We’ve all been there: A customer is venting, repeating themselves, or escalating fast. You’re trying to stay composed and guide the conversation—but then something slips out:

“Calm down.”

“My supervisor will just tell you the same thing.”

“I’m just trying to help.”

“Ma’am, if you’ll just l...

Have you ever found yourself face-to-face with an irate customer, feeling like you're walking on eggshells? We've all been there. It's a challenging situation that can leave even the most seasoned customer service professionals flustered. But what if I told you there's a simple yet powerful techniqu...

When you're faced with a challenging customer situation and don't have all the answers, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. But what if I told you there's a simple yet powerful method that can help you navigate these tricky waters with confidence? Enter the 3W method - a game-changing approach that can t...

Let's face it: if we could always say "yes" to our customers, our jobs would be a breeze. But that's not the reality we live in. Sometimes, we have to give bad news, explain that there's no immediate solution, or can't meet a customer's expectations. So, how do we navigate these complex situations w...

Dealing with difficult customers who use profanity or make racist remarks requires clear and assertive communication. Here are 20 professional phrases I share in my de-escalation workshops to help you set boundaries effectively:

1. "I must insist on respectful communication during our interaction...

Our brains tend to constrict when faced with demanding, difficult or desperate customers, and we have fewer options available. When faced with conflict, our brains go into flight, fight, or freeze mode. 

I'm sure you've heard of the flight, flight, freeze response. Here's how the flight/fight/fr...

Customer service representatives often encounter challenging and confrontational customer behaviors. Among these, baiting behaviors stand out as particularly challenging. In these situations, customers try to provoke, frustrate, or elicit negative reactions from you. If you want to avoid getting suc...

"It's not what you say. It's how you say it."

You've probably heard this before. It's from the Mehrabian study, which says

• 7% of meaning in the words that are spoken.
• 38% of the meaning is through the person's vocal tone.
• 55% of meaning is in facial expression.

Well, I'm contradicting...

This image is from my LinkedIn Learning course, Creating Positive Conversations with Challenging Customers. 

Use partnership language with customers from Creating Positive Conversations with Challenging Customers by Myra Golden

Handling difficult customers is an inevitable part of the ...

The Problem

Telling a person to calm down never works. If your partner told you to calm down, would you? Exactly. That doesn't work with your customers, either.

To tell someone to calm down is to invite conflict. It's like you're pushing your customer into a corner or a seat. As humans, it is o...

Customer Support Professionals Who Rarely Escalate Calls to Their Supervisors Often Use 7 Phrases (without realizing it). 

When I prepare for my customized customer service and de-escalation workshops, I listen to a sample of phone calls. I specifically ask for calls from the best customer support ...

I'm in San Diego this week to facilitate a workshop on de-escalation for customer service for Liberty Military Housing at Your Service Call Center. My de-escalation training has evolved into an inspirational focus on building confidence and assertiveness to make your word the final answer.

Stories,...