Trade Show Booth Staff Training Expert, Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach

“I’ve never seen so many nasty attendees,” said one client, fresh from a trade show. Others have confirmed that complaints and rude remarks are up. Whether this is a general cultural trend, a product of economic stress, or just a coincidence, it’s worth training your booth staff to anticipate and handle nasty remarks and other varieties of bad customer behavior.

Here are five proven winner strategies for you to use when faced with a nasty customer:

1. First, determine what the problem is. If an attendee has a legitimate complaint, take him or her to a quiet corner of the booth and listen to the problem. Apologize sincerely, and see what you can do to make the situation right.

2. If a passing attendee is making a gratuitously rude comment, smile and ignore the rudeness. Some product loyalists feel they need to run down other providers; the feud between Apple and Windows partisans is legendary (and ridiculous.)

3. If an attendee gets angry, keep your temper. Remember that you represent your company. Don’t take nasty remarks personally.

4. Use active listening techniques to make sure you understand the attendee’s problem. Do your best to address the content of the issue, not the customer’s rude manner.

5. If rudeness crosses into abuse, hand the attendee off to your boss to deal with. No one should be expected to take personal abuse.

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Written by Susan A. Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, internationally recognized expert working with companies to increase their profitability at tradeshows.

Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market” and “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies.” www.thetradeshowcoach.com & www.richesinniches.com

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