An email comes through with some not so nice things to say about a product, experience, or a recent transaction from a client. What is the first thing you do?

Most likely it is get a little irritated and want to respond with a lot of “I’m right and you’re wrong” type statements. Those might be good for grade school but in business we need to make decisions with a clear mind and separate feelings from a response.

If we responded with our emotional reaction every time, chances are we would end up in a lot of arguments and lose clients. A good way to start a response is to look at the facts and take your time. Do not respond in 5 minutes or even 30 minutes. Take a couple of hours to let your emotions come back to baseline.

Also remember, we don’t know what is going on in our clients life. They could have an extremely stressful day and you happened to take brunt of it (which is not the way to go, but that is another conversation)

Take a couple of hours to formulate a response. Remember to keep emotions out of the email and remain cordial. Use facts and offer more assistance.  The more help you offer, the more difficult it becomes for the other person to push anger towards you.

Always try to keep your emotions in check when dealing with business relationships. It will help keep client relationships strong and show you can be counted on to deliver a solid customer service experience.

Make it the best day!

-K