Those were also my steps for dealing with angry parents when I worked in a school office. People often just want to be heard, and then the anger releases.
This works with partners, too. And really just about everybody who has a problem they think you can do something about. It's not always easy to do (OK, it's not often easy), and I take off my hat to you that you can keep your cool in the face of a tropical customer storm. It works the other way around, too. I've learned that approaching corporate snafus with a "I know this isn't your fault and maybe we can figure this thing out together" attitude gets me better service than "Fix this, you idiot."
Those were also my steps for dealing with angry parents when I worked in a school office. People often just want to be heard, and then the anger releases.
This works with partners, too. And really just about everybody who has a problem they think you can do something about. It's not always easy to do (OK, it's not often easy), and I take off my hat to you that you can keep your cool in the face of a tropical customer storm. It works the other way around, too. I've learned that approaching corporate snafus with a "I know this isn't your fault and maybe we can figure this thing out together" attitude gets me better service than "Fix this, you idiot."
Brilliant.