English Listening Skills: How to Handle Complaints with Apologies, Empathy, and Solutions

You've seen what to do and what not to do when handling a complaint. So now we're going to listen to another example. We'll see how a problem is resolved and how the person who is handling the problem does a much better job. We'll then look at the language for apologizing, empathizing and offering a solution. Before you listen to the example, look at these questions. What is the problem? What does Seth want Emily to do? Can Emily do this? What is Emily's solution? Hello, Emily Hamilton. Hi Emily. This is Seth Murray from MED Electronics. I'm calling about our event tonight. Oh, hello Seth. What can I do for you? Well, I'm afraid there's a big problem. I'm here in the room and the flowers have just arrived. I see. So what seems to be the problem? Well, the flower arrangements aren't just not suitable. They're wrong. You mean they're the wrong flowers? No. Some of them are the wrong color. The wrong color? Yes. The color of our major competitor. We can't have any red. Hmm. So let me make sure I understand. Some of the flowers are red and you don't want any red because red is the color of your competitor. Is that right? Yes. And I'm sure I said no red flowers when we discuss this. But I'm really sorry about this. My boss is going to kill me. This is going to be a disaster. Right. I can understand how embarrassing it would be. So can you replace all the flower arrangements? Hmm. Unfortunately, I don't think we would be able to do that in time and it would cost us a lot more. But let me think. Okay. How about this? What if I picked up just some white roses from the market and brought them right over? We can just replace the red ones with the white ones. Would that be okay? Hmm. I suppose so. And you can keep the red roses to give to someone special. Well, Emily did a much better job at handling the problem.

Okay. Let's check the answers to those questions. The problem Seth has is that some of the flowers are the wrong color. Red is the color of their major competitor. Seth asked Emily to replace all the flower arrangements. However, Emily can't replace all of them because there isn't enough time and it would be too expensive. She offers to pick up some white roses from the market and just replace the red ones. Seth says this is okay. Apart from active listening, identifying and clarifying the problem, what else did Emily do well? Well, first she apologized. Seth, I'm really sorry about this. Remember, if it is appropriate, you should apologize. Even if it's not totally your responsibility, it's a good idea to do it. Something sorry can be very effective. Here are some other expressions you can use to apologize. I'm very sorry. I'm so sorry. Sorry about that. Sorry about that is informal and you would only use it for a small problem. Here are some more formal expressions using the verb apologize and the noun, apologies. Be careful of the spelling and the pronunciation difference between these two words. I do apologize. I apologize for the inconvenience. Please accept my apologies.

Another thing that Emily did was when Seth explained that the event was going to be a disaster, she said this. I can understand how embarrassing it would be. What Emily was doing is empathizing. Meaning, showing that you understand someone's feeling because you can imagine being in the same situation. This is important when someone has a problem or complain because it shows that you care about the other person and can help deal with the problem successfully. We often use the verb understand in expressions where we empathize. Here we can use adjectives to describe the person's feelings. I can understand how disappointed you feel. I can understand how frustrated you are. I can understand how upset you are. Instead of I can understand how, we can use you must with be or feel. You must be very disappointed. You must feel frustrated. You must be very upset. We can also use I can understand and must with adjectives that describe the situation. Notice how the ending of the adjective changes and we can use that instead of you. I can understand how disappointing that is. I can understand how frustrating that is. I can understand how upsetting that is. That must be very disappointing. That must be frustrating. That must be very upsetting.

Now let's look at how Emily resolve the problem. First Seth asked her if she could replace all the arrangements. Emily gave a negative reply but she did it very indirectly. Listen to what she said. Unfortunately I don't think we would be able to do that in time. Instead of saying no directly she softened it by using unfortunately. And instead of saying can't she made the expression less direct by using I don't think. And would be able to. She also gave an explanation. She wouldn't have enough time to do it. When you need to refuse a request make sure the language is softened and let you provide a reason. Emily was not able to do what Seth wanted but she gave the bad news first and then offered as an alternative. First she offered a suggestion. Listen again. What if I picked up just some white roses from the market and brought them right over? Here are some other ways to offer a solution. Would it help if I sent a replacement? Why don't I call the supplier right now? How about if we send someone over? And after you've offered a solution you should check that it is acceptable to the client or customer. Is that acceptable? Would that be okay?

So let's review. When dealing with a problem or complaint we can apologize to the other person and use words like sorry apology or apologize. We should also empathize by using phrases like I can understand how you must and that must. If we can't do something that the client wants we can use unfortunately don't think and be able to to soften the answer. Then we can offer a solution and check with the other person to make sure that our solution is acceptable.