The best way to deal with challenging circumstances is to be prepared. The more you have anticipated problems that may come up, the better equipped you are to deal with them.

Many companies use customer service scenarios to help staff prepare. Here is a definition: 

A customer service scenario is a schematic script of pre-made actions and answers to solve an irate customer’s situation that you’re likely to encounter as a support manager.

Here are some examples of complex customer scenarios for you to consider. You can use these as templates to adapt to your own company and situation. Of course, you will need to update the wording, but they will give you a great starting point for managing issues in your industry. 

Let’s say you see that a customer opens the chat with an angry message:

“The longer it takes you to answer, the higher chances you can kiss this customer goodbye!”

Oops...not a great start! A good customer service scenario may help you out in this situation. Here are some examples of scenarios in action:

A customer sends a message saying:

“Hi! I purchased your product two months ago, and was very disappointed it doesn’t have Feature X! I’m thinking of asking for a refund. Can you add it in the next update?”

This is a common type of request, so it’s best to have scenario scripts ready for this situation. These need to cover both a ‘yes’ and a ‘no’ answer appropriately. 

If the answer is ‘yes,’ the scenario script might say:

“Hello [First name]! Thanks for your feedback, but we’re sorry you were disappointed. Can you provide more details to share with our product team? It will help to prioritize their resources, so you could see the results faster. I’ll get back to you as soon as the feature is ready and you’ll be the first one to enjoy its advantages.

If the answer is ‘no,’ the script might say: 

“Hello [First name]! Thanks for purchasing our product, but we’re sorry you were disappointed. Many of our customers want this feature, too. It’s already in our backlog, and I’ll add your vote to move it further. Because of limited resources, we can’t implement it in the next update. But, I’ll notify you when we’re ready. In the meantime, you can try this alternative option. Do you need my help with it?”

Here’s are the essential things to remember:

Occasionally, a customer will ask you to break the rules for their benefit. This is a situation that needs to be handled carefully. Here’s how this situation could play out:

“Hi, I’ve noticed that the trial version of your product lacks some features I need to make a purchase decision. I’m ready to buy, but I need to be sure. Can you give me access to full functionality during the trial period?”

Here’s the wrong way to deal with this:

“Hi! We are glad to know you like the product, so I’ll arrange it. What email address should I send a login and a password to?”

Sorry, but breaking the company rules is a no-no! So here’s a more professional answer:

“Hi [First name]! Thanks for your choice. It’s a pleasure to know you appreciated the efforts we put into the product. As much as I enjoy fulfilling our customers’ requests, I’m afraid your one goes beyond a company’s rules. If the question is on the functionality, we can schedule a demo. I’ll show you the full potential of the product and how it can work for your business. Meanwhile, you can look through our special offers. Here is a link.”

Here are some tips to guide you:

Sometimes you will find that the customer has already broken the rules, and you have to straighten things out. For example, let’s say a customer has been blocked because they illegally shared their login info:

“Hi, A month ago I bought a course at your company. But the login and the password you gave me don’t work. Can you fix that?”

This is the wrong way to deal with this situation:

“Hi! To prevent data loss, it was blocked.”

A better response will be more empathetic and allow for the fact that it was all a mistake:

“Dear customer! We noticed suspicious attempts to access your account from multiple devices simultaneously while registered with a set of a single device package. To prevent data loss, we blocked the account. Did you happen to share the login data with somebody? Please let us know so we can sort this out.”

Some tips to remember:

When things go badly wrong, a customer may cut to the chase and ask for their money back:

“There’s something wrong with your product. There’s some bug that caused all my settings to be deleted, and now nothing works properly. I want a refund!”

As always, there’s a right way and a wrong way to handle this. Here’s the wrong way:

“Hi! I’m sorry, but this case doesn’t fall within our refund policy. So you can’t get your money back.” 

An example of a pro customer service message would be:

“Hi! I understand how this can be frustrating, and I'm sorry about that. But I can’t provide you a refund because this bug can be fixed easily. I’d be happy to help you configure your settings again.”

Tips to keep in mind:

When a faulty product arrives, customers are likely to be upset. You may receive a message similar to this:

“Hey! Recently I bought your product, but it’s nothing like the one on the website! It arrived damaged. Since the box wasn’t broken, I’m sure it’s a manufacturing mistake. Give me my money back!”

Here’s the wrong way to deal with this:

“Hi [First name]! Can you take some pictures of the defect and send them here in the chat, please?”

That’s way too direct! A more helpful response would be:

“Hi [First name]! Manufacturing mistakes are a rarity in our company. I’m so sorry it happened to you. We can send you a refund, or maybe you’d like to get a new one right away? The only thing I need is a photo of the defect for the report. Can you send it to me, please?”

But what if it was the customer who made a mistake? That’s a situation that must be handled carefully...not like this: 

“Checking the photos you sent, I noticed you have used the product. I’m afraid I can’t help you in this case.”

The pro way? More like this

“I’m afraid the issue appears to stem from the way you set this up. If you look at the ‘terms of use’ brochure in the product’s set, you’ll find the directions on how to do this correctly. But to make up for the confusion, I’d like to offer you 10% off your next order. Let me know if you need my help.”

This script demonstrates more customer support empathy and a detailed ‘Why-Not’ explanation. 

Tips to keep in mind:

Difficult customers are a part of life for live chat agents, but fortunately, a tiny one. Learn the skills to manage them, and you will find that you can handle almost any situation with ease.