The Internet is a fickle place. Use a great deal of effort to make a good name for yourself and it could be gone in an instant. The Internet has a long memory for the negative and very short for positive words for your and your business. Bad customer reviews are one thing, but words of anger from you are far more damaging.

Ever been wronged by a business? Perhaps a repair technician didn’t show up when scheduled or an install didn’t go well. Once a complaint was filed, the business didn’t generate much of an effort to fix the situation. The Internet has many places where one can find some measure of solace by writing a scathing review. Too many of such reviews and one might become known as a grave complainer.

Being gracious in anger is a trait not easily acquired. It takes a tender spirit mixed with the heart of the bulldog. The ideal is not to be a simple doormat, but not to be the barking hag. Be stern, but not overbearing. It is a spirit that is slow to overheat, but quick in seeking resolution. It pushes toward a solution and brings others with along, not as reluctant bystanders, but as engaged participants.

Think as though you are the one receiving the anger. How would you respond to someone full of venom and fire? Would you be willing to understand and resolve their problem? Now imagine the complaint is being given from someone obviously annoyed, but graciously anxious to resolve the issue. Would you be far more willing to resolve the issue? Maybe even feel as though you had helped a great deal. That is being gracious in anger. That is how to direct your energies properly.