Service Gaffes
by Ed Happ
55 ways to leave your customer: service gaffe's identified in the Terms of Endearment scene:
- she did not greet the customer
- she was impolite
- she never smiled
- she had no sympathy
- she showed impatience
- she was rude
- she did offer any compromise
- she embarrassed the customer
- she was judgmental
- she used poor tone
- she was confrontational
- she made no acknowledgment of the customers problem
- she offered no apology
- she showed zero empathy
- she never said "thank-you"
- she showed very negative body language
- she was ticked off, angry
- she was condescending
- she was defensive
- she showed antipathy toward the customer
- she did not offer alternatives
- she was nasty
- she had a negative attitude
- she was too personal
- she was insulting
- she was irritated
- she was accusing
- she did not offer to help
- she did not listen
- she was no "cheering fan!"
- she alienated other customers
- she created bad word-of-mouth
- she had no manners (p & q's)
- she offered no support
- she had no flexibility
- she had no sense of humor
- she was impersonal
- she denied there was any bad service
- she prejudged the customer
- she was very demanding
- she was very punishing
- she showed no creativity
- she had no trust
- she did not collaborate with the customer
- she did not use any problem solving techniques
- she ignored the customer's plea for help
- she was indifferent
- she was argumentative
- she was stubborn
- she "rolled her eyes" at the customer
- she smirked at the customer
- she slammed the cash register drawer
- she "sassed" back when criticized
- she did not "own" the situation
- she was all policy, no care
Footnote: when class asked to find gaffes, 1st group found 16, then 21, then 29 then 31.