Although developing trust and long-term relationships with your customers may be beneficial towards you, it is also important to know when and how to say "no". The reason being is you don't want to waste time and energy doing something that is beyond your capabilities.
Back when I was a Co-op student working part-time in Future Shop's entertainment department, I had to deal with many customer requests. Even though most were simple, there were some that I couldn't handle due to my position. For example, I couldn't help a customer with getting a new game unless I asked my supervisor to unlock the area where they were all kept. Additionally, I couldn't help customers with their purchases because Co-op students were required to ask an actual employee for any kind of sales transactions. So how do you say "no" to a customer without accidentally severing the relationship?
According to expert tips by several founders of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), they often mention things like offering alternatives to requests and to show empathy towards the customers. In fact, I believe this quote from Alexis Wolfer of The Beauty Bean the topic of this post quite well: "You never want to burn a bridge--nor do you want to compromise yourself to satisfy a customer. Say no with kindness and gratitude and you'll do so while maintaining your own values." (Young Entrepreneur Council, para. 7, 2014) For more tips on how to reject customer requests, visit www.inc.com.
Do you agree with the above tip? Why or why not?
References
- 9 (Polite) Ways to Reject a Customer. (2014, October 1). Retrieved Febuary 13, 2015, from http://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/9-polite-ways-to-reject-a-customer.html
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