From the course: Delivering Bad News to a Customer

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Offer options to guide customers forward and preempt escalations

Offer options to guide customers forward and preempt escalations

From the course: Delivering Bad News to a Customer

Offer options to guide customers forward and preempt escalations

- One morning last week, I went to Starbucks, I ordered a coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Over the drive-thru speaker, a voice said, I'm sorry, that sandwich is out. Nevertheless, I will happily provide you with any available breakfast sandwich at no charge. An employee made things right by offering me an alternative, and the offer came so quickly that the news of my sandwich being sold out, didn't even seem to be bad news. The more options a person has, the less likely they are to escalate. When providing alternatives to your customers, you must remember two things. Predetermine choices. I do this with my clients, we sit down and brainstorm the top reasons why customers would be given bad news. For each situation, we determine an acceptable alternative. When you predetermine options, you will be more confident and able to resolve issues with customer more quickly. Take the time to sit down with your…

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