Dealing with demanding customers
Few of us who deal with customers can hear the words ‘the customer is always right’ without a deep sigh.
Employees already know that every customer deserves their best attention, but experience has made them all too aware that some people are peculiar, impatient, snobby, angry, long-winded and ill-informed.
Recognise any of these?
Mr Snappy: "Call yourself a restaurant – my steak tartare is not cooked."
Ms Flash: "At Cartier they offered me a seat. Is that too much to ask for here?"
Mr Yappy: "When I was in Sarajevo – that was before the war in 1979 – we went with Mr and Mrs Lewis – they were our next-door-but-one neighbours. He was Welsh and she was originally from Yugoslavia. They got divorced the following year. Such a pity, especially for the children. Your tablecloths remind me of Sarajevo, the same shade of green. Have you ever been there? When it was Yugoslavia you sort of knew where you were. Now it’s Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia. I can never work out which is which. I wish It was still Yugoslavia.”
Mrs Picky: “No it is not a ‘Good Morning’. At 6.00am I was woken by the noise from upstairs. Have you let the room to a football team? I came here for a rest. I’m more stressed now than when I arrived. If you expect me to pay your exorbitant charges …”
These characters, all drawn from real-life, are featured in one of our films called Demanding Customers. Directed by Hugh Laurie, and featuring Dawn French, it shows how front-line staff can satisfy even the most demanding individuals, using a simple but effective acronym, PERFECT.
No organisation can afford to provide poor service but chanting the mantra ‘the customer is always right’ masks the fact that, frankly, they’re not always. Accepting that ‘difficult customers’ exist and bringing them to life in short, snappy, and entertaining video examples helps your staff to recognise the characters and learn how to deal with them.
Demanding Customers is available in our 3 for 2 sale
