"He just got very upset where he started spewing curse words, calling us names and all, and it was getting really heated."
Sound familiar?
If so, you've probably shared a similar experience with MSM's 2023 Manager of the Year, Jenny Rodrigues from Ohana Self Storage. Rodrigues is a 25-year industry veteran, and we talked to her recently to discuss ways to handle distressed customers in the storage industry.
Rodrigues has plenty of stories, as all storage managers and operators do. However, no matter how many times you encounter these situations, it's always an unpleasant and taxing experience. In these cases, you have to go beyond good customer service and learn how to defuse intense conversations while maintaining kindness and professionalism.
Even when you did your best, you might find yourself wondering:
"Could I have handled that better? Was there something I could have done differently?"
These are perfectly reasonable questions to ask, and although no one size fits all, there are some tips and tricks that you can implement to cool heated situations while still providing exceptional customer service.
When it comes to handling distressed customers, there's a special formula that you can use to help guide your course of action. Rodrigues appears to use this formula often when it's time to defuse an escalating situation, and it usually works!
This formula is called HEAT. Now, what does that stand for?
H - Hear
E - Empathize
A - Apologize
T - Take Action
HEAT is all about remembering to put the customer first, instead of leaning into your own emotional reaction. This may sound like a simple task, but when you're confronted with a heated customer, it might be more difficult to put into action than you think.
After all, nobody likes to be yelled or cursed at, especially if you did nothing wrong. It's easy to let our thoughts and emotions take over, but HEAT provides some guidance. While this is a great formula to practice, it's not always going to lead to a resolution.
No matter how hard you try, you can't please everyone, but you can always provide the best customer service possible.
Rodrigues's story is a great example of how to use HEAT in a fiery situation. Rodrigues told us the story of an elderly customer who was storing at her facility in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Through a slip of miscommunication, this customer ended up paying for an extra storage unit that they didn't need for that month. He never used the storage unit, but he did put a lock on it. After receiving notice that his rent was due on this storage unit, the customer became frustrated and proceeded to return to Ohana Self Storage, cursing and yelling at Rodrigues and her staff.
However, Rodrigues did not return the fire.
"Here in Hawaii, we treat everyone like family. Out of respect, instead of a mister or ma'am, we call them (the customers) Auntie and Uncle," said Rodrigues.
"I told him, 'Uncle, why don't you walk with me and let's go take a look at the unit,' and while we were walking he was still rumbling and cursing, just very upset. After I saw that he hadn't put anything in the storage unit, we went back to the office."
Once in the office, Rodrigues began to apologize for the miscommunication and told the customer that they would not be charging him for that month. Rodrigues stressed that she cared about the customer, and that they didn't mean any harm.
"By the end of talking to him and calming him down, he ended up giving me a big hug and thanking me," Rodrigues said.
Despite the customer lashing out at Rodrigues and her team, they displayed exceptional customer service by listening to his concerns, showing empathy, apologizing, and taking action.
"I always tell my employees to take a step back. You don't know what they went through or what happened before they walked through our door. Think about if this person was your mom or your dad, how would you want them to be treated?"
Rodrigues encourages kindness rather than adding fuel to the fire. Perhaps this customer has had a difficult day because their loved one passed away, they just lost their job, they're experiencing financial hardships, etc.
Whatever the reason, HEAT tells us that it's best to react with empathy and understanding rather than frustration. And this can be applied to many situations beyond simple misunderstandings.
How to Use HEAT When Increasing Your Rate
In the self storage industry, one of the most common scenarios you might encounter a frustrated customer is after you increase their storage unit rate.
Of course, being asked to pay more for something you already have is bound to evoke negative feelings from some customers. If a customer lashes out at you, you have to remember that these customers most likely don't work in the storage industry. They don't understand market changes, self storage costs, and everything that can impact the cost of a storage unit.
Lead with empathy by listening to their concerns, apologizing, and doing what you can to make the situation better for them. Instead of just accepting the situation as unchangeable, maybe you can offer an alternative such as:
"Could I offer you a smaller unit with a rate that works better for you?"
They might say no, and that's okay! Once again, you can't please everybody, but you took strides to find a solution and still provide exceptional service - that's what counts.
HEAT won't solve every problem you have with a customer, but it can help diffuse an intense situation and hopefully turn a negative interaction into a positive one. At the end of the day, we're all people and we all make mistakes.
"Remember that you don't know what happened to them five minutes ago," said Rodrigues. "Not everyone is a bad person. There are bad people, but not everyone is, so don't judge them. Talking to the customer and treating them as an equal goes a long way."
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