Foreword by Carol Roth

Introduction

 

PART I          WHY WORST-CASE SCENARIOS MATTER

Chapter 1       Understanding the “Uh-Oh” Moment

Why Worst-Case Scenarios Are Important

Good Intentions Are Not Enough

 

PART II         TOOLS FOR DEFUSING A CUSTOMER CRISIS

Chapter 2       Leaning Into Criticism

Step 1: Hand Their Complaint Back to Them

Step 2: Use “Wow” Words

Step 3: Steal All Their Good Lines

Step 4: Never Defend Yourself

Why “Leaning In” is So Hard – And Why You Must Fight Back

Putting Learning into Practice

 

Chapter 3       Achieving Deep Acknowledgment

Why We Don’t Acknowledge Demanding Customers

The Four Powerful Levels of Response: Paraphrasing, Observation, Validation, Identification

Acknowledgment: Your Key to Handling Any Situation

Putting Learning into Practice

 

Chapter 4       Avoiding Trigger Phrases

The Other Golden Rule

Trigger Phrases and How You Can Avoid Them: Giving Orders, Catch Phrases, Setup Phrases, One-Sided Explanations

Less is Often More

Putting Learning into Practice

 

Chapter 5       Divide and Conquer: The Safe Way to Deliver Bad News

Step 1: A Good Introduction that Prepares the Customer

Step 2: A Proactive Summary that Moves the Customer toward a Solution

Step 3: An Empathetic Response to the Customer’s Reactions

Putting Learning into Practice

 

Chapter 6       Powerful Problem-Solving: Beyond “Yes We Can” and “No We Can’t”

Step 1: Clarifying the Other Person’s Needs

Step 2: Framing Your Response

Step 3: Creating Incentives

Step 4: Responding to Objections

A New Way to Solve Problems

Putting Learning into Practice

 

Chapter 7       Reframing Your Message

How Reframing Works

When Reframing is a Bad Idea

A New Perspective

Putting Learning into Practice

 

Chapter 8       Grounding an Angry Outburst

Understanding Customer Anger

Step 1: Use the Highest Acknowledgement Level Possible

Step 2: Ask Assessment Questions

Step 3: Shift the Discussion

Working in the Red Zone

Putting Learning into Practice

 

Chapter 9       Becoming Immune to Intimidation

Angry Customers versus Toxic Entitlement

The Basics of  Non-Reactivity

Putting Non-Reactivity to Work

Can Entitled Customers Change?

Putting Learning into Practice

 

Chapter 10     The Wrap-Up

Understanding Good Closings

The Right Ending: A Good Beginning

Putting Learning into Practice

 

PART III       YOUR WORST CUSTOMER SITUATIONS – SOLVED!

Chapter 11     You’re the Boss

Chapter 12     Don’t You Know Who I Am?

Chapter 13     The Concert that Never Was

Chapter 14     I’ll Be Suing You

Chapter 15     Quelling a Social Media Firestorm

Chapter 16     Just Plane Terrible

Chapter 17     Anger Management

Chapter 17     Not So Smart

 

PART IV       BEYOND THE WORST CASE

Chapter 19     When Talking Isn’t Enough: Keeping Yourself and Your Customer Safe

Chapter 20     From Customer Crisis to Excellent Service: Lessons for the Whole Organization