I've found that when someone is grumpy/angry (i.e. a customer who is pissed off), the best way to disarm it is to just empathize a little. Example: Customer: "

I've found that when someone is grumpy/angry (i.e. a customer who is pissed off), the best way to disarm it is to just empathize a little. Example: Customer: "Your site went down right in the middle of an edit I was making." Me: "Argh! That sucks! You're probably really frustrated right now. Let's see what we can do to get the bottom of it." Just showing a little empathy can go a long way .