Customer Service: Avoidance of Argument with Customers

Customer service professionals are regarded as experts in terms of product and service knowledge. They have been trained to answer every question customers may ask; and have also been schooled on steps to take in the resolution of queries that come their way. However, nobody ever teaches a customer care professional how to win an argument with customers; and the reason for that is simple: customer service professionals are not supposed to get into any form of argument with customers.


A few months ago, I attended to a customer who was very angry with the organization and obviously needed to vent her spleen on someone- me. She started off with insults but quickly realized that they had no effect. So, she attacked my spoken English by trying to correct an obviously correct grammatical construction. At that point, I had two choices- stamp my authority in English language, or move on.

I moved on.

When her query was finally resolved, she calmed down and tried explaining the fact that it was anger that necessitated her attitude. In the course of her explanation, she repeated the same sentence she condemned earlier, and then paused when she realized her ‘mistake’. We both laughed off the incident, and parted as friends. Eventually, I had a customer who was not only satisfied, but admitted to making a mistake and pledged her loyalty to the organization.

As humans, it is natural that we feel bad, disgusted and/or angry when customers tend to ‘push us off our terrain’. But then, we must also learn that the organization’s interest must be protected by ensuring that customers’ loyalty is unflinching. If I had decided to correct the customer while she was boiling with anger, an unpleasant argument would have ensued, and she would have probably cut short the conversation in anger. When customers insist that they know more than we do, we must learn to listen to them patiently, subtly educate them if such an exercise will directly impact on the organization’s business and/or image. If it does not, please move on and resolve customers’ issues.

Argument is a form of establishing intellectual superiority over one another, and I know that the management would not want us to make customers look or feel silly- even if the basis of argument is clearly in our favour. So rather than argue with customers, let us educate them.