February 13; An Argument Is Never Won Against A Customer MANAGEMENT BY THE BOOK: 365 Daily Bible Verse & One-Minute Management Lessons For The Busy Faithful
13 February
A gentle answer turns away wrath…
Proverbs 15:1a
| An Argument Is Never Won Against A Customer |
Fix It
The customer was mad at Your Humble Account Manager. Really steamed. And I had it coming.
My product didn’t perform as expected and nobody got hurt. Except me. I was getting an earful of hurtful language. With lots of, let us say, colorful emphasis. When the wronged customer had vented-off some high-pressure emotion I waited a moment.
“Oh no,”I said, “I am sorry. What do you want me to do?” (Yes, I meant it.)
The customer was stunned. I fell back when he was expecting some pushback. Like, who says, I’m sorry anymore? With direct eye contact and meek demeanor?
I mumbled and groveled some more and agreed to do whatever he asked.
And then he didn’t ask for much. Some minor restocking and adjustments. And I didn’t loose the account. (Which I should have.)
Something goes wrong. And things always do. So,
- Face the music. The aggrieved party must be appeased in person. Apologetic boot-licking cannot be phoned-in.
- It is your fault. Even when it’s not. Customer Satisfaction and all that.
- It is you job. You can feed your ego or feed your family as sales guru Zig Ziglar would say.
Proverbs 15:1a notes, A gentle answer turns away wrath…
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