Handling Complaints and Irate Customers
October 2023

I just tried to buy another Bluetooth headset for my son for his birthday at Best Buy. The employee was not very effective. He could not find my account after giving him my phone number 3 times. I asked for a manager. It took him a few seconds to find my account and I told him I wanted his help because the employee was ineffective and did not know his job.

The manager would not help me and insisted I apologize to the employee which I would not. He refused to let me buy the $247 headset so I went to Amazon, placed the order, and had it delivered to his home in Estes Park Colorado. I guess I was crazy to not just go to Amazon first. I had a 2 year warranty at Best Buy I took out in January on the previous headset which my son lost in less than 3 weeks after buying the $100 warranty that I wanted to take advantage of.

The manager asked me several times to lower my voice. The funny thing is I was not raising my voice. Very few employees have been trained to handle complaints and irate customers. Most could care less if they lose a customer. This manager refused to let me buy unless I apologized to an employee who was incompetent. What is worse he lied saying the system doesn’t always work to cover for the employee. In the US I find that a huge percentage of employees lie when there is a problem.

Best Buy could Learn These Lessons Below.

Lessons Learned

Smile: a NEW One-Session Program
Available November

Smile will be released around November 1. It has taken us 15 months to produce the new program. It is a one-session program implemented in 3-4 hours. The first step in great customer service is to Smile. In Minnesota, where I live, almost everyone smiles. In some parts of the US and in many countries, you seldom see a Smile.

A first impression can change everything. Offering a warm, genuine smile tells the customer:

I like you.
I care about you as a person.
I value you.
I care about your needs.
I'm ready to help.

A genuine smile can change everything -- for the customer, your colleagues, and yourself.

The user-friendly Leader Guide will come with a flash drive, and participant material will include a 6 x 9" perfect bound participant book, certificate, technique card, and Smile customer service performance standard.

View the Smile Brochure here
(View Spanish version)

The facilitator guide with the flash drive and over 40 minutes of video is only $999. Participant kits start at $20.

We are offering a 30% discount through December 31, 2023, with a 100% money-back guarantee. Train your staff with Smile, and if for any reason you do not like it return all materials for a quick refund. In 45 years, we have had 2 refunds totaling less than $800.

If you want volume pricing, please reach out to your Service Quality Institute partner or contact John@servicequality.com

You can view the Smile program on our website including a 5-minute video demo.

John Tschohl Service Strategy Seminars

If you want to fire up your team and drive a service culture, use John Tschohl and get your entire leadership team involved.

Every presentation is customized. I can do keynotes for 60-90 minutes, a full day, or a 2-day seminar. I do these Seminars in person or on Zoom.

Visit my speaking site.

I have a seminar in Varna, Bulgaria for the Bulgarian Economic Forum.

We provide a personal promo code for purchasing tickets with a 20% discount: IWSjohn20 and a tracking link: https://bit.ly/3QldSWw

I will be spending 2 days in Varna Bulgaria at the Innowave Summit 2023 and am willing to spend time with everyone that attends. This is the 3rd time I have been invited to keynote this event.

On November 17th and 18th, at the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna, some of the biggest names in Marketing, E-Commerce, Artificial Intelligence, Business Development, and Innovation will share practical experience and valuable advice with over 5,000 visitors.

On the stage of one of the most successful and largest technology conferences in Southeastern Europe, we will see speakers such as John Tschohl, Customer Service Guru, Andrew Weld Moore, Sales Director at Meta/Facebook, Carlos Cantu, Chief Marketing Officer at Freepik, Dex Barton, Director of Marketing and Communications at DeepMind (a Google company), Matthew Cross, Advisor to Robert Kiyosaki and Tony Robbins, and many others!

There will be 7 EXPO zones with over 120 booths from some of the biggest technology companies in Europe and the world.

As part of the event, the organizers will award the most innovative media, organizations, and companies in various sectors and areas of business, including Marketing, E-Commerce, Startups, Artificial Intelligence, Technologies, and more.

Follow Innowave Summit on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Check out the first announced speakers: innowavesummit.com

If you want to use me for a keynote or 1-2 day seminar in 2023 or 2024, contact our Channel Partners all over the world or:

Carmen Velasco, VP of Latin America & North AmericaCarmen@servicequality.comWhats App 1-619-862-7694John TschohlJohn@servicequality.comCell/Whats App 1-612-382-5636

Live & Virtual Certification Seminar in Minneapolis
May 20-23, 2024

View the Certification Seminar brochure.

If you want to build your credentials and advance your career, you should attend this Customer Service Certification Seminar. Service Quality Institute is the only learning Institute in the world that only focuses on customer service. We have a greater depth of learning programs for customer service and more experience than anyone else in the world.

Learn from the best. Pat Porras, our lead trainer, will facilitate the 4-day Certification Seminar. Learn more about Pat here.

Pricing is $2,800 with an early bird $503 discount with a price of only $2,297 or interest-free financing with $649 down and 9 monthly payments of $239. The Virtual seminar is $2,600 with an early bird discount available for only $2,097 or interest-free financing with $539 down and 9 payments of $229. Volume pricing is also available.

Leading Empowered Teams for an Awesome Customer Experience has been updated. All Certification participants receive the new Leader guide, PowerPoint, and participant material. This 2-day seminar focuses on what you have to change to become more customer-centric, how to drive empowerment, the skills of coaching for a customer-driven workforce, and teamwork.

"Feelings Service Retail" is used on the first day of the Certification Seminar. All participants in CCST receive the $1,199 Facilitator and participant kit. The video was recently updated. Here is a link to Feelings for Retail Service. The 12-minute video preview is in the upper right corner. The total facilitator and participant material each person receives is worth $1,871. The Certification Seminar licensees you to buy participant material at an 85% discount on the Certification Fees. Feelings participant kits are $22 each, and Leading Empowered Teams are $150 each.

We have special group rates of $119 USD/night at the Marriott Courtyard Bloomington by Mall of America. The largest mall in the US. There is no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota. Lock in our limited block of rooms now at a special rate. Your credit or debit card is NOT charged until you check-in. Breakfast is included.

Book your group rate for Service Quality Institute

Start Date: Monday, May 20, 2024End Date: Thursday, May 23, 2024Last Day to Book: Sunday, May 5, 2024

If you are working toward your Graduate of Customer Service or Master of Customer Service Diploma, it gives you 18 credits.

Click here to view our customer service diplomas.

Seeking Channel Partners - Huge Referral Fee

Service Quality Institute is seeking channel partners who would like to expand the products and services and represent SQI in their market area. An investment of at least $5000 is required for a product with easy financing and no interest.

Here is a link to learn more.

If you refer someone who becomes a Channel Partner you will be given a FREE Introductory Kit for any of our programs worth over $1,500 and free shipping. Another referral fee is here.