"I consider the workforce my customer, and one example would be an employee who was being very difficult with our benefits change. I spent extra time with her thoroughly explaining everything I could as well as set her up with the expert so she could feel heard in more than one way. She ended up thanking me after we were done and has been more friendly in our interactions since."

"I try to determine what the customer is telling me, what does this person need right now? Sometimes, it is that they need someone to listen to them and not respond with excuses. I had a customer upset about the delay in getting his food. When I approached the table and got down to eye level and listened to him, it was more that he traveled all day, and his young kids were hungry and tired. I had the chef put a rush on the kid's meal, bought the parents a complimentary beverage while their meals were prepared. In the end, the guests were delighted when they left and thanked me."

"When dealing with a difficult or upset customer, I first want to allow them to vent their frustration without interrupting them. I will then say back to them what I am hearing is their concern. Next, I want to ensure them they are talking to the correct person and explain what I can do for them. It is a process that I do weekly when customers call in upset on a denied warranty. As the supervisor, it is my responsibility to talk to that customer."

"I got trained to deal with customers in difficult situations by completing the training "Handling Difficult Conversations & Moment of Truth" in 2016. I had the chance to manage difficult interactions with ophthalmologists, for example when we had the promise of delivering in 48 hours, and on the delivery day, we got a message from our warehouse saying the product was out of stock. The customer was really upset about the situation and explained the lens was needed for the same day, so I apologized and made different calls to other opticians to check if they had those lenses. After a few calls, I could happily call the customer to inform a courier would deliver them in 2 hours' time."

"My first job out of college was as a store manager for a retail company. I was the point of contact for any upset customers. I would always hear them out then determine how I could make the situation right for them. I felt it was important to do what it takes to keep their business and make sure they left satisfied."

"While working for the trauma surgeon there were many times that patients called very upset because they were in pain and need of care and sometimes I would have to give them an appt that wasn't the one they wanted and they would get very upset but I would explain to them that our goal is to provide the highest level of care and we will make sure that they are taken care of."

"Throughout various roles, during my career, I have had very difficult experiences. For example, being a PA, I have had to release products of conception to newborn autopsies to parents that were accompanied by a funeral home. I have always wrapped the deceased baby in a baby blanket so the parents could see it in a certain manner. I have released personal effects to family members of deceased patients. As a product manager at Polysciences, I have always had customers or users call to ask how to troubleshoot instrumentation that ruined biopsies from patients that needed to be re-performed, or salvaged by reprocessing the tissues. I have had to write certain reprocessing protocols depending on the size, density, or friability of the biopsy itself on particular instruments that were not our instruments, and that stems from my clinical background."