Hospitality - How to Deal with Rude Customers

[srigrace1]

this seems to be good

[MsPierre200]

When I'm RIGHT I'll always stay Right! But will bend somewhat to keep a customer.

[inkey2]

have you ever heard the old saying about working retail?......Goes like this....."in retail you meet "some " of the nicest people and "all" of the worst"

[cearle28]

Ppl have No respect for the working man/woman!

[shiiuza]

"That's what they're looking for." Sorry, but 90% of the time rude customers aren't rude because of anything in particular, they're rude because they're ASSHOLES

[rachelmcafee]

i work in retail and have become so disillusioned with the whole 'the customer is always right' thing. some people are just down right horrible, and i wish there measures in place to stop this although i know it isn't possible. le sigh. its very easy for all these retail managers to say what to do yet they probably spend less time with customers, and a certain amount of respect comes with being a manager.

[shiiuza]

@rachelmcafee I agree.... managers do not spend as much time on the floor as their employees. It's easy to handle rude customers when you've had a couple days off, or it's been slow, etc. They handle them well because they don't get it multiple times throughout a day. If I ever own my own business, rude customers will have NO PLACE there. I will teach my employees to be fair, but if someone is insulting, minimizes you, or is outright mean, kick them out. Don't want their business.

[LeoFireKingdom]

The best approach is to tell them to GTFO.

[SatchmoSings]

It's one thing to deal with a customer that has a genuine complaint; if it's a customer that's being vile and rude, just follow the advice of the people in the clip but make sure you have two of the biggest security personnel with you when this goes down!

[SatchmoSings]

Some years ago, my girlfriend and I were comped to see a show in Atlantic City, NJ; the tickets included two free drinks.

The waitress was this tall, striking woman but she wasn't young; she was easily in her early fifties and she just about THREW the drinks at all the comps! Boy, what a sourpuss!

I then realized that NONE of the comps were tipping her! I ran into the old guy at the next table in the men's room and this cheap fuck was wearing a cashmere suit!!!

[fuzzluvver69]

To reiterate, the customer is NOT always right, that's a complete myth, if a customer is a complete dick and being totally unreasonable or personal then they deserve to be thrown out and told to only come back once they've cooled down, grown up and are able to be reasonable.

[cokerainbows]

@fuzzluvver69 totally fucking agree, they are fucking idiots, ive heard of them throwing hot water over an employee, see if they did that to me, id beat the shit out of them, actually i heard a girl once did that, too fucking right

[fuzzluvver69]

I worked in hospitality for about 7 years, and left the industry about 7 years ago now (thankfully!). As a customer I now think - would I say THE SAME THING that I'm thinking about saying right now IN THE SAME WAY to this employee if I happened to see them walking down the street - or if I DID say it in a non-hospitality setting would I expect them to punch me in the face. NOBODY has a right to be rude to another person just because they're at work, that's the end of it, no other perspective!

[ImIwilliamImI]

I work at Jysk, a danish version of Ikea.. about 65 percent of the customers are rude rich old fat and stupid ladies.

[SatchmoSings]

@ImIwilliamImI Just remember that your human resources department would never hire such people in the first place; you WERE! lol

[ImIwilliamImI]

@SatchmoSings

And your point is??

[SatchmoSings]

@ImIwilliamImI My point is if you have to ask me something like this means you deserved all the abuse you got from those customers.

[ImIwilliamImI]

@SatchmoSings

Your the rude one here, not me.

[SatchmoSings]

It's one thing to deal with a customer who has a genuine problem vs. someone that just wants to vent; no one should have to put up with the latter.

[SatchmoSings]

As a customer, I've learned that some basic consideration to the employees actually smooths things over and indeed, since I'm now old enough to be the grandfather to most youngsters that work in retail, I feel it both my obligation and even duty to mentor them as to what good manners and professionalism are and it usually works.

One young miss had trouble figuring out what ink I needed for my printer and I was very patient with her; she learned something and I got the right ink; easy enough!

[cokerainbows]

@SatchmoSings its not the workers with the bad manners, its the customers, im so polite, i smile, i apologise, say thank you and its never enough, they still fly off the handle. I had to walk out before i punched the shit out of a woman the other day because she riled me that much. She was bending overbackwards to try to get me fired, absolutely absurd, i need the money, if she had succeeded she'd have felt my fist in her face....brutal yes but why should we tolerate cunts like her?

