DEALING WITH RUDE PEOPLE AND MANTAINING FEEDBACK

I have been selling professionally on ebay and via a websitefor over a year. There have been1000's of transactions that have gone smoothly resulting in happy customersSometimes things can go wrong, be it royal mail, couriers, paypal, ebay, the list goes on. Buyers on the recieving end of problemsmostly are understanding and patient, making it easy to complete the transaction properlyEvery once in a while you will eventually get someone that is rude, abusive sometimeseven threatening - we had onecustomer that owned a rival company and promised to putus out of business for good, theypurposely bought an item (that they relistedin there shop using our description andpicture) and left abad feedbackthe next day!!!! stating in the feedback foul language and abusive commentsand threats. Of course ebay removed it due to offensive language butit shows the nature of some peopleWe also dealt with a customer who was on the recieving end of a courier mix up - his item arrived a day late because of the courier mixing his address with someone elses...the item was signed thenext day and his postage refunded.... the buyer however emailed to state this..... alongwith-nearly a page long of swearing, threats, even disrespectful racistremarkstowards my staff and myself. After reporting it to ebay he was suspendedTo provide the best customer service and to avoid/deal withdisgruntled rude people here are some tips:Be Honest: If a problem with the order, collection or stock comes up - be honest and inform the customer, state that a problem occured and offer a reasonable solution in a polite mannerCollect seperate proof of posting dockets for each parcel:All you do is ask business collections or the post office for a printed reciept for every parcel. If a customer questions whether you sent an item, simply scan and email it through -Dont use Capital letters in any reply: its easy to misinterpert as loud and aggressiveAvoid !!!!! exclamation marks, they indicate loudness and aggression if used following a response to a queryOffer a phone number: sometimes a human voice is reassuring and helpfulIf a buyer swears or makes rude comments which are out of place - DO NOT respond with similar remarks, you will further there rage (think The Incredible Hulk) instead, relax and be honest - if they continuewith the abuseyou dont need to speak orrespond any further - cut the conversationREPORT ANY ABUSIVE EMAILS OR THREATS TO EBAY AND/OR THE POLICE All in all, sometimes you cant avoid nasty people - still follow these steps and you can handle it as best you can. Mantain your integrity as a person and a seller and your feedback levels will be very very good