Retail workers are the face of the brands they work for. Unfortunately, this can lead disgruntled customers to see workers as the embodiment of any issue—the vessel through which they can vent their frustrations with the company or situation.
The stats make for harrowing reading. In 2023, 148,599 crimes were reported at retail locations in New Zealand – a number that included over 2000 serious assaults on retail staff. 61% of retailers reported experiencing some form of threatening behaviour in the previous 12 months.
But retail employees needn’t work in fear. When you arm yourself with simple yet effective strategies, you can de-escalate and ultimately resolve almost any human issue you might face in a retail setting: navigating aggression, correcting misinformation, resolving conflict and more.
In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore step-by-step strategies for handling challenging retail scenarios and techniques that could ultimately keep you, your coworkers, and your customers safe.
Handling an angry customer: a step-by-step approach
No retailer is perfect. Mistakes will be made, issues will arise, and, unfortunately, some customers will respond to these events with anger. If a retail worker isn’t trained to deal with angry customers, an otherwise controllable situation can quickly blow out of all proportion.
But if you know what you’re doing, you can quickly de-escalate such a situation and ultimately find a palatable solution to whatever the issue might be, turning an angry customer into an appreciative one. Here’s how.
- Stay calm
When faced with an angry customer, the first and most important thing to do is to keep your cool. If you don’t remain calm and composed and are tempted to fight fire with fire, the situation can quickly spiral out of control.
Take a deep breath. Don’t act defensively or derisively. Avoid any temptation to tease or taunt. Maintaining an open, friendly demeanour through hostility can be all it takes for the customer to calm down.
- Actively listen
For the most part, angry customers simply want to feel heard. They want you to be aware of the issue at hand and how it has made them feel. Often a fair hearing is all they’ll need to calm down.
Listen attentively to the customer's concerns. Don’t interrupt them at any point – let them get it all out before you speak. “Active listening” means demonstrating to the customer that you’re engaged in the conversation – use nonverbal cues like maintaining eye-contact and nodding to show that you’re hearing what they’re saying (even if you may not agree with it).
Once again, the simple act of allowing the customer to voice their concerns could be all that is needed to defuse the situation.
- Apologise and empathise
Once the customer has said their piece, it’s your turn to talk. Exactly how you respond will depend on the issue at hand and how reasonable the customer’s concerns are, but a few rules apply to all situations. You should always:
- Show empathy and acknowledge how the situation has made the customer feel.
- Offer a sincere apology for any inconvenience or dissatisfaction the customer has experienced.
- Assure the customer that you will take action to address their concerns.
- Clarify and resolve
In order to address the customer’s concerns, you need to gain a clear and complete view of the situation. Work to understand exactly what happened and how it happened.
In some cases a situation may have played out exactly as it should have, but the customer wasn’t aware of the process – maybe they ordered a product but didn’t get told that it would take two weeks to arrive.
Understand the root cause of the customer’s frustration, then offer a practical solution that resolves the issue to their satisfaction.
- Follow up and reassure
Issue resolved, follow up with the customer to ensure that they are satisfied with the outcome. Thank them for their patience and understanding. Reassure them that you’ve learnt from the experience, and that you’re committed to delivering service excellence – though if you’ve followed the process above, this commitment to excellence will be self-evident.
Correcting misinformation: politely addressing customer misconceptions.
The customer isn’t always right. Sometimes, their complaints are unreasonable, their annoyance unwarranted. Often, this is because of an honest mistake on their part, though they may not want to admit that.
If a customer comes in with an issue of their own making or an outright non-issue, there are a few techniques that a retail worker can use to correct the misconception. As above, you should begin by letting the customer speak, listening attentively and gathering all the relevant information. From there, you can:
- Tactfully correct the customer
If the customer is misinformed, explain that to them politely and respectfully—don’t be confrontational or condescending, as this will only make the customer dig in their heels.
Do all that you can to avoid embarrassing the customer. Don’t blame them or criticise them. Where appropriate, empathise with them – everyone makes mistakes from time to time.
- Provide accurate information
Use verifiable facts and accurate information to support your correction: terms and conditions, emails and messages, invoices, receipts and other business records.
Use simple language to make sure that the customer understands where you’re coming from. Again, avoid drifting into ‘gotcha’ territory or making the customer feel foolish.
- Maintain professionalism
When you correct a misconception, you’ll often experience some level of pushback. It makes sense: the customer genuinely felt that they had been wronged, they came to confront you on the issue, and they have now been told that there was no issue in the first place.
If the customer is reluctant to accept your correction, you need to remain calm and courteous. Gently address their pushback one point at a time, backing your statements up with evidence. Explain that your main goal is to resolve the issue effectively.
- Offer assistance
Having corrected the misinformation, ask whether the customer understands your position, or if they have more questions/need further clarification. If they do accept your explanation, extend a genuine offer to assist them in any other way you can.
Given the psychology at play, this can be one of the most difficult customer interactions to deal with successfully, but the ultimate aim is to have the customer leave with a clear understanding of the situation and a positive impression of your service.
Dealing with verbal abuse: protecting oneself while providing assistance
Sometimes, an aggrieved customer will be outright hostile. Some humans are bad at regulating their emotions, so anger is converted into verbal abuse, and in a retail situation, that abuse is inevitably directed at whichever worker happens to be closest.
In a perfect world a retail worker would never have to deal with verbal abuse. But while we wait for this utopia, there are a few strategies and techniques that can help to de-escalate such a situation.
