How to Politely Address a Customer's Abusive Language in an Email? Seeking Advice!

Hello, I am Harmeet. I am a fresher in a Generalist role, working with an IT Company. We deal daily with customers to sell IT solutions. One of our customers, who was dissatisfied with our product, complained to Employee X. However, he/she was unable to understand the problem, so the customer used abusive language which hurt our employee. The situation is now under control as Employee Y handled it politely. However, my CEO has asked me as an HR professional to send an email to the customer to ask for feedback and to make them realize that the language used was unprofessional. I would appreciate your help in drafting such an email so that the customer does not get angry and can understand their mistake.

Dear Harmeet, rather than writing an email to the customer, I have a slightly different take. Before composing an email to the customer, the first step we need to take is to prevent the recurrence of such situations. If there is another instance of an angry customer, would you use the same email draft to address their mistake?

Key Points to Consider

There are two key points to consider here. The customer was short-tempered, and their frustration escalated because Employee X failed to understand what they were saying. Therefore, the issue lies in communication rather than the customer's emotions. Let's focus on enhancing the process rather than solely addressing the customer's feelings.

In this diverse world, people come in all shades of personalities. It is unrealistic to expect everyone to behave like oneself. To avoid similar situations in the future, it is advisable to create a structured form where the call recipient can document the customer's issues. The form should include details such as name, product serial number, warranty status, specific problem description (complete breakdown or intermittent issues), etc. Upon receiving a call from a customer, you can email this form or systematically record the information. Complete communication simplifies understanding the customer's concerns.

If feasible, consider uploading the form on your website. Once the customer fills out all details, they should receive a unique complaint reference number. This feature will streamline generating Management Information Systems (MIS) reports and analyzing customer complaints.

Employee Training and Experience

Furthermore, what actions could Employee Y take that Employee X could not? Do they possess similar levels of experience? If Employee X lacks experience, why assign them to handle customer complaints? Have they received sufficient training?

I encourage senior members to share their perspectives.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Dinesh Divekar has raised apt questions and given you some sound suggestions, to which I will add some more.

Handling Customer Interactions

There are two aspects that attracted my attention. One, the comment that Employee Y handled it in a polite way implies that Employee X did not handle it that way. Do not forget the notion that "Customer is always KING." Also, remember the adages "He who pays calls the tune" and "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but rude words do not hurt me."

As you have not given enough information, it is difficult to say whether the customer was right or not in this case. I, as a receiver of umpteen unwanted phone calls, sometimes tell the caller that I am not interested in the call. Sometimes they do not take "NO" for an answer, and then I put the phone down or tell them where to go, depending on my mood. If someone is rude over the phone, I could not care as I attribute such behavior to poor upbringing and do not brood over it.

Regards

I completely agree with you, Mr. Dinesh. As far as training is concerned, we are in the process of properly training our employees to handle customer complaints. However, in this case, the customer used words that were inappropriate. My job here is to train the employee, which is ongoing, and to deal with the customer so that they are satisfied. Additionally, my senior wants me to help the customer realize their mistake in using inappropriate language, which should be addressed in an email.

Training and Support for Employees

In short, I am required to train our employees to prevent such incidents in the future and also to reassure our employees that we are here to support them. How can I draft an email to convince both the customer and our employee?

Dear Harmeet, if you read my post again, you will find that my emphasis is on fixing the process flaw and not on employee training. Yes, employee training is important, but customer dissatisfaction has occurred because of a process flaw.

Example from the Hospitality Industry

Let me provide an example from the hospitality industry. Prominent hospitality groups like Taj, ITC, Oberoi, etc., select the best candidates from hotel management institutes. Their selection standards are very high. Furthermore, they receive internal training. Nevertheless, guest dissatisfaction still occurs in their hotels, and they bear the brunt of guests' emotional outbursts.

Now, does this mean that these hoteliers should start educating their guests on how to manage emotions? Can they say, "Look, we have a world-class staff, world-class organizational culture, etc., yet you yell at us"? We have to take these things in our stride, learn a lesson, and move on.

Just yesterday evening, my broadband connection was not working. When I called the call center to explain my internet problem, the lady interrupted me and started questioning whether I had submitted an application for shifting my telephone, etc. For a moment, I also got angry and told her to listen to what I was saying first. Should this happen in a company that provides broadband services across India? However, staff do make mistakes.

Addressing Customer Dissatisfaction

A customer's outburst is a result of his/her dissatisfaction. Therefore, to address the dissatisfaction, the root cause must be removed. I am not against providing you with a draft of a letter; I have done so many times on this forum. However, I am somehow not convinced. Your approach seems to suggest that you aimed to apply a soothing balm to the emotionally wounded employee by issuing a letter to your customer.

Let us wait and see what other senior members have to say.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

If you are wondering why we are all reluctant to give you a draft, I hope Dinesh has convinced you about the futility of changing a customer. If you are still not convinced, please read and digest the information at http://infohost.nmt.edu/~uc/mag_arti..._customer.html.

I read with interest the problem and the wise comments of our seniors. Often someone comes up and asks to be provided with ammunition, and we advise them to go back and think again about whether it is required. Rather than "fixing the customer" (albeit an irate one), it would be better to fix one's own processes and staff.

Employee Y handled the situation quite well, whereas Employee X could not. Perhaps Y helped in "retaining" a customer, whereas X had certainly lost him. It is stated that X was not able to UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM OF THE CUSTOMER.

