Customer Service Dialog

1. Customer Service Dialog By: Haley Barritt Hour 8

2. Different Types of Customers • Disagreeable Customers: Argumentative – Seem to look for problems Impatient – Show verbally and nonverbally that they do not want to wait Leave-me-alone – Do not want any assistance or advice Irritable/Moody – Can be happy one day and a crab the next Insulting – Get frustrated and try to take it out on the worker personally Complaining – Nothing makes them happy

3. Different Types of Customers • Other 4 types of customers include: • Domineering/Superior – Try to tell the worker what to do and boss them around • Suspicious– Ask questions because they have trust issues as a result from a past experience • Slow/Methodical – Can be silent and seem indecisive • Dishonest – Try to lie about stealing or breaking merchandise

4. Suspicious Customer • A suspicious customer asks many questions because they want to make sure that what they are doing/buying is how they want to be. This is because they could have had an experience with a company that ended up giving the customer trust issues. • The guideline for dealing with suspicious customers is to explain and demonstrate good service as many times as you need to. Some customers just “get it” more slowly than others. • You can admit that not everything is going to be perfect all the time, but tell them that they always want their guests to be satisfied and delighted. Also share with them your guarantee of service.

5. Introduction • This experience is not a customer service situation that I personally witnessed (I will do another situation towards the end of real life dialog that my sister working at Econo Foods in Somerset went through). The customer in this situation is a suspicious customer. His name is Doug. Doug is looking to book a stay at Holiday Inn but he is doubtful of the service. Penelope is going to try her best to help Doug and make him feel comfortable.

6. Penelope: Worker Doug: Customer Suspicious Customer Dialog • Penelope: “Hello. Welcome to Holiday Inn. My name is Penelope. How may I help you?” • Doug: “Hi. I would like to book a stay through October 21-25th.” • Penelope: “I can set that up for you. You will be in room 157. When you arrive, stop at the front counter and show your identification. Then we will give you your room key.” • Doug: “How am I sure that you won’t overbook me? Are you positive that my room will be ready for me when I get there?”

7. Suspicious Customer Dialog Continued • Penelope: “Yes. I promise you that we will be well prepared for your stay. The room will be cleaned as well.” • Doug: “Will I have fresh shampoo and conditioner bottles ready to go? Do you know for a fact that the sheets are going to be clean?” • Penelope: “Yes, sir, everything is going to be alright. We assure you that our policy is that all of our customers are satisfied. The workers here want only the best for you during your stay.” • Doug: “Are you 100% sure?”

8. Suspicious Customer Dialog Continued • Penelope: “I am positive. You will not need to stress about anything before or while you are here at our hotel.” • Doug: “Okay. Thank you Penelope. I appreciate everything.” • Penelope: “You’re welcome. If you need any more assistance, feel free to call.”

9. How Did The Worker Handle This? • The worker, Penelope, handled this situation well by using the reassuring step in the CONTROL acrogram. She assured the customer of their good service policy. Penelope wanted to make Doug feel as comfortable as possible before and during his stay. • Besides reassuring the customer, she also remained calm, was aware of his needs, thought about what to say, and listened to him. • This situation gave Penelope opportunity for future conflicts such as this one.

10. Ending • In the end, both the worker and customer benefited. Penelope gained knowledge for how to handle difficult situations in the future, and she most likely got recognition from her boss. • Doug was happy in the end because he felt better about his stay and he did not feel as doubtful. His trust with this company went up.

11. Hanna’s Customer Service Introduction • My sister’s name is Hanna and she works at Econo Foods in Somerset. She goes through many difficult customer situations while working. The customer that she most often deals with is the complaining customer. They usually complain about a price that is incorrect and she must deal with them in a way to not make them more upset. The incorrect pricing is not her fault so she has to be careful not to get angry back at the customer.

12. Complaining Customers and Guidelines Nothing makes complaining customers happy and they find little things to complain about. They are not easily satisfied. The guideline for dealing with complaining customers is to understand and respect what they are thinking. Your job is to help them overcome obstacles that prevent them from trusting you and your company. Keep in mind, that when you work for and represent a company, you are that company to your customer.

13. Complaining Customer Dialog Hanna: “Hello. How are you today?” Customer: “ Fine. This price is not correct. I want it changed.” Hanna: “Okay. I’ll switch that for you right now. I apologize for this mistake.” Customer: “Well why was it wrong in the first place? It should be done correctly the first time. It really bothers me when this happens. I don’t have all the money in the world so I want my prices the lowest I can get.” Hanna: “I understand that sir. I’m sorry for this inconvenience and I will look into having the worker that is in charge of setting prices be more careful next time. Is this all?” Hanna = Worker Customer

14. Complaining Customer Dialog Continued Customer: “Yes. Thanks.” Hanna: “Thank you for coming. Enjoy the rest of your day.” The customer then takes his bag and walks out the door without saying another word. Hanna = Worker Customer

15. Conclusion My sister, Hanna, has to deal with complaining customers and figure out a way to politely give them what they want. She does not get angry with them when they are rude to her and this is important because you need to make sure you properly represent your company. Hanna could have used the CONTROL acrogram in order to deal with complaining customers. She would need to keep in mind to stay calm, observe them, know what they need, think about what she needs to do, reassure them that it will get taken care of, think of this situation as an opportunity for future conflicts, and listen to the customer. This is all very important when dealing with difficult customers.

16. Citations Making Mad Glad (In G-Drive)