De-escalation Training for Customer Service & Soft Skills Training Customized Engaging Online Customer Service Training What do you do when you can’t give the customer what they want?

I created a worksheet to help you practice the Feel, Felt, Found Method so you can apply it in your specific situations. Grab the worksheet here.

I was working with a client that sells food products. A frequent question they get from customers is, “What ingredients are in this yogurt?” for example.

When a customer asks for ingredients, it’s usually because they or one of their children has a food allergy, and they’re trying to make sure the product is safe for them.

My client can’t give the entire ingredient list because that would be like giving away their secret sauce. All of their products do list all ingredients known to have allergic reactions to some people. For example, peanuts would always be listed on the label if they are in the product.

But when a customer asks for a full list of ingredients, that can’t be done. So, I helped my client respond to these customers with empathy since they can’t give the customer what they’re asking for.

Giving the ingredient list is a hard ‘no.’ But I softened the approach with Feel, Felt, Found.

Using Feel, Felt, Found, here’s what I had them do.

I understand how you feel. My daughter has a walnut allergy, and like you, I have to know what’s in the food my daughter eats.

We’ve had other customers who share your concern and felt as you do.

Here’s what we found helped them. Our labels list all known allergens. While other customers couldn’t get the full ingredient list, they could quickly spot the specific ingredients known to trigger allergies. All our labels list every element with a known allergic reaction.

Feel, Felt, Found is a way to say ‘no’ with empathy and showing customers how other customers got through the same thing.

Watch my video to learn how to say ‘no’ using the Feel, Felt, Found method, and share this lesson with your team as you gear up for the holiday rush.