You're in charge of a team in Food & Beverage Operations. How do you handle difficult customers?

If you do a great job listening and empathizing, the rest is a piece of cake. I always considered this step a challenge to see if I could disarm the guest right away, just through listening. I liked to tell my teams, let them talk and make short, sympathetic sounds and statements while they do to encourage them to keep going until they've said everything they want to say before you move to the next step.

This depends on the customer; mainly empathise and understand the situation and different perspectives before making assumptions. Potential solution - incentive such as a refund or the offer to cook their order fresh if that is acceptable. Give them contact details in order to give their feedback; any further issues contact or talk to me directly and I will do my best to solve. Feedback to your team.. how to improve the service, whether that is food standards, presentation or their customer service and de-escalation/complaint resolution skills. Handling difficult customer is always a part of a hospitality/F&B role so gaining experience with this is key while maintaining integrity and finding a solution.

Evaluate the nature and severity of the customer's complaint to determine the appropriate course of action. Assess whether the issue can be resolved immediately or if further investigation or assistance is required. Propose practical solutions or alternatives to address the customer's concerns and meet their needs. Be proactive in resolving the issue and seek input from relevant team members or supervisors if necessary.

The first step is to BELIEVE the guest. 90%+ of complaints are truthful and NOT a scam. Do not waste time and energy trying to discern who the scammers are and risk upsetting the 90%+ who are not. The less-than-10% are a cost of doing business. Accept it and move on. Believe everyone and you will execute the recovery much easier. Steps to recovery: 1. Believe the guest. Just believe. 2. Listen and let them get everything out that they want to say. Do not interrupt or get defensive. 3. Apologize sincerely with authenticity. 4. Satisfy the guest. Most guests just want to be heard. Don’t assume they want a freebie. Many times they want to feel confident their feedback will make a difference. 5. THANK the guest sincerely with conviction.

I agree. I true leader will also step in and take the heat and protect their team members from it getting personal. Let them know your there to listen first as most just want to be heard. Try to incorporate a little patience before immediately jumping into solve mode as you may discover they’re having a bad day or in a mood because of something else going on in their life. I have seen some amazing success stories in which a difficult customer became a regular patron and even a raving fan because of the level of care and concern they felt during their resolution experience.

Keep your communication professional. Remain calm. Speak softly. Practice active listening. Give them time to talk. Understand the customer's point of view. Assess their needs. Seek a solution

Yes, believe! Then actually show up and see for yourself what could be the root cause of the complaint; I have been blown away at what I have seen and then experienced the powerful impact of an expeditious, in-person response.

You don't have difficult customer's you have high expectations guests and you have to upgrade your services to reach their expectations.