Category: Customers and customer service

  • Negotiating with the airlines (i.e., from a position of complete powerlessness)

    Disputes with the airlines tend to elicit a sense of complete powerlessness. Bad seat? Full bin? Overbooked flight? It’s David versus Goliath x 10. Given that you need to get somewhere and they get to decide whether you do, your own power position seems tenuous, at best. Since such disputes will probably only increase in…

  • Asking more of our sales associates

    Most people try to spend as little time in a store as possible. If we can get into a store, find the desired product, and get out without ever talking to a sales associate, we would we ever dilly-dally? Well, that philosophy works well enough for most purchases. But I’m here to highlight the types…

  • What, we agree? Compatible issues in a disagreeable world

    It sometimes seems that seething disagreements surround us. Crazy passengers punching out flight attendants, angry politicians launching invective, nasty comments following a nice news story about puppies and kittens. At times like these, it’s easy to forget that we actually agree with each other quite often. In negotiation-speak, we can easily lose sight of the…