Dealing With Emotional Customers to a Positive Result

Recently, I had the opportunity to observe a manager of a large, electronics store deal with emotional customers to a positive result.  My daughter and I were the emotional customers.

My daughter, Julia, had arranged for a new smart phone to replace her aging iPhone that had a small mechanical problem.  Her plan had a replacement option for such situations.  Although she was happy with her iPhone, the clerk at the store suggested that she try an android.  She took the advice and within 12 hours it was a shattered mess on the floor.  Turns out that she dropped the new phone and it fell apart.  The phone was inoperable.

The next morning, desperate without contact with the outside world, she went to the local store to get the problem resolved.  Her point was that the phone, although not “bullet proof”, should be able to withstand “normal” wear and tear such as the occasional dropping on the floor.  Her plan, she argued, should cover the breakage since she had a replacement option in case of a mechanical or electronic failure.  The clerk at the store did not agree.  He advised her that she could buy a new phone (several hundred dollars) and the store would give her a $100 credit or she could have the old one repaired (estimated at between $200 and $300).  When Julia objected, the clerk simply told her that was all he could do.

That evening, she explained the situation to me and asked for my help and we agreed to go to the store together the next day.  We walked into the store and up to the mobile phone counter, Julia carrying the box with the remains of her cell phone.  We asked for the manager.  A young man came out smiling and asked how he could help.  Here is how he handled the situation.

Connect with the customer.  As Julia explained the situation, the smile soon left his face and was replaced with what certainly looked like genuine concern.  He maintained eye contact with her as she went through the details.  He asked some questions.  He picked up and examined the phone.  His attention was clearly on Julia and her problem.

Acknowledge their emotional state.  As Julia explained, his comments, voice tone and body language communicated that he understood.  After listening carefully he shook his head and said something to the effect that he could see how upsetting such an issue would be.

Legitimize their feelings.  At this point he empathized with Julia.  He continued, “Gee, you must be going nuts without a phone.  I have a hard time going without mine for an hour, let alone a day or two.  We have got to get this sorted out.”

Manage the situation.  This is the critical point in this situation.  The manager had used an approach to draw out some of the emotion from the situation, but was he prepared to do anything?  Here is what he did.

The manager explained that the replacement of the phone was not a store issue but a manufacturer’s one.  He had to abide by the manufacturers rules and dropping a phone is not an acceptable reason for replacement.  He advised that, no matter how “reasonable” the specific circumstances might be, the phone companies were uncompromising.  There was nothing he could do about that.  (Here we go, I thought, nice guy but no help).  “But we do have a couple of options available – ones we can control.”  Notice that he politely stood his ground and set some boundaries for discussion.  We could have pushed back here but the logical way forward was to listen to the options.

One option, he said, was to have the unit repaired.  There would be a cost but the store would be willing to pick up much of it.  The other option was to explore other phone plans that might provide her with an equivalent phone at little cost.

All in all, it took about 30 minutes to explore the options and the manager never left our side for the entire time.  In the end, he identified a plan that Julia could switch to which was actually less expensive than her current “pay as you go” plan and it came with a free iPhone 5.  There was no access fee.  The catch was that it was a 2-year contract.  We reasoned that Julia would have a cell phone anyway, so signing a 2-year contract was no big deal.  He also provided Julia with a protective case for the phone (about $90 retail), to protect it from “future falls”.  She also got to keep the damaged phone, which can be repaired and sold.

The solution was not ideal, but it was good enough for us and we walked out of the store feeling that we had been treated fairly.  Although the manager may not have recognized that he used a technique called CALM which we teach in our Proactive Service© workshops for handling potentially explosive situations, he certainly used it to great effect.

How about your staff?  Are they prepared to handle emotional customers and situations to achieve a positive result?

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Jim

“Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.”
Robert Green Ingersoll