BEP 53 ADV - Customer Service: Handling Complaints (Part 1: Empathizing)

Good customer service is essential to success in any industry, but it is particularly important in the service and hospitality sector. “Hospitality” means treating guests well; and here, we’re talking specifically about hotels. Because service is so vital to hospitality, hotels are a good place to look for excellent service practices.

So today we’ll be listening in on a phone call from an angry customer at the Majestic, a five-star hotel in Shanghai. By listening to a bad example and a good example of service practice, we’ll be studying skills that are useful in any industry, no matter whether you are dealing with internal or external customers.

We’ll see that a very important part of handling angry customers is showing empathy: Empathy is similar to sympathy – it means showing that you understand the customer’s pain.

Listening Questions:

Bad Example:
1) How does the customer, Steve, learn the service associate’s name?
2) What is Steve’s problem?
3) How could Jenna have handled the complaint better?

Good Example:
1) When Steve says, “I’m at the end of my rope,” what does he mean?
2) What does Sandy do to calm Steve down?

BEP 53: Study Notes.

Related Topics

• BEP 54 ADV - Customer Service: Handling Complaints (Part 2: Resolving the Complaint)
• BEP 23 - Telephoning: Handling a Difficult Customer
• BEP 48 ADV - Cold Calling: Dealing with Objections and Closing the Call

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