Most business owners try to run their business in the best way possible, but it’s inevitable that something will come up to cause customer dissatisfaction or anger. When this happens, it’s possible that a business could lose its good reputation, as it only takes a bad review for other people to shy away from your business or brand.

Dealing with unhappy or angry customers isn’t easy, but it must be done to save one’s business. Fortunately, there are several ways to do this, and hopefully, you can resolve a tense or awkward situation to everyone’s satisfaction.

Here’s how to deal with unhappy or angry customers and protect your business.

Stay calm

If a customer begins yelling in your store or is taking to social media to bash your business or your products, it can be tempting to exchange hostilities as your natural instinct is to defend your business. However, no good will come out of this, so it’s best to remain calm even when you feel like lashing out.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes

According to a company spokesperson at Shopee, an online marketplace owned by Singapore-based Garena (via Inc), a little empathy goes a long way.

“We understand and acknowledge our customer’s feelings and needs, before finding a solution for them,” said the spokesperson. “We do so by conveying our understanding of how they feel, and expressing a sincere desire to help them.”

Don’t take it personally

Remember that the customer is not mad at you and that he or she is upset at the quality of your product or your service.

Apologize

Don’t apologize because they “feel that way.” Apologize sincerely for the quality of your product or your service and see if you can offer a solution to make things better.

Make an offer

You can offer vouchers, free items, or refunds to appease a customer who is clearly upset. Apologize again if you have to and ask for their input on how you can make your business better.

For more, check out Jobs & Hire’s report on the things that confident people never do.