What are we told as kids when we go crying to the teacher saying, “Bobby called me a noodle-head!”
Reply:
Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you.
Thanks alot, Teach. I can feel my character being built as we speak. Would saying this to a self-described “ex-customer” of Amazon have helped? Oh, about as much when that teacher said it. Your people who are contact with other people that are customers need to be able to think about what they say before they say it. They need to have that little voice that says, “You know, if I say that, the customer will think I am calling him a loser.”
That’s what happened to the ex-customer of Amazon. It’s possible that the person he spoke to about his undelivered television merely meant to “empathize” but when that seemed to be the end of the conversation, he rightly felt insulted. There was no offer to help further, no offer of a little something like a gift card or upgraded TV for the same price, nothing.
Just… “I’m sorry sir. I understand your frustration, and it’s too bad that you had to experience this with your first big order from Amazon. This sort of thing hardly ever happens. You’re just unlucky.â€
Sooooo… it’s all his fault? He’s just unlucky?
This exchange would make a great training tool for new and experienced customer service representatives. Before making this sort of statement, think about how it will come out. And are you going to follow it up with something to make him feel better and/or correct the problem? To quote Karl Malden: What WILL You Do?!?!
What do you think Amazon coulda, shoulda done? Share with us in the comments. We love comments!