h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When I worked in tech support I was given a customer care course (groan!). However, it was interesting; they told us that the best way to calm down an angry customer was NOT, as suggested above, to "kill them with kindness", as that actually enrages many people even further as they feel patronised. What an angry customer *really* wants is to feel that their anger is justified. So the best thing to do is (*temporarily*) to become almost as indignant as they are. You have to get worked up about what has happened to them, and say things like "I'd feel the same if I were you, I don't blame you for getting angry!" This has the immediate effect of making them feel justified, at which point they begin to go off the boil. The next step is to introduce a solution of some kind. While remaining kind of slightly indignant in order to carry them along, you say something like, "this should not have happened, and here's what we can do about it..." Of course, this only works if you really know something that can be done! But by the time you've come up with a solution, the customer now feels that:
1) They had every right to be angry and therefore were not making a fool of themselves
2) You are a very understanding staff member who is on their side
3) Something is going to be done about the problem
...and everybody is now calm, if not always blissfully happy.

Make sense?


P.S. Another thing they covered on the course: how to deal with nutters (an apparently true story):

Caller: Is that the electric company?
Staff: Yes, how may I help?
Caller: There are little men in overalls running out of my electric sockets? What am I to do?
Staff: Quick, tell me what colour the overalls are!
Caller: Er, they're green.
Staff: Oh, well you'd better call the gas company then. Ours wear red overalls. Good bye!