How will you handle a client with patience, which due to your negligence had gone mad for being delayed for long time in order to be served?

Apologize professionally with a personal touch to it, acknowledge the grief caused and acknowledge your mistake, apologise again and then assure the client all misdone will be rectified in the shortest time possible.
And let the client know & try and express very politely that You & Your company would rather make you wait but will never serve you with a substandard/poor quality good or service

12 years in customer relations and call centre industry if there is one lesson I have learnt when dealing with irate customers is to avoid apologizing. As unprofessional as it sounds it is true. Allow me to elaborate my point.

Customer Service is a term that was once alien to public that is not the case anymore. Majority of the customers be it from the rural areas is not just familiar with the term customer service but our methods of dealing as well. A regular person will come across dealing with customer service everyone and then be it related to bad cellular reception, damaged product or the wrong order when dining at a restaurant. Having it as a part of our daily routine public not only understands our methods when dealing with a mistake, delay or bad customer service.

 One of them is apologizing to the customer for the inconvenience. When over apologizing with an irate customer your apologies only adds fuel to the fire making the customer more irate as they don’t see it as an apology but rather as a tactic which has to them become a normal practice of settling down an issue with the customer. To them it is a script that we follow and do not mean it. I have come across so many customers in my career who when apologized to would promptly ask not to apologize as they are tired of hearing the apologies. So what do I ask my teams to do when dealing with the irate customers?

: Be a good listener, listen to their complaint without interfering. Let them take it all out. In the process be the nodding head and avoid saying I apologize.

: Relate yourself to them. Once they have shared their concern relate yourself to them by agreeing to what they have to say and understanding their discomfort. While doing so make sure to repeat their concern to them giving them the image you were not only listening but placed yourself in their shoes and that it was not a good experience.

: Once you make them believe you are on the same page. That you do not approve of the experience the customer had to go through. Make them feel that you care and that you will go the extra mile if you have to so to make up for the discomfort the customer had to go through. Propose a solution to the issue and personalize with the customer ensuring you will personally follow up on it from time to time.

: NOW apologize. It’s always best to apologize to the customer before discontinuing the conversation. You want to make sure that the customer is not only satisfied with your service but truly believes in your apology once you understood him and gave him a proper resolution.

: Make sure to keep your word, do follow up with the request and make sure it is take care of within the given TAT. If the required time to resolve the issue may be long make sure to give a follow up call to the customer letting him now that service request is in process and that you are keeping a strong follow up.

: Once issue is resolved inform the customer. Apologize for the bad experience and let them know you will take all precautionary measure to avoid such experience in the future again.