How to Deal with Angry Customers: 3 Tips!

Posted on 12/27/2022 by FTB

Each Food Truck owner employs a different management style and customer service approach. Since certain situations require a different approach than others, we are not advocating that all Food Truck owners handle unhappy customers in the same way. Anyway, the following are three techniques that proprietors of Food Trucks might employ when dealing with irate clients.

DON'T TAKE IT PERSONAL

There won't ever stop being rude customers, and it isn't much you can do about it. Sure, you can train your staff on how to take orders correctly and ensure that the food satisfies your standards (and minimize errors), but some individuals are just plain unpleasant or easily irritated. Not to mention that everyone occasionally has a terrible day, and some individuals choose to vent their bad days to other people. No matter what the unkind customer says, just remember that most of the time, it's not personal. This individual is searching for someone to vent their emotions on because they are angry with someone else (or, once more, are easily provoked).
CUSTOMER IS KING

A disrespectful individual who is not being reasonable or is shouting is challenging to listen to. On the other hand, the unpleasant individual can just leave a bad review and never eat at your truck again, while you stand to lose everything—including customers. That's why we refer back to an old saying: "customer is king". How unfair it may seem in certain situations, the customer is always king. Because of this, it's crucial to pay attention to the consumer in the issue and make an effort to provide a solution. This may prevent the situation from worsening, the customer from leaving a negative review, the issue being resolved, and increased customer happiness. A solution doesn't always involve giving the customer a free meal, it can also include de-escalating the situation, understanding the customer's perspective so you can find a solution, making sure the issue doesn't arise again, and providing the customer with an explanation.
MOVE ON

Our last tip for today is: move on. This is so much easier said than done, particularly if a customer accuses you of being personally offended, tells you they don't like your meal, shouts, refuses to listen to reason, etc.
You cannot, however, allow one negative event to trigger another. You will lose focus on something that happened in the past and is over if you continue to think about the nasty customer. You want to ensure that the issue doesn't arise again and that the error is corrected, but once it has been resolved, you have spoken with your staff, and a new strategy has been put in place, you must move on. Don't let one bad experience spoil your day, your food truck's atmosphere, or future meals because you and your employees are fixated on the offending patron.