How to be polite in extreme circumstances.

       

        Admit it. Sometimes, you want to tell a customer how annoying they are. You are only human, and your urge to point out stupidity is a completely normal human response. However, you are also a representative of a company, and have to be responsible. Unfortunately, this means ignoring your desire to say what you want to say, and following some standard, polite lines.

 

Example one: Customer asks very vague question.

“How much for a week?”

Hi Kieran,

           How long is a piece of string? How could you possibly think I can tell you how much an apartment will cost, without knowing where and when you want it, and for how many people? You don’t deserve my time.

           Please don’t write back,
           Sam.

Hi Kieran,

         Thanks for writing. We have a lot of different apartments, and the prices vary depending on the time of year, size and location. Please follow this link and enter your dates, to compare all possible apartments .www.fakewebsite.com . 

                Let me know if I can help with anything else,
                Sam

Example two: Customer asks incredibly obvious questions.

“Hi do you sell cheese? Do you deliver? Can you deliver now?”

Hi Roger,
              No. We don’t sell cheese, or deliver at any time. Our brand name “24 hour cheese delivery” is just a name that we liked for our company that actually sells furniture.

Mark,
Sarcasm assistant

Hi Roger,

        Yes, we sell various types of cheese, and we deliver it 24 hours a day. If you go to our website, “24hourcheesedelivery.com” you can see all of our cheeses that are available.

Mark,
Customer assistant

Example three: Customer makes no sense at all.

“Pls wot is gd fr 3 peepol n nt far frum gred”

Hi Maureen,
                Could you at least try to make sense? How have you got to forty years old without knowing how to spell people?! Please don’t call us because I doubt that I will understand you.

                Janice

Hi Maureen,

                I’m very sorry but I’m not sure what you mean. Could you explain to me again, please? If it is convenient for you, you can call us on 01234 56789.
                Janice.

Example four: Customer wastes your time / uses you as a person to chat with.

“Morning. I’m thinking about taking a trip to Spain. Is it nice in May? I’ve been having problems with the father of my kids and so I’m looking for a way to relax. I can’t sleep at night because I’m so stressed. Let me know if you can help me.”

Hi Katherine,

Firstly, I am not a robot, I am a human with lots of things to do. If you want to know how Spain is in May, then you can ask google, not me. Secondly, if you are having serious life problems, then you should talk to a psychiatrist, not a random travel agent.

Regards,
      Paul

Hi Katherine,

The average temperature in Spain is around 22’C in May, and it is hotter in the South. It doesn’t rain often. If you are looking for a hotel, then enter your dates on our website www.hotelsinspain.com

  I hope that you are well,
        Paul

Test Yourself!

Imagine that you a customer service representative in a travel-bag shop in London. You receive a message on social media that  says “I want a bag”, with no other information. What would you say?

Leave what you want to say and what you should say in the comments section, below, and we will tell you what we think!

 

 

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