Topic 9 handling difficult guests

Projecting the Right Attitude

By: Sylvester Motulis

THE CUSTOMER IS NOT ALWAYS RIGHT BUT...

• The customer is always the customer and this means simply that solving the problem is often more important than who is right

• If you can solve their problem without blaming yourself or others, you will reduce stress, everyone will feel better and you will be on your way to

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

3

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COMPLAINING CUSTOMER AND A DIFFICULT CUSTOMER

A complaining customer is somebody whose needs and expectations have not been met

A difficult customer is somebody who is a challenge to serve because of their personality, for example, they may be rude, impatient or talkative

4

TYPES OF DIFFICULT CUSTOMERS

Rude CustomerRude Customer

Can be rude to everyone - they just don’t feel comfortable being nice.

- DO Ignore their rudeness and don’t take it personally

- DON’T Become Rude and Aggressive

Impatient CustomerImpatient Customer

Always in a hurry - and it won’t matter how quickly you serve them - they will still be impatient- DO Serve them quickly and politely - DON’T Waste their time with conversation and they may not want you trying to sell them products and services

Provide Service to colleagues and customers 5

TYPES OF DIFFICULT CUSTOMERS

Confused Customer

Find it difficult to make decisions and may take a long time

to decide

- DO Be helpful by making suggestions and asking questions

- DON’T Rush them - they could become flustered and embarrassed

Talkative Customer

Wants to talk and could spend all day doing it

- DO Be friendly and attentive - Lead the conversation

- DON’T Ignore them or give them all your attention so other customers are ignored

6

HOW CAN A CUSTOMER BE DIFFICULT? (cont)

Noisy Talkative Confused - unable to

make decisions Silent Fussy

WHY ARE THEY DIFFICULT?

• They are often expressing a need but are choosing an appropriate and impolite way to communicate this need

• They are difficult for their own reasons - NOT BECAUSE OF YOU

COMMON REASONS FOR BEING DIFFICULT

• Tired or frustrated• Confused or

overwhelmed• Defending their ego• Unfamiliar with

situation• Feel ignored• Under influence of

drink or drugs

• Don’t understand• In bad mood• In a hurry• other reasons…..

Most common complaints...• Wrong information

• Poor service

• Accommodation unsatisfactory

• Overcharged

HOW DO I DEAL WITH THESE PEOPLE?

• “this job would be great if it weren’t for the difficult people”

FREQUENT FRUSTRATIONS

• Others blame you for problems over which you have not control

• People pressure you with last minute requests

• Superiors don’t understand your job

• You don’t get the right info or materials needed to do job properly

• People change their minds

BELIEFS ARE OFTEN A BARRIER TO PROBLEM

SOLVING

SO HOW CAN I COPE WITH THESE DIFFICULT PEOPLE?

?

APPROACH THEM PROFESSIONALLY AND NOT

PERSONALLY

• TAKING THINGS PERSONALLY CAN HURT YOU AND OTHERS

• TAKING A SITUATION PROFESSIONALLY PAYS OFF FOR EVERYONE

REMIND YOURSELF!• This is my job and I’m

going to do it professionally

• If it were not for these customers I would not have a job

• every time I solve a problem I will feel better

• reinforce this by saying…

• “I like the job, not because it’s easy, not because there are no difficult people, not because there are no frustrations but because people are part of any job and I can make things easier by taking things professionally

LISTEN FOR THE SIGNALS THAT YOU ARE TAKING

THINGS PERSONALLY!!

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON COMPLAINTS?

• DO YOU KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THESE?

• WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

• WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

HANDLING COMPLAINTS• Take aside• Listen• Repeat• Apologize• Acknowledge• Explain action• Thank• Follow-up

• REMEMBER TO NOT TAKE IT PERSONALLY

• REMAIN CALM• FOCUS ON

PROBLEM AND NOT PERSON

• TURN UNHAPPY PERSON INTO HAPPY CUSTOMER

CHECK YOU CUSTOMER SERVICE ATTITUDE

ATTITUDE IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS

Attitude is your mental position on facts – or more simply, the way you

view things

FIVE POINTS ABOUT ATTITUDE TO REMEMBER

• your attitude towards customers influences your behaviour. You cannot always camouflage how you feel

• your attitude determines the level of job satisfaction

• your attitude affects everyone who comes in contact with you

• tone and body language reflect your attitude

• your attitude is not fixed. The attitude you choose to display is up to YOU

SUMMARYSUMMARY

• Be positive

• Take things professionally and not personally

• Aim for customer satisfaction, not just service

• Solve problems without blaming yourself or others

• Remember attitudes are caught, not taught

and finally…

• THINK OF HOW MANY LIVES YOU INTERACT WITH EACH DAY - PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY AND CONSIDER THIS:

• “there never was, there isn’t now, and there never will be again another person specifically powerful like me who could have influenced that life in that moment of time uniquely the way I could have…”