- Establish boundaries
First it’s important to emphasise that verbal abuse is never OK. While the customer may not be in much of a listening mood, it’s critical that you attempt to make it clear to them that their behaviour is unacceptable.
Firmly but politely inform the customer that verbal abuse will not be tolerated, and that you will only be willing to engage with them if they talk to you in a respectful manner.
- Remain calm and detached
When faced with verbal abuse, it is critical that you maintain a calm demeanour. To some degree, you’ll need to detach yourself from the situation. It’s important to know that the customer is not so much angry with you as they are angry with the issue at hand. As such you should avoid taking anything they say personally.
A customer who hurls verbal abuse will often be looking for a confrontation. Don’t give them the pleasure by talking back. Take deep breaths, and direct your energies toward de-escalating the situation.
- Acknowledge feelings, not behaviour
While you should never condone or even excuse their abuse, you can work to validate the customer’s feelings of frustration with such empathetic statements as:
- “I understand that you're frustrated…”
- “I'm sorry that you're feeling upset…”
- “I can see that something is wrong…”
If you follow these statements with a promise to take action, such as “...and I want to help”, the customer can feel seen and realise that you aren’t the enemy they’ve built you up to be. But again, this should be done in a way that makes clear that their abuse is entirely unacceptable.
- Redirect and resolve
Steer the exchange toward addressing the underlying concern or frustration. Explain that you can’t help if the customer yells at you, but you can if they speak with you.
While you may not be able to totally resolve what they see as the issue – unreasonable reactions are often the product of unreasonable expectations, and it’s important not to reward their behaviour – work towards a solution where both parties are somewhat satisfied, while ensuring the safety and wellbeing of everyone.
Aggressive encounters: safety protocols and legal considerations
While a retail employee should never be subjected to verbal abuse, there are usually ways and means of de-escalating these situations. But if that verbal abuse ever shows signs of turning physical, your number one priority is the safety of yourself, your coworkers and all your other customers.
- Prioritise safety
If a customer becomes physically aggressive or threatens to, remove yourself from the situation immediately. Instruct coworkers and other customers to stay away from the person in question or pass this responsibility on to a higher-ranking colleague.
At this point, you should call for assistance from either on-site security guards or the police.
- Follow established protocols
Every retail organisation should have established protocols for handling this type of aggressive behaviour, and they can vary from store to store (a shop with on-site security will likely have different processes than a shop without, for example).
Familiarise yourself with your organisation's safety protocols for handling aggressive situations. Know who to contact and how to access support in such an emergency.
- Document incidents
Aggressive encounters can be jarring and deeply unsettling, which can make it difficult to think clearly. But you should do all that you can to take note of what is happening and when, because documenting the event in detail can be very useful for legal or disciplinary purposes down the track.
As soon as you remove yourself from the situation, or the episode comes to a close, document the incident in as fine a level of detail as you can muster, including descriptions of what occurred and when.
- Seek support and assistance
While you have a responsibility to keep calm and carry on in the moment, as soon as you have played your part in dealing with an aggressive encounter, you should seek help and support from the appropriate channels.
This can include the police, the HR department of your organisation, and mental and physical health professionals who can ensure your wellbeing and help you navigate exactly what happened.
Resolving conflicts with co-workers: internal conflict resolution strategies
Where conflicts with customers are usually fleeting, isolated events, conflicts with coworkers can be an entirely different beast, as you’re forced to be around and work with the same individuals for hours every day.
One study found that 29% of employees deal with conflict almost constantly, and 25% had chosen to be absent from work to avoid conflict.
It’s natural that in a team of 10, 20, 50 or more there will be a few people who you don’t click with, but issues should never extend far beyond general incompatibility. If they do, the following strategies can help return the team to health and harmony.
- Address the issue directly
The longer you leave an issue, the bigger it grows, so you should address any potential coworker conflict early, directly and professionally.
Schedule a private conversation to discuss the issue and find a resolution together. Often, these issues turn out to be simple misunderstandings, but they can be surprisingly quick and easy to resolve.
- Use constructive communication
Constructive communication aims to build understanding, foster positive relationships and achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
Go into the conversation with an open mind and an aim to solve the issue. Actively listen to your coworker’s point of view and attempt to empathise with their perspective. Share your opinion clearly and respectfully.
- Focus on solutions
Once your cards have been laid on the table, work to find a fair middle ground between your position and your coworker’s position. Identify common goals and work towards them.
Focus the conversation on finding a solution to the current issue and working to ensure similar problems won’t arise again, perhaps by improving how you communicate and collaborate.
- Seek mediation if necessary
If you aren’t prepared to resolve the conflict between yourselves, or if you are unable to, bring in a neutral third party, such as a manager or HR representative, to mediate the conversation and work towards a resolution.
Turning negatives into positives: a valuable skill
By arming yourself with the conflict resolution strategies listed above, you’ll be better prepared for all manner of challenging situations. You’ll be able to navigate conflict with confidence and turn negative experiences into positive ones, all while demonstrating professionalism and empathy.
Ultimately, you’ll foster a positive shopping experience for your customers and a safe and happy work environment for coworkers.
In a perfect world, a retail employee would never need to use, let alone learn, any of these strategies.
We don’t live in that perfect world. But by adding these strategies to your toolkit, you can certainly help to make the world of retail a better place.
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