Hi there Kelsey here from Be a Better Guide now in this video we're going to
talk about the laughs method and it's perfect way for handling upset customers
or frustrated guests but quite naturally it makes sense to begin with the laughs
so here's a video that I took just the other day of a squirrel jumping into a
mirror now no squirrels were harmed in the making of this video he's fine he's
just a little confused let's get started has torn activity operators we all know
that dealing with and sort of managing frustrated upset disappointed guests can
be one of the hardest parts of our job so today I'd like to share one of the
most practical and down-to-earth tools that can really help us get through
these situations it's called the laughs method and it's been around for decades
and the original source is unclear now it may seem a little cheesy as acronyms
can sometimes be but I just want to reassure you that this is a method that
I've actually used over and over hundreds of times on tour and it's one
of the first things that I coach new guides during a training program so
let's take a look the word laugh is an acronym comprising of the five
recommended steps when facing tough clients or upset guests ELLs four listen
a acknowledge you understand g-give solutions and h-hit hope but take
note the order is extremely important here and it's actually where many tour
leaders mess this up let's begin with l-listen you probably know from your own
experience that when you're upset or angry you have a story to tell
keep this in mind as upset customers want to tell their story and know that
they're being heard listening means standing there quietly and letting the
other person talk without interruption a lot of time our natural response is to
jump right in and maybe be defensive if they're being a bit accusatory or offer
solutions right away or get to corrections avoid this tent
you can ask questions of course to learn more but not to get defensive or
challenge them at this stage listening it sounds simple but believe me this
step is a lot harder than you might think the second step is a acknowledge
what has happened this step is critical and most people skip right over it and
listen but we don't take the time to acknowledge what has happened a guest is
complaining because they felt they've been wronged in some way or an
expectation hasn't been met and they're looking for acknowledgment that this has
happened they're looking probably for a sincere apology and also a some
commitment from you to make things right so this put the solution to any problem
whether major or minor should begin with acknowledging what has happened and
offering a sincere apology we often think that I'm sorry implies guilt or
wrongdoing or that I've screwed up in some way but it really doesn't
necessarily imply your wrongdoing think of the way that we use I'm sorry when we
hear someone's grandmother has passed away that I'm sorry to hear that that's
the type of way we want to use I'm sorry and unless you actually hit that
person's grandmother with a car when you say I'm sorry guilt is not implied in
this step used language like I'm so sorry to hear that that must have been
really frustrating or I hear you okay I see what you're saying I'm so sorry to
see you upset by this this was not the plan or thank you for bringing this to
my attention let's see how we can fix this the third step is you understand
the problem or problems one of the most powerful ways to calm and irate guess
somebody's really really upset is to show that you truly understand what
they're saying like what is making them upset
think of all the times you've been really upset and when somebody finally
seems to have a full grasp of the situation that you're in that can be
very soothing and allows us to move on to fixing the problem right so once
we've listened and acknowledged we can now ask a few probing questions to try
and find out what the really sort of core issue is that's making the person
upset here are some examples of great probing questions when did this issue
arise what exactly was promised to you any idea as to why this might have
happened and how can we make this right one of the least effective things that
we can do is solve the wrong problem and this happens quite often if there's an
easy solution or we're quick to jump to something we may be fixing the wrong
thing so take the time to fully understand why your guest is upset and
as a hint it may not be the initial thing that they brought up it might be
something that's underlying that that a sense of being wronged in some way that
something unfair happened they felt disrespected and that might be the core
issue that we need to fix step four is g-give solutions let's just first
appreciate that actually solving the problem is the fourth step fourth
isn't that crazy I mean our natural inclination is to rush in and fix the
problem right away make this awkward situation go away as quickly as possible
I know I've been there but we do not want to do that you want to resist that
urge to jump right in before we've listened acknowledged and understood
what's going on at this stage it's also common when we're giving solutions to
bring up a lot of excuses or explanations of why this whole situation
has happened but let me tell you your guests are not interested in hearing
about your company problems or who's actually to blame avoid talking in those
terms and really focus on how we can fix their problem once again your language
is key here's some example phrases that work really well what can we do to
resolve this we could talk to the office right now or if it's okay with you
perhaps we could talk to them after the tour I will personally find the answer
to your question and get back to you in the next 50
we would be happy to offer you a refund or if you prefer credit towards another
tour here's some phrases that should be avoided the only thing I can do is it's
not our policy to you have to talk to I can't and no there's no way try and find
other ways of communicating that don't use this kind of negative phrasing just
as important as fixing the guest problem is involving them in coming up with a
solution so give options have it be a dialogue
and empower them to participate in coming up with a solution to their
problem they're going to be a lot more satisfied at the outcome if we use this
process the fifth and final step is h-hit home now heading home simply means
making 100% sure that both the problem and your customer or guests have been
fixed so to speak it simply means following up after a solution has been
put in place to make sure that they're satisfied with the outcome because as we
mentioned you may have fixed the wrong problem or there might be something else
that the guest is upset about this can mean connecting later on the same tour
but often times it can be done by following up by email or by phone after
tours taking place here are some examples of hitting home hey Steve I
just want to follow up regarding our conversation this morning are you
satisfied with the outcome is there anything else we can help with at this
time or this is Kelsey toner at XYZ tours I just want to give you a quick
call to check that the refund went through and to re-emphasize how sorry we
are for letting you down please let us know if there's anything
else we can do and we do hope that you'll give us another chance this is
another step that is often overlooked or people just don't do this extra care and
attention that you take to follow up will impress even your most frustrated
of guests so to quickly recap when faced with an angry or upset guests first
listen and acknowledge understand give solutions and
I know this sounds simple but if you're anything like me this will actually take
quite a bit of practice to get right so use the laughs method in both your
professional life but in your personal life as well it is really really
effective but be disciplined to make sure you're doing all of the steps and
to make sure you're doing them in the right order so to help you with this
I've created a one-page PDF a cheat sheet basically for the laughs method
which you can print out and use as much as you like you can grab that using the
link below there will be a huge service to myself and to the whole be a better
guide project if you could take a moment to share this video with friends with
colleagues and fellow tour leaders it would be much appreciated as well before
you go I'd love to hear in the comments below what strategies and tips do you
have for managing upset customers please share them with the rest of the
community thank you so much for being here
and I'll see you next time I suppose you're up for another quick laugh before
you go and what better way really then through animal videos so I didn't
actually film this video but I want you to see if you can guess what's about to
happen to this cat