The day a customer yelled at me for a policy I didn't make taught me more than any training ever did

3 comments

3 Comments

Wait, do you really think the customer was mad about the policy itself? In my experience, they're almost never yelling about the rule. They're yelling because they feel powerless or unheard. That shift in thinking changed everything for me. It stopped being about defending a dumb policy and started being about hearing their frustration. You can't fix the rule, but you can make them feel seen. That's the real lesson no training covers.

terryb1113d ago

You know, that bit about "the real lesson no training covers" is so true. But I wonder if part of the problem is that companies are scared to train for it. Like, if they officially tell staff to just listen and validate feelings, they think it looks weak or like they're admitting the policy is bad. So they drill the rules instead, because that feels safer and more in control. It puts all the pressure on the front line person to figure out the human stuff on their own.

ryanpatel26d ago

Yeah, that's it exactly... took me way too long to figure that out. I used to be the king of reciting the policy word for word while someone's face turned red, @lisayoung. Felt like I was winning some dumb argument, but really I was just making it worse. Now I just say "I get why that's so annoying" and let them vent for a minute. It doesn't fix the return fee or whatever, but the whole thing just... deflates. Still mess it up sometimes though, my default setting is still "explain mode".