My first job was at Kmart. I was 16. It was at Kmart that I learned that customers could be difficult. Customers could get so upset they’d cuss, make threats, and demand to speak to a manger.

It was at Kmart that I learned how not to handle a difficult customer. This lesson came through the courtesy of my friend, Beverly Johnson. One Thursday evening, Beverly, just 17, was put in charge because management in our area was gone for the day.

I joined Beverly on a price-check at the Service Desk. When we got to about 20 feet away from the Service Desk, Beverly and I looked at each other and without saying a word, our eyes communicated, “Oh shit.” We saw one of our notoriously difficult customers.

The customer was Nancy. She was known to return large numbers of items, usually clothing. She’d have her kids (all 5 of them) wear the clothes until they literally wore out. Then, she’d return the clothing. She always had a receipt, and she knew that anything could be returned anytime for an in-store credit. If you dare challenge Nancy, she’d raise her voice, get her dramatic hand gestures going and then, demand to see the store manager. Tonight, Beverly was the “manager.”

We approached the desk, and the first thing Beverly said was, “We’re not taking that junk back!”

“Excuse me?” Nancy was genuinely shocked. No, this little girl didn’t just tell me I cannot return these items! is what I imagined she was thinking.

Beverly, serious as a heart attack, said again, “We’re not taking that junk back.”

“Little B$#&@, yes you will!” No, she didn’t! Even for Nancy, this was extreme. Continue reading →

Yesterday I delivered a full-day of soft skills training to a new client in Denver. We had such a fun day. Lots of participation, solid take-aways, table discussions that I know were behavior changing. I love the feeling I get after a day of soft skills training.

Have you ever checked out my onsite training workshops?

• Workshop attendees have said, “Myra’s positive attitude really makes me feel that one person can completely change another’s state of being” and “Each one of us walked away with something new, and all of us feel we could have sat and listened to her for days!”

• Training is customized to your needs. I meet with your management team before the training to discuss your objectives and I review a sample of your agent calls to help me understand where you are today.

Just after a Customization video conference with a new client

• I’m known for my high engagement, stories and humor – your people will love spending the day with me and my team in soft skills training!

Here’s what a recent client had to say about my training:

Myra delivered two full-day workshops for us, and we could not be more pleased.  She took the time to listen to our needs and created workshops that combined her expert knowledge with the specific customer-service ethos we want ingrained in our employees.   Continue reading →

My husband and I were sitting at the big boardroom table at the Closing office. We’d just sold our first home. We were now closing on our new home. But, something went wrong. The bank didn’t transfer the money for the purchase of our new home. 

I called our mortgage broker, who had handled every detail up to this point. I got the Office Manager.“You’re approved. I don’t know why the money wasn’t transferred. It’s now after hours on the East Coast on a holiday weekend.” It was New Year’s eve. “We can’t talk to anybody until after the first of the year.”

Devastated doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt right then. I was in all-out panic mode. I was afraid that we wouldn’t be able to move into our home. I asked to speak to my Broker, and the Office Manager said, “He’s just going to tell you the same thing I’ve told you. Like I said, there’s nothing we can do until after the first of the year.”  

There was no explanation; no concern for this very serious problem, no offer to help – nothing. She just said what she said. And we were left helpless.

This is a good example of how not to deliver bad news to a customer. By the way, after the first of the year, we learned that the bank account number for the wire transfer was incorrect. It was one number off. That’s all it was. And we were able to move into our new home. But not after a long holiday weekend of complete fear!

Things will go wrong and there will be times when there is nothing you can do to help the customer. You can’t control the fact that you have to be the bearer of bad news, but you can control how you deliver the news.

My former mortgage broker got it wrong, as a lot of people do. Here’s how most people get it wrong when they deliver bad news to a customer: Continue reading →