How to manage upset customers? Using the LAUGH Method to work with angry or frustrated guests
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ค. 2024
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We’ve all been there.
A mistake happens; some confusion about your tour; an unmet expectation. Whatever the cause, you now have an angry, frustrated customer on your hands.
The reaction can be aggressive, with customers yelling and shouting and making demands about what should be done. Or at times much more passive, you’re suddenly getting icy looks, curt responses and overhearing snippets of negative comments. Either way, it is now time to put on a new hat.
How to manage upset customers is a skill that all service professionals must develop. Some companies will enroll staff in weeks of workshops and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on customer service training. And when you start to look at the facts and statistics regarding customer service, you start to appreciate the real-world costs that come from poor service.
Most thought leader’s and authors on the subject of excellent service, will tell you that your staff need to be reliable, responsive, empathetic, creative problem solvers, reassuring, calm and consistent.
Dealing with upset customers is absolutely an art versus a science, and will take a lot of practice to become proficient. Each human being and every situation are filled with nuance and subtlety, and what works for one guest may not work at all for another.
In this video I share a customer service tool that I have grown to love. I routinely use it not only while leading tours, but also in my day to day life. It is called the LAUGH method and it is a simple guide for how to manage upset customers.
The L.A.U.G.H. Method has been circulated widely by Dr. Ian Brooks - A leadership consultant from New Zealand - but it’s original source likely goes further back.
It is an acronym comprising of the 5 recommended steps for handling complaints and tough guests.
We’ll look at each letter of this acronym and explore the overarching process to resolve challenging problems on tour. I’ll even share specific language on how you can effectively, ‘Listen, Acknowledge, Understand, Give Solutions and Hit Home’
While the specific incidents and guests will always be different, this step-by-step process will give you the big picture of how to reliably get to a satisfying outcome.
My problem is dwelling on the things a rude customer said for days after the incident. And taking it personally.
Same. I just had one give it to me really hard tonight and just let me have it. I was very polite and all I could do was sincerely apologize and tell her that “patience is a virtue” and walk away before it escalated. But she really got to me! I had to take a mental break for 10 minutes before I had a nervous breakdown.
Food employees get the brunt of everyone else’s problems sometimes and are treated like scum. Today I was treated like a doormat by a customer who was apparently very unhappy she had to wait for 20 minutes to get her food. And obviously to her it was all my fault. 🤷🏻♀️
@@Jeng4280 I'm sorry you had a rough night. It really is hard sometimes working in retail/customer service. I know how it is. And I know you did your very best. I hope your night gets better. :)
think about when YOU were an angry customer...we have all been at some point.
remember the person you were a little rude with. You actually didn't have an issue with them most likely the company they worked for and they just so happen to be a representative you have eyes on and you can vent your frustration on/to... while you know THEY didn't make the rules they where there to deliver the bad news. We've all shot the messenger...
There’s a good Ted talk about not taking things personally - I was having the same issue and it really helped
Same. I've been doing this over 5 years now. Stuff like that used to bother me for days. It would totally mess up my weekend if it happened on a Friday. Now not so much. The second I'm off the call I've already forgotten about it. However on a rare occasion I'll get an extremely rude customer that will rent space in my head for a day or two.
i thought he was going to reveal a secret joke for customers that works every time
And sometimes you can do all these things and it isn't enough! Hurraaaaay
The last step "H" is killer.
A follow-up with the customer to confirm the customer's problem was actually fixed to his/her satisfaction.
Thanks for the video.
Did a Customer Service Talk on this today, killed it! Got lots of praise. :)
Wow thank you. This will help me for that " how would you handle a difficult customer " interview question.
Kelsey, I think I need to watch this more than once and let it sink in.
I can and do l.a.u.g.h. when the complaint is one on one. But when its something that is said to me in front of my whole group (Like when a guest asked me about a super obscure fact that I didn't know. "You should know that! You suck!!" I do tend to feel defensive even if I don't show it at once.
My tour is mobile, so its not like my disgruntled guest is free to leave; he is a captive audience and he resents it.
It's rare but it happens. This video is very helpful.
