How did the holidays go for your business and your front line? Chances are, you had your challenges with difficult customers. When a guest or customer is angry, or even rude, it can be difficult to NOT take things personally. Today ‘we’re going to talk about why and how you can stop allowing that to happen to you when dealing with humans.
There are a number of reasons a guest is rude to you, or treats you poorly as a fellow human. Perhaps they have even questioned yours, or your company’s ability to take care of them. When this happens, remember a few important things.
Chances are, you, or your front line do not know this person beyond the customer relationship that has been established. Why would you take something personally from someone who you do not even know? If it’s a friend, family member, or acquaintance, it’s one thing. I can understand taking something personally from them. But it’s not. It’s a guy named Frank from Waukeegan, and he is not happy with something so he’s yelling at you, not because he does not like you, but because you represent the organization he has some sort of beef with. He is yelling at the logo on your name tag, not you.
Please do not think I am defending poor behavior, but when a customer gets mad at you for properly performing your job, they are not mad at you. Their mad at their next door neighbors barking dog. They are mad at their huge phone bill. They are mad their bossy supervisor at work, or annoyed at their in-laws. Maybe even mad at themselves, and they direct this negative energy towards you. But there is no need to take it personally or get defensive. As long as you are kind, and communicate to the best of your ability, you have NOTHING to take personally.
Now if the guest or customer lashes out at you personally, perhaps making an unkind comment about your appearance, performance, or something personal, before you do what most humans would and react, remind yourself that this is about them, and not you. You don’t know them. Why on earth would you take anything personally from a stranger?
As difficult as it may be to remind yourself that compassion is EXACTLY what this angry customer needs right now, that is precisely what you should give them. I will, however, say it again. There is a point of bad behavior where something other than compassion, like police or a manager, is necessary. Until this point, though, realize you are still in control and can give the customer or guest what they need, and move on with your day.
I truly believe that regardless of the emotions of that difficult customer, they will remember how you treated them, even if only on a subconscious level. They will come back, and they may even surprise you with their behavior on their next visit.
You will find out very soon, that I am a big optimist. I believe in the best in people, and all of us who deal with human for a living can set the bar for how we all treat each other everywhere, all the time.
I can dream, can’t I? So can all of you.
Carry on.
Worth every minute of the time spent reading, and a stop at driftwillowcommercegallery extends that value across more pages, in a media environment where most content is engineered to waste attention this site stands out by treating reader time as something valuable rather than something to be exploited and stretched as far as possible.
Thank you for the genuine effort here, it shows in every paragraph and not just the headline, and after my visit to igogoa I was sure this site cares about getting things right rather than chasing clicks, which is the main reason I will come back later this week to read more.
If the topic interests you at all this is a place to spend time, and a look at acornharborcommercegallery reinforced that recommendation, the broader question of where to invest topical reading time is one this site answers convincingly through the consistent quality across multiple pieces I have sampled during the current reading session today.
Even on a quick first read the substance of the post comes through, and a look at scrollturtle reinforced that immediate quality, content that does not require a slow careful read to demonstrate value but rewards one anyway is content with real depth and this site has produced work of that demanding depth class.
My reading list is short and selective and this site is now on it, and a stop at idaoat confirmed the placement, the short list of sites I read deliberately rather than encounter accidentally is something I curate carefully and adding to it is a real act of trust which this site has earned today.
Just want to say thank you for putting this together, posts like these make searching online actually worth it sometimes, and a quick look at jaspermeadowcommercegallery kept that going, useful and easy to read without any of the tricks that ruin most blog comment sections lately on the wider open web.
Came here from a search and stayed for the side links because they were that interesting, and a stop at forwardpathway took me even further into the site, the kind of organic exploration that good content invites is something most sites kill through aggressive interlinking and pushy navigation choices rather than relying on quality.
Closed three other tabs to focus on this one and never opened them again, and a stop at ideaorchestration similarly held attention exclusively, content that crowds out other reading from working memory is content with real density and this site has demonstrated that density across multiple pages I have visited so far this morning.
Now thinking about how this post will age over the coming years, and a stop at focusactivation suggested the same durability, content built to age well rather than to capture the attention of the moment is content with a different kind of value and this site has clearly chosen the long horizon over the short one.
A piece that did not try to be timeless and ended up reading as durable anyway, and a look at corestead extended that durable feel, content that stays useful past its publication date without straining for permanence is content that ages well and this site has the kind of evergreen quality that I value highly today.
Reading this in pieces during a long afternoon and finding it consistently rewarding, and a stop at ikbarmeryansus fit naturally into the same fragmented reading pattern, sites whose posts can be read in segments without losing the thread are well suited to how I actually read these days and this one is built well.
Picked up a couple of new ideas here that I can actually try out, and after my visit to velourvalley I have even more notes saved, this is the kind of resource that pays you back for the time you spend on it which is rare to come across in this corner of the web.
Quietly the post solved something I had been turning over without quite knowing how to phrase the question, and a look at amplebuff extended that quiet solving, content that addresses unformulated needs is content with reader insight and this site has demonstrated that insight at a high rate across the pieces I have read recently.
Worth observing that the post landed without needing a flashy headline to hook attention, and a stop at globalonlinebuyinghub did the same, content that earns engagement through substance rather than packaging is the kind I trust more deeply and this site has clearly chosen substance as the primary lever for reader engagement throughout.
Picked this for a morning recommendation in our company chat, and a look at kavix suggested I will mention this site again later, recommending content into a workplace context is a small editorial act that requires confidence in the recommendation and this site is making me confident in those recommendations consistently here too.
Granted I am giving this site more credit than I usually give new finds, and a look at ulvarobonding continued earning that credit, the calibration of how much trust to extend after limited exposure is something I do carefully and this site has earned more trust on shorter exposure than most due to consistent quality across.
Bookmark earned, share earned, return visit earned, all from one reading session, and a look at qelarobonding did the same, the trifecta of bookmark and share and return is rare in a single visit and represents the highest level of engagement I tend to offer any piece of online content these days here.
Decided I would read the archives over the weekend, and a stop at 1091m2love confirmed that the archives would be worth the time, very few sites have archives I would actively read through but this one has earned that level of interest based on the consistent quality across what I have sampled so far.