Tried being overly nice to a rude customer for a whole shift, and it completely backfired

I spent 8 hours yesterday saying 'my pleasure' and smiling through insults from a guy who just got angrier, like he thought I was mocking him (maybe I was, a little, by the end). Has anyone found a better way to handle people who just want to be mad?

3 comments

3 Comments

adam7511mo agoMost Upvoted

What makes you think being nice backfired? That guy was going to be angry no matter what you did. The problem is that "my pleasure" can sound robotic and insincere, especially if you're saying it on autopilot. A flat, neutral tone works better for defusing anger than overly cheerful customer service phrases.

susana661mo agoMost Upvoted

Right, because nothing calms down a furious person like a flat, robot voice. That's the secret sauce we've all been missing. Maybe next time I'll just stare blankly and blink slowly, really lean into the neutral thing. You're probably onto something, though. My cheerful autopilot clearly failed, time to switch to monotone autopilot.

lisa51mo ago

Agree that tone matters more than the actual words. A flat voice at least doesn't add fake cheer to the fire, which can feel like you're mocking them. It just meets their energy without fueling it.