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  • Help dealing with angry customers

    My husband and I work for the same employer.

    We both have to give out parking violations for customers who either 1) do not pay for their parking, 2) do not park in a designated parking spot, 3) take up 2 spots, and so on.

    There have been times when the customer receiving the parking violation catches either one of us writing the violation, and they become angry regarding the fact that they are about to receive one.

    The angry customer tries to argue the fact that they are not in the wrong.

    What is a good way to deal with these customers without getting irritated, upset and so on?

  • #2
    Tell them to speak to management. You are doing your job.
    "All I've ever learned from love was how to shoot somebody who out-drew ya"

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    • #3
      While Sheldonrs is correct, I wouldn't respond quite that bluntly with a customer. Unless my intent was to get them more confrontational and worked up, that is. (sorry Sheldonrs)

      Are you allowed to cancel/withdraw the ticket once you begin writing it or even once it's issued? If so, you could use this as an opportunity to leave them on a positive note, and also to show why they are in violation and help them prevent violations in the future.

      For example, tell them you want to help them. That you can cancel it out for them, and first you'll just show them why you were writing the violation, so they can avoid a ticket in the future. Telling them you want to help them puts you on their side and will (hopefully) calm them down long enough for you to explain and finish.

      If the customer is a Grade A jerk and/or you can't reverse a ticket, say you understand, or apologize, or whatever is appropriate to the situation, and tell them that you're required to issue a ticket for X reason and that they'll need to contact *insert appropriate contact here*. It's important to sound and act calm, even if they are pushing your buttons. And it's okay to walk away if you're fearful of things continuing to escalate or if an SC is using you as a verbal punching bag.

      Examples of phrases:
      I'm sorry, I'm required to issue a ticket for any vehicles parked over the line.
      I understand you're frustrated, here's what I can do for you. Let me give you the number to *contact*. They're the department/person who overseas violations.
      etc etc etc

      Your mileage may vary, you need to find the words that work well with your personality and your type of customers.
      A lion however, will only devour your corpse, whereas an SC is not sated until they have destroyed your soul. (Quote per infinitemonkies)

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      • #4
        Quoth bainsidhe View Post
        While Sheldonrs is correct, I wouldn't respond quite that bluntly with a customer. Unless my intent was to get them more confrontational and worked up, that is. (sorry Sheldonrs)

        <modsnip>

        Your mileage may vary, you need to find the words that work well with your personality and your type of customers.
        Lots of good advice here.

        The one thing we cannot do is to dismiss the ticket once it is issued. Even our supervisor who is over us cannot do that. Only a manager has the authority to do that.

        If we are in the middle of writing a ticket, we could let the customer know what needs to be done, and give them a chance to quickly correct the problem at that time. I would rather do that then have to give the angry customer a violation.
        Last edited by EricKei; 01-25-2015, 01:57 AM. Reason: trimmed quote

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        • #5
          Is there a way to set up an appeal process where the forms go to management to approve/deny? We do parking tickets here and if someone has a problem with the ticket, they are told that they need to come in to the desk where I work and fill out an appeal form and someone will get back to them about it. It doesn't completely shut down all the complaining but if you explain that you have no ability to cancel the ticket yourself, it does make it more manageable to deal with them even if they continue to rant a bit. We get less appeals than you would think too. The process is too much hassle for some but also still cuts short their complaining. We also started taking a picture of every vehicle we ticketed as well so that we can show that yes, they actually were over the space's line or whatnot.

          Maybe also see if there is a way to get a warning system set up if you think that would help. If someone comes out before the ticket is done, they get a warning instead so long as they fix the problem they were being ticketed for. That way you can still keep track of repeat offenders to give tickets the next time it happens but you don't get yelled at quite as much.
          "Man, having a conversation with you is like walking through a salvador dali painting." - Mac Hall

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          • #6
            Sounds like a job I'd want to quit after a week!

            Having to deal with customers who can't park worth a shit, or in the legal form of parking(not hogging up red zones or non-handicapped cars in handicapped spaces), and all in the while, THEY insist that they did nothing wrong!

            Sounds like pure customer hell.

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