It would be nice to learn all of our lessons in textbooks, but most of us professionals learn them on the job. This is where those hard truths come into effect for many of us, and I’m here to share some more that I learned. While I certainly wished I hadn’t had to learn them this way, there is something to be said for them.

Some customer-oriented hard truths

In my last post, I talked about random hard truths. Still, I wanted to make sure that I focused enough attention on those related specifically to dealing with customers. Why? Because practically everyone out there has had to deal with some sort of customer at some point. Here we go.

• Customers will be rude: When I say rude, I just mean generally being rude for no reason. You’re doing everything right, and you’re being professional and polite. But they’re still being rude just because they can be. This is one of those things that just takes all of my energy. Why? Because I’m so professional (like all of you, I’m sure) that I won’t take the bait or sink down to their level. Which immediately means that I have to take all of it to get through the order.  

• You’ll lose your temper at least once: All that being said, there will be one customer that just gets to you. Maybe they’re just being a jerk, or perhaps they’re outright sending death threats or inappropriate photos. Whatever the case, something or someone is going to cause you to lose your temper. It’s a challenging part of being an excellent professional, but it’s important to remember that it happens to all of us. You are human. Give yourself a moment to be that way, but be careful. Everything can be screenshot and shared these days.

• You’re going to make mistakes: Just genuine, “oops” moments. Perhaps you misread something, or you forgot to confirm something, or you just plain forgot to reply to someone’s email (been there). Mistakes are normal and part of the business. When they happen, don’t try to get away from them. This separates the rookies from the professionals. When you make a mistake and you are caught, fess up. It will earn you so much more respect from your customer, and it also shows that you are a pro. Just make sure you learn from the mistake and never make it again!

Everything is a learning experience

As you are getting used to now with how I take these experiences, everything can be something else. Hard truths that connect to customers are ample learning situations where you can choose just how you will respond to them. It doesn’t mean you need to like it, or that you have to look forward to it. But you can absolutely learn from it and try to keep from learning those hard truths twice!

Does anyone else want to share a few hard truths they learned when dealing with customers? There’s got to be more than mine above!

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