Customer service for any company

In 1937, Dale Carnegie wrote one of the greatest books on customer service, "How to Win Friends Influence People." Anyone interested in customer service and who hasn't read this book is a fool. If you read between the lines, this book can teach you how to deflate any argument and situation. \nI have used and expanded on his philosophies, with neuro-linguistic programming's concept of framing, to create an effective customer service policy that can be used by any company.\nThe customer service policy my company uses is based on four steps: \n1. Sympathize with the customer and act submissive. \n2. Create common enemies. \n3. Show authority and legitimacy. \n4. Offer a concluding apology.\nThe first step of my policy can be entirely credited to Carnegie himself. In the book he analyzes what happens in a verbal confrontation. Usually both sides attack each other verbally, and the argument is escalated. In a customer service situation, the customer and customer service representative slowly become more impatient and hostile toward each other.\nCarnegie offers an alternative. In step one he suggests that the customer service representative start out by apologizing for the situation and explaining how unfortunate it is. Carnegie then recommends that the representative continue to apologize to the customer by saying how wrong it was for the company to treat the customer this way. Eventually, due to human nature, the customer will start to calm the representative and assure him or her that the situation is truly not as bad as the customer had implied before. This is a sort of undercutting technique.\nThe second step is very important. During this step you create common enemies. This puts you on the same side of the confrontation as the customer. The common enemy for my company can be the box office, me (if my representative is on the call) or my representative (if I am on the phone). I give my employees full permission to blame me in any situation. The common enemy can be anyone as long as it makes at least a little sense. If played correctly this can be a psychological powerhouse.\nThe third step is short: Establish authority. It is important to show the customer that you are legitimate and that you have been in business for a while. If authority is established well, the customer sees your courtesy as an act of kindness rather than an act of despair. \nOnce you have established authority, and have shown that you have power in the situation, you are in a dominant position. To put the cherry on top -- this is step four -- you apologize again for the situation. This shows that your company truly cares about the customer's long-term business.\nIn my experience, the above techniques can be used to take care of 99 percent of all customer service problems. Using this technique, I have turned lawsuit threats into return business. I have studied customer service since the very first time a customer yelled at me when I was 12. Humbly, I can say my method works better than anything else I have read.