Saying “no” to a customer is a sure fire way to trigger negative feelings. Fortunately, there are proven ways to avoid a hard “no.”
In the February issue of Customer Communicator, the training and motivation newsletter for frontline reps, service expert Richard S. Gallagher, shows readers three ways to say “no” without saying “no.”
In situations where there is a possibility that you can give the customer what they want, you can use what Gallagher calls LPFSA, or the “low-probability face-saving alternative.” Because this approach allows the customer to feel heard and valued, an eventual “no” will be more readily accepted.
An example of LPFSA in a retail setting might sound like this, “I don’t have the blue in stock right now, but if you’ll give me a moment to check, I may be able to order it for you.”
As long as there is, in fact, a chance, and that you let the customer know that it is a low probability, then you are letting the customer know that they are heard and that you are trying to meet their needs.
More practical tips for turning “no” into “yes” appear in the February issue of Customer Communicator newsletter.