Have you ever had a horrible experience with a company, and felt so hopeless that you did drastic things? Like yell, scream, even cuss in a desperate attempt to be heard?

I had one such encounter with a company recently, but fortunately, I didn’t yell, scream, or cuss (not that I remember, at least). On the contrary, I was articulate, persistent, and assertive (almost to the point of demanding). And I was surprised by the outcome.

At the conclusion of my assertive stand, I was not brushed off, put off, or dismissed .

The short of it: I received $250.00, and a free total apartment shampoo to resolve my complaints…and a hug!?! While I think my residential inconvenience was worth way more than the appeasements I received, the unorthodox emotional approach of the manager’s tactics were quite successful. By the end of our meeting, we both respected that we stood on opposite sides of a resolution, and while managers can seem very dismissive most of the time, we both appreciated that we treated each other as human.

MSN had an interesting piece about how being courteous generally gets one much further along in a dispute than being a jerk. The next time you are put in a situation and you need to demand a manager try the calm, assertive you-will-not-dismiss-me approach, you may be surprised by the results.

p.s. - The above situation was a quite an unusual outcome, but we all know the squeaky wheel gets the oil.  But say, for instance, your attempt to get at a favorable resolution to an issue you’re having is not being solved to your satisfaction.  You may want to check out MSN’s other article about resolving complaints by…threats!  Trust me, I was only one more failed conversation away from taking the same approach.

-Tempo

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