by Dossie M Terrell

Created on: December 28, 2008   Last Updated: May 14, 2012

"There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else."

Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, uttered those words more than 40 years ago and they are still just as relevant today. I have seen businesses where an argument could be made that management went out of its way to hire the rudest staffs it could find for their customer service. Customers remember both good and bad service and will often return to places that provide them good customer service, caring attitudes and great products.

The need for excellent customer service is even greater today, because of the grim economic forecast. Many customers are disgruntled over having less money to spend, in addition to having low paying jobs, so tempers may explode and attitudes may become a bit more testier than usual. If businesses want to stay afloat during these times of uncertainty, they should have their best behaved staffs interact with their customers, they should have those staff have big smiles planted on their faces upon greeting customers, and they should have staffs that are ready to accommodate customers in any reasonable way possible.

Likewise, management should ensure their most courteous and accommodating staffs are manning the telephones.

Protocol dictates that there is never an occasion for rudeness, but it happens. Staffs in customer service must learn how not to react to or how not to use language themselves that will incite or provoke. A customer may be rude and unpleasant, but it takes two to create an undesirable situation. When confronted with such a disagreeable type, listen to what is being said, listen to what is not being said, and try to gauge what the body language is conveying. Then make an earnest attempt to address the customer's issues by calmly repeating back some of the customer's own language. "I am sorry Ms. Doe that you are not happy with this product. I believe I understood you to say the knife does not slice tomatoes as it purports to do on television. Tell me what happened when you used it?"

Listen carefully while the customer makes his or her argument. Ask what she wants as a remedy; does she want a refund (if that's the stores policy) or a return for an exchange? If you remain calm throughout the discussion, you might have a repeat customer. Many folks are well aware of their illogical behavior and they know it is not the fault of the store's employees the items they have do not

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