[SatchmoSings]

@cokerainbows I drove a taxicab here in NYC for many years and I can assure you, I had my share of people like that; they're angry and there's NOTHING you can do that will satisfy them.

Just try to remember that there are a similar percentage of people who will also be extra friendly and nice to/with you though I'm getting the impression that these two kinds of people no longer cancel each other out; the "bad" side seems to be gaining and the extra nice folks are perhaps melting away . . .

[xanadu247]

When a rude customer begins to attack me personally we are through with the conversation because then it has become harassment.

[spires12]

You toss them out. Don't be a whore and put up with abuse. It's not worth it.

[debfunkcolorado]

it's NOT just business, people have NO RIGHT to be rude to an employees, there is a thing called common curiosity., what happened to it? if a customer treats an employee with disrespect, i think that customer needs to the hell out of the store until they can be nice, other wise move along. retail employees do NOT get paid enough to have to put up with rude ass people.

[ElginPocketwatch]

@debfunkcolorado you mean common courtesy

[tybredsmr]

nice tips that lady wearing whit suit

[MTTT19]

I've been in retail for 5 years. I've had many bad ones. I had a old guy who put his hand to my throat just because he lost his Easter Eggs and apparently according to him, 'It was my fault'

I've even had a guy slap me across the face.

I cannot forget the time I went to a different store in my civilian clothes and saw a customer swearing at a young female worker. I ended up tapping him on the shoulder and saying F**K OFF!

[mistressdemonica]

Fuck you. Rude Customers can eat a fat dick. I cant wait for the day when a customer gets knocked the fuck out .

[jzcrandall]

@mistressdemonica That's the attitude the retail world needs.  This "customer is always right" attitude rewards bad behavior and punishes the good customers.

[gbwiscgirl]

This is all excellent advice to help the employee keep his/her job and composure. But what happens afterward? There's a spacious difference between expecting an employee to deal appropriately with rude customers and expecting an employee to endure personalized verbal abuse. An employee in such a situation should ask 1) of his boss, what is the company's policy on handling belligerent customers?; and 2) of himself, is my paycheck sufficient to cover the customer hostility I receive constantly?

[cyclepod1]

The thing this it is not easy when they are being very aggressive. My body shakes and I find it hard to make eye contact when they look threatening. I have had customers trying to grab my phone. I do think Managers need to support their staff and stick up for them too. No guest should speak to people rudely. I have walked out on a guest because I don't want to be spoken to like that and they have apologised. I do listen to them but they often don't like the answer that the boss has given them.

[inkey2]

@cyclepod1 yes, there is nothing worse than management that will not stand up for their employees when they are being abused. The key to not being afraid of a nasty customer is to turn your fear into anger (although you do not have to show it)> As the anger swells up inside you the fear dissipates. Just keep thinking what a fugging A-hole this person is and how you hope they would have a stroke or break their leg.

[cyclepod1]

@inkey2 - my issue is that my boss is also afraid of her boss. She doesn't want 'complaints' to reach her boss. That means we ended up 'constantly refunding guests', constantly having the miserable type of customers and the guests try it on for 'any piffling reason'. They will also blackmail you 'I will take my custom away (oh yes, all £30 of it!), use 'I am a regular customer' and force you to get the manager out, even though she is off duty and perhaps out at the dentist!

[cyclepod1]

@inkey2 - they also say 'stay calm' and 'use eyecontact' even though they are being aggressive and say to you 'Gimme that phone now', trying to take it out from your hand! The thing is when someone is aggressive outside work, I am ok as I can get angry myself) but in a work environment you are always being monitored all the time and what you say to the customer can get round to the boss and her boss.

[cyclepod1]

@inkey2 - The thing is it happens so quickly and you are not really prepared for a 'fight' at 8am! On a Friday, I am pretty cheerful but they come to you with a long face and just looking at them means 'here we go, wot now? It doesn't help when 'the big boss' doesn't shell out on the hotel and we have to dish out apologies etc. I would say that the Hotel booklet says nothing about customers abusing staff. I hate the threats mosts and they expect us to be nice.

[inkey2]

I was a retail store manager (and service manager) for 33 years in a very wealthy suburb outside of Boston Ma., USA. I hated about 75% of our customers and many I hoped would die slowly of cancer. You cannot imagine the raw, stinkey, hostile, arrogant, entitled side of humanity till you have worked in "retail".... the arrogant fat pig wives of lawyers and doctors, the con artists, the shoplifters, insane middle aged women raging with menopause, retards,,,,,,you name it

[cyclepod1]

@inkey2 - oh yes, you are right about the conartists. I get sick of their stories. They get even aggressive if you ask for their address or credit card to fill in any forms ie hotel booking form.

