Grammology.com » Blog Archive » What not to say to customers

What not to say to customers

2 September 2009 10 Comments

Who have you offended lately?

yelling girl What do you say when a customer your trying to talk into giving you a $3.5 million dollar listing reminds you of what you said last year when he told you it was going to a competitor, plus he reminded me I told him I was disappointed and he’d be sorry for his choice and then he heard a click and I’d hung up? Of course when he reiterated my conversation it all came back (so clear) and I couldn’t deny it, as it was true and there I stood one of those awkward moments, errors in judgment and I knew I’d never live this one down.

Oh yes in my career (all 30 years) I’ve done it all when it came to spitting out what was on my mind and it usually does come back to haunt you and here I was reliving my personality, expressing what’s always on my mind and seemingly not knowing I don’t always have to say what I’m thinking. Thus I looked in straight in the eye and admitted I did it apologize for the lack of better profession behavior and then, I hesitated for a moment and whispered may can I ask if I was right? He smiled and replied yes however at the time I thought you were a #itch or having a PMS day and let it go, therefore the million dollar question will he give me the listing this time.

That was Tuesday and I haven’t heard from him yet and if you’re interested I’ll let you know if I get the deal because I think I really do have buyer for the property and it would be a shame if he didn’t give me a chance to make it up to him. And if you’re wondering why I’m admitting to such dumb judgment it’s because my adage is to learn from your mistakes or bad choices and I’m surely giving this experience serious reflection as I’ve made statements I’ve regretted before and I’m hoping to eliminate my need to always tell what’s on my mind as it often gets me in trouble (are you surprised).

Therefore I’ve concluded:

Think for a few moments before I respond

Ask myself if what I’m going to say will help or hurt the person I’m talking too

And most important stop thinking everyone wants my opinion which is going to be the most difficult thing for me to do because as you know I just love telling you what’s on my mind although remember all you have to do is click and away I go that is until the next time please therefore, keep coming back I have more to tell.

Cheers Dorothy

10 Comments »

celticmusicfan said:

I worked in customer service before and yes , it can happen to the best in us . I think like everyone else we have our good days and bad days. It gives me comfort to know that mistakes are really what it means to be human. I salute you for being so candid. It makes you more interesting.

# 2 September 2009 at 10:50 pm

meryl said:

Hi ^_^

We all commit mistakes and we learn from it. Customer Service employee is not an easy profession because you have to face and communicate with people and be on the mood to serve them even if you are having a bad day. I salute you too for being open here ^_^. Thanks for sharing.

# 3 September 2009 at 9:39 am

Diane J Standiford said:

Well played! I worked in cust srv until retirement and always told customers to call me back if there was a problem, only got a few call backs in 18 years and my goal was to leave them happy. But I could never “speak my mind” until I hung up the phone. LOL I envy you that! Glad it all worked out. Donja hate people with good memory? LOL

# 3 September 2009 at 9:58 am

PJ said:

we should all be able to speak our mind. maybe if everyone, me included, wouldn’t take things so personally it would be so much easier to do. would you have been offended if that guy told you that he thought you were acting like a b*t@h? or would you have respected his opinion? i know it must be different in customer service, but sometimes the customer is just not right.

i love you just the way you are! have a great day my friend!

# 3 September 2009 at 11:14 am

OldOldLady Of The Hills said:

Sometimes it is very hard to keep one’s mouth shut..lol! Often I find I have a knee-jerk reaction sometimes and stuff just spills out. It has never been in the kind of situation you described though…..It sounds like it had a good outcome though…!

# 4 September 2009 at 3:48 am

Dorothy Stahlnecker (author) said:

Guess what Ed sent me an email which said he’d be calling me next week and I hope it’s with good news. I’ll keep you posted and if we list let you know how we do.

Hoping you all have a great Labor Day weekend weather in Western New York is suppose to be fantastic. As usual we have my step daughter Tracy and Noah..we’ll have fun and on Monday just me and Joe to relax before the work week begins.

My best, Dorothy

# 5 September 2009 at 1:39 am

LaShan said:

That’s great Dorothy… I think he will list or why else would he have bothered to e-mail!

And just remember… you can always say what’s on your mind right here… those customers never have to know they’ll be the subject of your blog post later that day…lol

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

# 6 September 2009 at 5:33 pm

C said:

Very gracious of you to apologize and humble yourself like that, grandma Dorothy!

We must all act gracefully. Even when the rest of the world are brutes!

-C

# 6 September 2009 at 11:31 pm

Heather Dugan ("Footsteps") said:

I think the “help or hurt?” question is a great guideline for most everything we say or do. And timing is so key… if it will indeed, “help”, but they’re not ready to hear it, saying it too soon may close ears that would hear it at a later time.

I had to check out your site after your recent visit to mine. Glad I did! I’ll be back, Dorothy.

# 7 September 2009 at 6:44 pm

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# 20 September 2009 at 7:26 am