I've found that the best thing to do begins....with the first few minutes before the tour; to make sure that they are on the right tour, and letting them know what to expect on the tour before it begins. If there are any issues within those first few minutes, resolve those issues then. For me that's out of respect toward those guests who are there for the experience. I have time markers that have to be hit within the driving tour and get out and experience the place that I conduct, and it's hard to create time in the middle of a tour to address upset customers. However, on those rare times when that has happened? I pointed my group to a source of interest, give them something to think about while they're looking at / experiencing it, and pull the upset customer aside to figure out what I can do to resolve their issue/issues. One of the guides that I work with actually refunded their money, and left them where they stood. For me the key aspect are the first two minutes before the tour begins as an attempt to avoid distractions for the rest of the group.
Thats also the techniques that i learn to handle irrate costumer when i was a call center agents..so refreshing your tips..appreciated bro.keep it up
Thank you so much, your videos are so helpful to me. Listening is the most important ! Love all the tips.
I love this, thanks for your work...
Thanks for the tips... really helpful
This is great! Much easier to understand and apply. Thank you!!!
I love that video...i work as Tour Guide and often meet hard situations like that.
Thanks for sharing!
Great tips, thank you.
I need this video ,,,thanks for sharing man .
Thanks for this. Definitely helpful.
I have had to deal with a few irate customers and even if they are not in the right listening to them helps diffuse the situation.
Many thanks.
thanks for sharing
Very helpful❤thank you
Hey I loved the tips, very nice job.
Just watch this video of yours and it is very helpful for me as a guide here in the island of boracay. You owned +1 subs and I hit the bell icon button. Upload more helpful videos as a tourguide.
More power to your channel. 😎
From: Philippines ☺
Good tips. Also in the same vein, there is the issue of how to deal with the problem, when the 'mistake' is not yours or your agency's. If for example a problem rises at a hotel, a restaurant, with transport providers... how you deal with their staff to solve this problem tells a lot about your character, and therefore your customers will judge you on that too. I'd say you must use a very similar method, with slight variations (but I haven't got an acronym for it). I try to be assertive and proactive but never aggressive or pushy towards them. Do you have a video on that? It would be really interesting to hear your opinion.
Very Helpful
aktualy im verry a proud with you all westernrd people ,: you all do anything with perfecsion and verry profesional please how create that personality , ?
Loved your tips and I will try to use them for sure.... Another technic I use Is to slow down my voice and my speech as much as to breathe out with my "offended/ offensive " guest. At least to bring back some normal conversational tone....
That’s good because if they haven’t gone completely irrational, they’ll know that they have to quiet down to hear you
What if a customer blames you for something you never did and threatens you?
laugh at them.
Or when you didn’t even know you made a customer mad then go behind your back to complain to manager. 🙄
Absolutely
thank you. big help for my tour guiding class. ^^
How do you use this when they write a review filled with lies?
Finished Watching? Join us in the comments section over at Be a Better Guide and let us know how you manage upset guests. What steps do you take when facing an angry or upset customer? www.beabetterguide.com/manage-upset-customers-using-laugh-method/
Laura
this is the most politely candian way to handle an angry customer
So just today a client of mine threatened me.
He first demanded an immediate refund, which I simply do not do. So I refused, and tried to explain to him how I handle refunds.
Then started accusing me of dubious practices, and how he would smear my store with leaflets. To which I said, I welcome the free advertisement.
He started yelling more, implying he would use force. At this moment I stood up, and confronted him, and I am a tall, and heavy dude. I totally had him, and I told him that in the words "how do you expect this will go down if you were to touch me?".
He then went ouf of his mind when I also said to him he was also being recorded, so he better calm down. Recording with CCTV is pretty standard in an electronics store by the way. But he was furious. I told him to calm down some more times.
He then threatened damaging my store next, which made me mad, and to which I replied that I knew who he was, and had his contact information, and I anything were to happen to my store at this point I would immediately go after him with an indictment. I asked him to leave my store. He would not.
Then said I would call the police if he would not. He complied and left eventually. Nothing was resolved.
Could I have handle this any better? I did not touch him, and he was screaming so loud at one moment, that he was spitting at me. Should I have pushed him at this moment? Punched him? What? What about what happens next? Should I proceed with an indictment for assault? Or simply refund him as nothing ever happened to rid of him?