[NidisListenstoShit]

@inkey2 I worked retail for awhile through college. Try being a nurse or a public defender, man. ER nurses have seen 100 times more bullshit than you ever will.

[inkey2]

@NidisListenstoShit well they should have to take 100 times more bullshit for what they make and the benefits they get, My sister is a nurse and makes big money here in Boston. Most retail workers get little or no health insurance, no retirement or 401k very little vacation,

[NidisListenstoShit]

@inkey2 You have no idea how much bullshit they take, moron. You aren't one. You work retail, a job that teenagers can do. Your sister does not make big money as an ER nurse. Most retail jobs are easy as hell, which is why they get shitty benefits.

You want to know why your job sucks: you're an idiot.

[inkey2]

@NidisListenstoShit I was the buyer for the store, the manager and the service manager for 1000 items we rented out, answered the phones, waited on customers. I had to mb able to repair 12 types of rental items. And yes.....my sister makes a fortune as a registered nurse in Boston, Once she had to work christmas day and earned $800.00, for one day....she is protected by a union as well

[NidisListenstoShit]

@inkey2 All of that sounds really easy. Answering phones? Wow, must be backbreaking.

And yes, your sister had to work probably 12-15 hours on Christmas day, dealing with some of the worst people your city has to offer and seeing things you could never even imagine. Also: unions don't mean jack shit. All that means is you make less money, because you have to pay union dues.

[inkey2]

@NidisListenstoShit are you taliking about a LPN or an RPN nurse.....because honest to god my sister makes a fortune here in the Boston suburbs...and the union has saved her job at least 3 times....and when they tried to decrease their health insurance and fire older worker who were at the top end of the pay and experience scale

[mainsqze]

@inkey2 What a horrable thing to say. I work in retail for 25 years and I fell you should have gotten out of the business long ago.

[inkey2]

@mainsqze the city I worked in was "very wealthy" and the people who came through that door were the most vile, insulting, rude & viscious people you could imagine....not to mention the mental cases. I could not quit the job because I was making more than I had ever hade in my life and had about $15,000 in dental bills to pay of. It was so bad we couldn't keep employees at all.....some quit after only 3 days. I had a customer once grab me by the shoulders and almost pull mer over the counter

[cokerainbows]

@inkey2 haha i work in the food industry, about 90% of customers are thick fucks, they stink, they act like pigs, they're rude, arrogant, lazy, self centered pieces of shit, they look down their fat fucking noses at us, i laugh because all the workers at my work are at university, we all have more brains than they'll ever have. Ive only been working there a few months and ive already got that attitude in regards to them.fucking idiots, hate them

[inkey2]

@cokerainbows yeah, and my comment above from a year ago does not even scratch the surface of the things I went through. The city would bring in 25 retards all hanging on to a long rope (without even asking us) to try and teach them how to act in public.....do you know what 25 out of control retarded people is like when you have only about 1800 square feet to operate in?.....I had a woman once grab me by the shoulders, over the display counter to tell me about God...every minute it was like this

[Ronin1914]

@inkey2: Agreed. The customer is NOT always right...

[Dcoop91711]

I think that this video is right on, just take care of the situation and kill them with kindness!!!!

[Daisy72762]

sorry,im NOT going to respect anyone who is cussing me!!!

[aidan2k601]

i don't care if a customer was rude to me i would treat them like shit right back

[thtktgrl]

I tried doing that once... he was being really rude and annoying, and when I sighed in an annoyed manner and walked away (which was not nearly as rude as he was being to me!) he actually said to me "check your attitude" Hello! check YOUR attitude. You're a grown man. I wouldn't have had to roll my eyes at you if you weren't being rude to me in the first place

[cyclepod1]

@aidan2k601 - haha, it is what they deserve! Sometimes I think that if you wear a uniform it attracts them not to think of you as a person. I have a proper gray doormat type unform which doesn't help

[Loewenbaby07]

..a happy smile...? i very rarely have sad smiles -_-.. sorry lol but yeah thats the way u should do it..right...

[arouwenyahoo]

not a very professional way of handling

[PennsicDan]

they are looking for free food that is it nothing more

[MMZen]

big fat ugly dumb limey cunt

[scarrr1]

That helps me alot