The moving industry can create some of the angriest customers. Not necessarily because of the movers, but because of the potential mishaps that can happen during a move are usually detrimental.

As a moving company owner, you know, things WILL go terribly wrong on the job site, and how you or your team handles these issues can determine whether a customer spreads BAD NEWS or GOOD NEWS about your moving company.

Here are 3 simple steps will help diffuse angry customers and may even turn your angry customers into brand advocates.

Step ONE: Listen & Let The Customer Vent To YOU

Have you ever seen a full page review posted online about a horrible experience with a moving company? If so, that’s a customer who is venting. That customer most likely never had a chance to properly vent to your staff and feel like their issue was heard or made better.

When something bad happens, connect with the customer as soon as possible and listen to what they have to say. Speak with them either face to face or on the phone. Actively listen and let the customer say everything they need to say first before proceeding on to step two.

Step TWO: Empathize

If you’ve actively listened to what they had to say, then empathizing should be easy.

If they’ve brought something forward that your company legitimately needs to get better at, THANK THEM FOR HELPING YOU. A simple, “Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to let to us know about this issue” will work. It’s going to throw them off a bit and make them feel that what they were saying was actively listened to.

Put yourselves in their shoes and let them know that you really understand (speak like a human, not a robot) why they’re mad. Remember, the only perspective that matters to an angry customer is theirs. What they’re saying is how they feel about the situation, and nothing is going to change that. The only thing you can do in this second step is to make sure they know you understand them and their issues matter.

Step THREE: Do Something About It – Give Them A Value Add

This step might require some sort of pre-planned values to give when a move doesn’t go smoothly. Whatever the case may be, make sure your sales team understands that it’s all about making the customer know that YOU, AND THE COMPANY are going to do something about it.