Pizza Today - June 2018 - 30

FRONT OF THE HOUSE

TAKING IT
DOWN A
NOTCH
Strategies for
de-escalating
angry customers
STORY MANDY ELLIS PH OTO S J O S H KE O WN

I

t's a slammed fist. Straightened
posture and a swiveling head. A
pushed-away plate and abundant
eye contact. You've got an angry customer, and how you handle this delicate
situation is crucial. Did you miss the
warning signs? Is your staff properly
trained with techniques to diffuse difficult customers now that there's an issue?
Should your manager step in immediately or shadow and support?
"When something goes wrong, initiate
de-escalation," says Ray Camillo, CEO
of Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting.
"If a guest brings something to your
attention, staff should respond in ways
that show the customer was heard."
This includes listening to the customer,
avoiding arguing with them about fault
and correcting the situation.
Before an incident even occurs though,
could staff have seen the warning signs
that an angry-customer storm is headed
their way? Plates pushed away, clenched
fists, tapping on the table, a bouncing
leg or more eye contact with servers
might mean a customer is agitated and
something has gone wrong.
"Rubbernecking is what we call it,"
says Megan Santonicola, director of
3 0 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / J U N E 2 0 1 8

operations at Cane Rosso in Dallas,
Texas. "Customers start looking around
or over their shoulder, and look as if
they're about to raise their hand with a
question or catch someone's attention."
Spotting the signals of troublesome
customers is the first step to hopefully
preventing diners from becoming
angry. At Cane Rosso, employees stress
communication, from repeating orders
back to customers to alerting them
about lagging wait times and sending
out an appetizer to munch on while they
standby for a table.
Training your staff to understand and
manage these types of uncomfortable

situations is of the utmost importance.
Consider giving your staff empowerment
to solve issues immediately.
"We let staff know diners get upset,
not to take it personally and do what
they can to make it correct now," explains
Santonicola. "They apologize, grab a
menu and ask if the customer would like
something else."
Co-owner of Via 313 in Austin, Texas,
Brandon Hunt says his staff is trained
to give away anything they want in the
moment to make the situation right. They
take care of the guest's needs promptly
and speed up the process by discussing the
issue with a manager later on.



http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM

Pizza Today - June 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - June 2018

Pizza Today - June 2018
Commentary
Contents
Contributors
Expo Spotlight
Interact
Conversation
Man on the Street
Tony’s Trending Recip
At Your Service
Destinations
Knead to Know
Handling Angry Diners
Olive’s Comeback
Cracking the Health Code
Emergency Planning
Pizza Today on the Road: Andolini’s Tulsa, Oklahoma
Product Showcase
Pizza Today Yellow Pages
The Marketplace
Reader’s Resource
Mike’s Monthy Tip
Pizza Today - June 2018 - CT1
Pizza Today - June 2018 - CT2
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Pizza Today - June 2018
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Cover2
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Commentary
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 4
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 5
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Contents
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 7
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 8
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 9
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Contributors
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 11
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Expo Spotlight
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 13
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Interact
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 15
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Conversation
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 17
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Man on the Street
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 19
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Tony’s Trending Recip
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 21
Pizza Today - June 2018 - At Your Service
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 23
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Destinations
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 25
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Knead to Know
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 27
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 28
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 29
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Handling Angry Diners
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 31
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 32
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 33
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Olive’s Comeback
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 35
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 36
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 37
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Cracking the Health Code
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 39
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Emergency Planning
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 41
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Pizza Today on the Road: Andolini’s Tulsa, Oklahoma
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 43
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 44
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 45
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Product Showcase
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 47
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 48
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Pizza Today Yellow Pages
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 50
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 51
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 52
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 53
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 54
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 55
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 56
Pizza Today - June 2018 - The Marketplace
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 58
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 59
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 60
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 61
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 62
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 63
Pizza Today - June 2018 - 64
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Reader’s Resource
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Mike’s Monthy Tip
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Cover3
Pizza Today - June 2018 - Cover4
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