A little bit of anxiety won't kill you.  You don't always have to be carefree.  Worrying may heighten your awareness of a situation and point out the small problems before they become huge ones.

- Tabatha Coffey, Own It!

Customers come in all shapes and sizes, and we can probably all agree that the most difficult is the angry customer. This is someone who has been wronged (in his/her opinion) and is upset and emotional. We get it- mistakes happen, and you will have upset customers. Did you know that ~80% of dissatisfied customers tell 10 people and ~20% of dissatisfied customers tell 20 people? You don't want this negative publicity- NO WAY!  So as soon as it is apparent that your customer is upset or that there is a problem, it is absolutely necessary to deal with the situation ASAP.  Unlike the customer, you are not angry, you are in control, and your only problem at the moment is helping him/her with his/her problem so that the stories these customers tell are positive and ones that showcase proper service recovery instead of the other way around.

After you apologize, tell the customer what happened.  Stick to the facts.  Keep emotion out of it.  Be truthful, even when your company made a mistake.  The customer may not like the answer, but your honesty will be appreciated.  In the end, a customer is going to respect an employee who is frank and honest over one who evades, covers up, or lies.

- Renee Evenson, Customer Service Training 101

Customers come in all shapes and sizes.  Each has its own unique characteristics (and demands), and how you care for each customer is important not only for their satisfaction, but also for the morale of your team.  You have seen it before- just one customer can disrupt your company's entire day by making an unrealistic demand, and your team can be sent into a tailspin trying to figure out how to satisfy this ridiculous request and to make this customer happy.  Or, how about the customer that calls and asks for a solution, but has no suggestions for how and what should be implemented?  All of these details are then left up to you and your team, which can lead to uncertainty and a bit of insecurity since all of you might think you understand what is best, but you have nothing to guide you on how close to the mark you wil be.  Neither of these scenarios are fun, so for the betterment of our business and employees, you and I need to learn how to navigate through each type of customer relationship and characteristic.