Questions to Consider

The questions I have in mind are:

(A) Whether X was the right/nominated person to handle Customers' Complaints? If YES, then he/she should be trained to come up at par or better than Y. If NO, then he/she should have politely directed the customer to the right person, like Y.

(B) Why is the CEO insisting on sending mail to the Customer? Most likely, X has complained to the CEO, who wants to "restore the dignity" of X. If X is not the person to take care of Customer Complaints, then he/she should be advised to just direct such customers to the right person.

(C) Is X a woman employee? The CEO's concern suggests as if this is the case. If this is true, then he definitely has reasons to worry. He is RESPONSIBLE for providing a Safe Working Environment for women employees. He is also RESPONSIBLE for the actions of others, who may not be employees, like Customers, within the WORKPLACE. If this is the case, then there is some justification in sending an EMAIL to the CUSTOMER (*).

The answers are with you.

Warm regards.

P.S. (*) With reference to the example cited - that of reputed hotels; now things need to change concerning Customers/Clients/Guests who can be hauled up for their interaction with women employees. The Employer has to ensure that creating an intimidating, offensive, or hostile work environment; or humiliating treatment likely to affect her health or safety; are included as "Sexual harassment" and "Customers" or Visitors too can be Offenders (Respondents) under "Sexual harassment at Workplace (PP&R) Act 2013".

Convincing Your CEO and Management

First of all, our members are trying to convince you that your company should not lose valuable customers. Furthermore, you need to persuade your CEO that sending an email is not a wise idea. Instead, your management must provide more training to the employees involved in customer handling. As suggested by Mr. Simhan, it is advisable to send the employee for a training program so that he/she can gain a good understanding of your product/service and effectively persuade the customers, similar to what Employee Y has accomplished. We hope you can understand why all the members are advising against sending emails to the customers.

Moreover, you have not replied to the questions raised by Mr. Dinesh, and the examples provided by Mr. Raj Kumar might have already convinced you. The points raised by our members should be adequate to convince your CEO, management, and Employee X. If you have any further queries, feel free to ask in this forum, as our members will be able to guide you accordingly.

Regards

Handling Customer Complaints Professionally

Dinesh is right, and Simhan and Raj Kumar have raised very valid queries. Irrespective of why the customer blew his top in 'unprofessional' (though the definitions would vary from person to person) language, never ever put things in writing as the first step unless you want to prepare grounds for later use (typically legal, but not limited to it) or such a situation is a repeat. It could be counter-productive and open up another set of situations that even your CEO may find it tough to cap.

First, call him and ask whether he/she is now satisfied that his/her problem is resolved and then raise the actual issue. You can be sure that if he/she is of normal nature and the blowing of temper was just due to his/her attempt to 'release pressure/anger,' he/she will say sorry even without your asking. Just let the matter rest there and inform your CEO. If you have the arrangement of recording such calls, retain the recording for any later worst-case scenario situation.

But, like other members pointed out, you also need to correct any drawbacks/lacunae/shortcomings within your process of handling such situations in the future, which could include reorientation training for Employee X.

The Importance of Customer Relations Skills

Another angle to this situation: The role of a person who needs to handle customer relations on a regular basis surely needs to have a lot of presence of mind and tact. In fact, many companies include this aspect of customer behavior and possible response mechanisms as a part of the training. Like Dinesh and Simhan mentioned, customer responses depend on many factors over which you don't have any control.

Like I often say: What the other guy says or does isn't in your control... what is in your control is how you respond. This is different from being 'thick-skinned.'

Addressing Gender-Specific Concerns

With regard to Raj Kumar's point of Employee X being a female and viewing the situation from a gender angle, I wouldn't really agree with him unless, repeat unless, the customer's language was gender-specific (some customers do have the habit of passing comments like 'why did your company keep a female in this position,' etc.). A call from your end is what I would still suggest, adding for effect that the female employee has taken it seriously and wants to go formal with a complaint under the changed relevant laws. That should do.

And it's here that I find your line "......he/she was unable to understand the problem..........." giving an impression that you are not giving the complete inputs—what does 'he/she' mean? Either the employee X has to be a male or a female. Why such generalities, as one summarizes a case study?

Regards,
TS

Thank you, everyone, for your valuable comments. I agree with everyone and will surely speak to my CEO about it. Mr. Raj Kumar, yes, Employee X is a female, and she has even complained about this issue to him. Even he wants to maintain a good relationship with the customer, but at the same time, he wants to do something to handle Employee X's complaint.

However, I feel that drafting an email might not be the right option, but I will surely try to sort this matter by convincing my CEO.

Regards,

Thank you for this update! As we had guessed correctly, Employee X is a female. Therefore, there is some justification in the CEO's reaction; otherwise, he could get involved in a potential sexual harassment case. At this point, discuss with the CEO and also take care of X's emotional state. If the matter ends there, then all is well. Thereafter, you can find out about X's role and job description and then suggest some people-skill-related training. If you are not able to convince them and they still insist on sending an email to the customer, despite the risk of losing him, you can come back again and seek help in drafting the mail.

Warm regards.

Enhancing Customer Interaction Training

In the training program, you can add some subjects regarding emotional control while attending calls from customers. If a customer seems to exceed the tolerance level or the employee is unable to answer the questions asked by customers, you can deploy a senior-level customer relations manager who can handle the situation. In such cases, the employee dealing with the customer can transfer the call to the customer relations manager.

Hopefully, your organization also has a customer relations manager who can handle problematic customers. If not, please suggest to your CEO/management to create such a position and deploy male staff to address these issues.