Dealing Politely with Difficult People

陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。美国同事Amy今天来找他。

(Office ambience)

A：Chen Hao, how is everything going with your new responsibilities? I heard that you have been asked to handle our customer complaints.

CH：这个差事可真不好干。不知道老板干嘛让我跟投诉的顾客打交道。

A：I think you were asked because you are concerned about being courtesy and polite.

C：可是顾客在电话里大吵大闹的时候，要继续保持礼貌，还真需要训练有素才行。

A：What kind of challenges have you had?

C：很多时候，投诉的人打电话过来，其实我已经知道该怎么解决他们的问题了，可他们就是不听我讲话，没完没了地抱怨。

A：You need to let them vent.

C：Vent? 什么是vent?

A：It means to let people express their feelings or emotions.

C：那我就得耐心等他们把怨气全都发泄出来吗？

A：That's right. Don't interrupt them even when you understand the problem and the solution.

C：那不是浪费时间吗！

A：When people are angry or upset, they need to talk about it. If you listen patiently, by the time most people get to the end of their tirade, they feel better and are not nearly so upset.

C：我要是中途打断他们呢？

A：They think you are not listening to them. And when you interrupt, you may miss an important detail that will help you deal with the problem.

C：那倒是。有时候我没听完就下结论，往往都是错的。

A：When your customers realize that you are listening and caring about their problem, they often calm down.

C：你在这方面好像很有经验，下午有时间再给我讲讲！

A：Sure.

******

下班后，陈豪又碰到Amy。

C：Amy，今天天气真好，咱们走路回家吧！

A：That sounds good to me. So what other questions do you have about handling difficult situations with good manners and customer service?

C：有时候顾客蛮不讲理，就好像一切都是我的错。

A：You need to realize that the customer does not care whose fault it is. It's ABC's fault and you represent ABC to them.

C：那我该怎么跟他们解释呢？

A：Simple. You apologize.

C：Apologize? 明明不是我的错，我还得道歉。这不是替人受过吗！

A：And be sure that you sound sincere. People can tell by your tone of voice if you mean it or not.

C：还有什么其他建议吗？

A：Let them know exactly what steps will be taken to correct the situation and whom to contact if it is not resolved.

C：需要注意的事情真是太多了。Amy, 你能总结一下吗？

A：Listen patiently to your customers. Apologize and take responsibility. Let them know how the problem will be resolved.