grocery shelves and angry customers. To help customers I kept updated with all the different department's inventory and expected delivery dates on products. When a product has no defined shipment date through product knowledge I made suggestions for replacements."

Anonymous User · Answer

"When I worked at a cafe on a tranquil day we close the shop one hour earlier than the closing time on google map, a customer walked into the shop and ordered coffee and waffles at the moment we were about to close. After hearing that we were not able to serve him, he yelled at us in anger. My coworker and I explained and apologized for offering wrong information but still, he insisted that he would post a bad review. I thought he must have been hungry so I decided to make him served and happy, and then close the shop alone even a little bit late and tell the boss after closing the shop. I thought it was glad he arrived before the shop closed."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I had a student who was not allowed to the workshop because he did not have all the safety equipment that was required. I could see the student was angry as he would miss the practical training for the day. I explained to the student the importance of the health and safety issues for our vocational program and that we cannot have him take any risk that would lead to serious injury. I gave him an alternative option that he could join the other group by attending the theory class. The student was satisfied with my solution."

Anonymous User · Answer

"A patient came in furious because someone the day before told her that the medication was not covered but when she called her insurance company they said it was covered. When I interpreted the rejection I saw that our preferred manufacturer was not covered however a different one would be. I apologized to the patient and told them I would find them a pharmacy in the area that has it because I know it is time sensitive. I knew another store uses different preferred generics so I was able to locate one that had it and transferred the prescription. I now order a few non preferred generics of this medication to have in stock because I know many of my patients have the same insurance."

Anonymous User · Answer

"We had a regular customer who always came in and ordered the same coffee and muffin. We had a new employee who was training, and she took a long time taking orders, so the customer yelled at her to hurry up. I stepped up as soon as I noticed what was going on and apologized and explained that she was new. I quickly made his coffee and got his muffin and added another extra muffin in the bag. I apologized again and wished him well with his day. I let him know that we would see him again the following day for his usual order."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The customer is always right. I would ask the client what issues they were having and how I could assist in resolving the problem. I would put the plan into action and give them a time frame of when I would get back to them about a solution to reassure them that I am here to support them and solve the issue."

Anonymous User · Answer

"While working at my previous job as a climber, I was often tasked with knocking on people's doors and explaining what needed to be done. When I knocked on one customer's door, a woman answered and was very upset. She didn't want us removing her palm tree. She didn't understand why it needed to be done. My task was to calm her down and try to get the work done. I empathized with her that I understood why she was upset. Then I explained that if we continued trimming the top of the palm tree, it would die eventually and that we had to remove it because it was growing right into the power lines. The result was she let us remove it."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I had a customer call me because her prescription copay doubled. Her doctor decreased her dose, and the days supply on her insulin exceeded 30 days, and she was charged another copay. I saw that she had been on the same dose for many months with a days supply of 30 days, so I decided to call the doctor, and he agreed to rewrite the prescription as a sliding scale with a maximum of 50 units per day. I also asked if he could send us a new prescription with these directions and he did so later in the day.I then documented to sliding scale directions on the prescription and rebilled it for a 30 day supply, and we were able to provide the patient with a $50 refund. We then deactivated the old RX and put a note on it to see the new prescription for auditing purposes."

Anonymous User · Answer

"A customer wants cigarettes and he looks below 25 years old. To make sure he is not a minor I asked for id. He got angry and said; do I look like a kid? I am old enough, look at my beard, etc.. I politely told him, it is the store's policy that we asked for id who looks like below 25, and I pointed to the sticker we had in the store; show id, please. He still argues and again I explain to him, sir, I can't sell you until I am sure that you are not minor. And finally, I told him, selling cigarettes to minors is illegal and prohibited by law. Finally, he understood and went to his car to get his license."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I worked in a restaurant before, and people are particular about their food so I had many occasions to correct incorrect or slow orders. Mainly by correcting the mistakes would work."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Last year in December, one packaging line employee was working in the day shift. He called me and got thoroughly angry with me, saying that he has to repack all bottles once again as he requested more serial numbers from the software. The software has removed all previous codes and generated a new one. So he has to rescan all bottles once again. He was angry because he had plans to leave in the evening. I realized that he is not fully aware of the right process. I hung up the phone, went to packaging lines in the next 10 minutes, and helped him to execute the batch without rescanning all bottles.As an outcome, I proposed refining the training programs for line operators."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Often I have dealt with angry customers. Most often it revolves around a perceived lack of service. I first ask the customer to explain what they were expecting, asking them how that was not achieved. I apologize and commiserate on how that may cause them to be irritated. I apologize for their time spent and explain what we are doing to address the issue. I delegate tasks, gather information from the client as to how they would like to be informed when the rest has been accomplished. Let them know the timeline for resolution, and I will personally contact when resolved in the manner they have chosen to be informed."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I had a customer storm into the store and told me that 4L of paint had just spilled in her car as the lid wasn't put on correctly. I apologized to her and went straight to her car and helped clean as much off the car floor as I could then gave her a free coffee card to go to the cafe while I make her a new paint for no cost. I also gave her new paint rollers, a tray, and drop sheets as they all had spilled paint on them. In the end, she was happy and ended up apologizing to me as she admitted she didn't strap the paint tin in properly."

Anonymous User · Answer

"When I worked at Allstate, a customer called in very upset about the fact that their rate increased. Very upset, screaming and yelling, etc. I let the customer vent; the big thing is not to take it personally. I very calmly explained that I was happy to help resolve the problem. When she was screaming, I very calmly said I understand you're frustrated; let's see what happened. It turns out she lost a discount because we needed one piece of documentation from her, and her rate would go back. I made the decision based on guidelines to backdate it if we received it that day. She was happy and even sent a customer compliment."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I had a customer, who was not pleased with my team's work ethic, but by discussing the project with the customer, my team was able to adjust its working style, so that the customer accepted the team's adjusted working style."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I talk to customers a lot, and one of the times that they get frustrated is when they are waiting for a callback. We are specialized in our department so I can't help someone with Gas Chromatograph calls, which I don't know anything about. Those calls take a while for the technicians to complete. We have customers that want help faster, and there is not anything I can do about it. I apologize to them, empathize with them, and try to get them a call as soon as I can."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Thinking back, there was a time when a customer/project manager was upset with me, this was because a couple of projects were not going well. I first listen to the issue, then moved forward asking if they would allow me to evaluate the project. I reported back to the project manager and explained that the contractor was not following the design and seemed to be jumping around which was why the project was also taking a little longer. I offer my assistance by assisting the contractor progress through the project. That saved my relationship with the project manager."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Once I approached by a very angry customer, firstly, I calmed her down and did apologize for the misunderstanding. And I asked her the reason she said another member of staff sent her the wrong aisle for a product. I apologized and took her to the right aisle and got the product for her."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The product wasn't delivered on time, and the patient went without their meds for several days. The problem was logistics because the pharmacy that provided it was several states away, and there was a snowstorm to boot. While there was nothing I could do about the snowstorm, there was something I could do about finding a local pharmacy to prevent this from ever happening again. I did so and quickly."

Tell me about a time when you had to address an angry customer. What was the problem and how did you resolve it?

How to Answer: Tell me about a time when you had to address an angry customer. What was the problem and how did you resolve it?

13. Tell me about a time when you had to address an angry customer. What was the problem and how did you resolve it?

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