A description of how I do business.
In my line of work it goes like this. I order something for my clients, they pay in advance covering the full cost of that item, and when it arrives I deliver it to them, and receive a small fee from them as compensation. I order stuff from all over the place, ebay, aliexpress, bangood, gearbest, or even online shops they tell me in specific.
"When" it arrives is the key statement here. Because sometimes there is a huge delay of even months from our country's customs offices, or simply sometimes items get lost, or destroyed. So what I tell them goes like this.
"That item will normally arrive in about 18-30 days, but if it's stuck in customs, or lost, or something happens to it, then I have no idea how much it will take. If at any given time you (the client) think that it has just taken too damn long (month and over), I can enquire on that, and start refund procedures. That usually takes about 1-2 weeks". So I tell all that, to each, and every one of them. Some of them agree, or some go on their merry way.
I'm guessing laughing at him probably wouldn't be a good idea?
@@escfxp lol
Great video and tips. You've just earned an a subscriber with big thanks from Cambodia
Mono THENG same!
my like on this video made 1K. You are the best
what if you tell the customer to wait and she follows you into the kitchen(customers aren't allowed in the kitchen)... I feel like at that point she should get kicked out but my manager just talked to her after that.
Can I get short note ,plz!
Listen .... when someone is screaming at you... you still listen ? When they shouting at you .....
I'm not able to open the PDF sheet
nice!^^
i was difficult bec..i have a problem the working with upset customers
Sometimes you dont have time to do this at some places because of time limit and the customer priority because at my place is the customers in front of me is the priority.
the link for the cheat sheet isn't available. Maybe the link is broken.
Hey Kelsey, I have a question.
I am interested in the field, and while I am perfectly willing to take nearly any salary, it would make my parents feel at ease to know what the average guide would make in their first year, with tips?
Also, what kinds of guides are there?
guides make peanuts thats why he hasnt replied
How do you stay patient when a guest feels entitled to break rules (for their own convenience) you established?
If you ask them to not break the rules and they respond with anger or call you names. Do you follow the laugh method?
True especially when he says don’t bring up the policy
I kinda hate it. Ive been in retail just to try it and i hate that its always us that had to adjust adding up more work for me and my coworkers, cant we also write complaints towards customers? Its hard to swallow and act like sheeps everytime though rarely. Sometimes you cant help but have a bad day. Sometimes you have so many things to think about and theyre not your only customer.
HUMPH im angry and i know most would say, youre not fit to be in retail and should quit or my line of thinking is wrong because im in customer service thus i must learn to adapt, adjust and feed the customers ego for the sake of the company.
I hate it but how do i change really >.>
the one-page PDF Cheat Sheet of the LAUGH Method is no longer available...
Halo I am parvej and I wanna be a tourist Gide. So I suppose your video help me.
Pdf don't work
Just to let you know. Whenever you are in Hanoi, Vietnam. I am ready to take you around. :)
Ok
Unfortunately, there are times where G doesn’t work and there is no solution. Personally, I find it more respectful of the customer’s and your time when you say there’s nothing you can do. I would rather disappoint them than gish galloping them into looking for a solution if I know none exists. Maybe that will upset the customer, but I also think we should be above treating customers like toddlers. They’re adults living in an adult world. If they can’t handle that, it’s not my problem and there are always more customers that need help who I may be able to help
I'm scared because if you die, I hope that somebody will do this as good as you do it :(
❤🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
But I don’t care anymore. Just release the line
When I have a problem and someone claims that, "there is nothing I can do," I always respond with, "there is ALWAYS something you can do!"
u must be a shit customer
There are genuinely cases where there is nothing that can be done. Don't be that guy
“I’m sorry, this product has been discontinued and is no longer being sold in stores. There’s nothing I can do. Maybe they have it on Amazon?”
“You are going to build me a new one if it’s the last thing you do dammit! There is ALWAYS something you can do.”
How to manage upset customers? Beat them up .. plain & simple
The first video was nothing of funny lol
You think an animal getting hurt is funny? What is wrong with you? This guy is disgusting.
Linda, you sound like a Karen. I wonder if he’d try to use the laugh method on you lol
Sounds like bs