Daily Inspiration 5-20-13

"Some people do not want help,

they want sympathy.

Be careful of this."

 

-- Terry Minion

I was thinking of something for the CTS Daily Inspirations and I thought of something in my first book written 23 years ago in 1990. As I looked through the digital copy, I found something else to share instead. The quote above is part of a chapter in the book about dealing with customers. The book is titled, Accepting the Sales Challenge. (Just in case you might want the punishment, it is available here free: http://www.comtrk.com/trainingresources.html

The quote above was the end of a paragraph. The beginning was this: "Empathize, but don't sympathize. There is a great difference between the two. . . When you sympathize, you are crippled. . . When you empathize, you understand how they feel and are not crippled and thereby can be of service to them."

I went on about dealing with unhappy customers. "I've had a few irate customers--just a handful. With a couple of them, I listened to their problem and the way they were stating it and each time I tried to solve their solvable problem, I had to listen again to their complaining. When this would happen, I would forcefully tell them that if they truly wanted their problem solved, I would be more than happy to assist them in any way that was possible, but if all they wanted to do was complain about it, I had other things to do. This shocked them. At this point they either had to admit that they wanted it solved, or that they wanted to complain. I made it clear that either way was okay for them, but that I would only participate in one of them: the possible solution."

I added this: "It seems silly to even mention this kind of thing, but it is true that there are people who just like to complain. Just don't let yourself get sucked into joining with them and sympathizing with their complaining. Sometimes it is best to walk away. Remember to be courteous, sincere, and interested in helping them. . ."

This applied at the car dealerships I worked at, every other business I worked at and in my own businesses today. I am not into hearing the problem repeated as if it were important enough to be on CNN. Let's find a solution and get on with it, otherwise, you're on your own.

Of course, this also applies, and perhaps even more so to personal relationships. . .


Value Your Self, Your Time And Your Spirit. You Always Have Control Unless You Give It Away.

Spread Some Joy Today--There is joy in problem solving!