Working with public can be fun and enjoyable but there’s always a few that think their crap doesn’t stink and think their above everyone else.
Sure, “the customer is always right”, but when the customer is actually very clearly in the wrong, how do you deal with them graciously?
We all know this guy in the story you’re about to read.
He’s the one who cuts the line at the airport and starts making a list of demands. He has no time, he has no patience, and he was supposed to be somewhere yesterday.
But he’s a “somebody” and he’s not going to take “no” for an answer. All of us “nobodies,” on the other hand, have to wait an extra ten minutes while this guy wastes our time battling the underpaid airport worker behind the desk.
This story is about what we all wish the customer service rep would say in that situation. I would have happily waited in line to witness this!
A crowded United Airlines flight was canceled due to unsafe weather. A single agent was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travelers.
Suddenly, an angry passenger pushed his way to the head of the line. He slapped his ticket on the counter and said, “I HAVE to be on this flight and it has to be FIRST CLASS.”
The agent replied, “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be happy to try to help you, but I’ve got to help these folks first, and then I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.”
The passenger was unimpressed.
He asked loudly so that the passengers behind him could hear, “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?”
Without hesitating, the agent smiled and grabbed her public address microphone.
“May I have your attention, please?” she began. (Her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal), “We have a passenger here at Gate 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him with his identity, please come to Gate 14.”
With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man glared at the United Airlines agent, gritted his teeth, and said, “Screw you!”
Without flinching, she smiled and said, “I’m sorry, sir. You’ll have to get in line for that, too.”
This woman is the BEST! Dealing with a crisis with humor is fantastic.
If this isn’t the perfect way to deal with an aggressive customer then I don’t know what is.
She managed to keep her cool perfectly and embarrass him enough to make him see the error of his ways. She deserves to be promoted!
