Avoiding Customer Confrontations
Dealing with difficult customers attempting to buy age-restricted products.
We all dread a loud, rowdy or combative customer. It could be a minor who’s trying to bully their way into buying a product that’s prohibited. Or maybe someone of age who just doesn’t have their ID on them and is baffled why they’re being carded in the first place. Whatever the case is, tensions are getting high, and while it’s hardly fair, you as a store employee need to know what to do to calm things down.
There are lots of times where a customer is not eligible to purchase an age-restricted product:
- They’re underage
- They present a fake or suspicious ID
- They present no ID or an expired ID
- You suspect they are purchasing for a minor
- They’re attempting to go over a purchase limit
Here is our solid method for handling these unruly situations.
After determining a customer is not eligible to purchase an age restricted product (using the materials in the We Card Renewal Kit can help you make that call), it’s time to start implementing the AERO technique. AERO stands for Apologize, Explain, Remove and Offer. Let’s break down each one.
Apologize
Start with an apology. Be polite and remain calm. Your tone of voice, body language and word choice can go a long way into defusing a tense situation before it even starts. A simple “I’m sorry” is a great start. Repeat as necessary.
Explain
Next, inform the customer of why the sale is being denied and what the consequences would be for you and the store if the sale did go through. This is not accusatory, simply stating the facts. Here are a few sample responses you can use in the right situations.
“The ID scanner shows you are underage. It’s illegal for me to sell you this product.”
“It appears your ID is expired. An expired ID is considered an invalid ID and it’s against the law for me to sell you this.”
“I saw you talking to those kids outside before you walked in. I could lose my job if you were buying age-restricted products for them.”
Remove
Removing the product from the counter accomplishes two things. First, it eliminates the possibility for a customer to grab the product and run. And second, it shows this is not a negotiation. Selling them this product is literally off the table now, and there’s nothing they can do to change that outside of presenting you a valid form of ID.
Offer
Once you’ve moved past the Remove stage, offer the customer another service. “Is there something else I can get you?” maintains a polite and helpful customer service attitude that helps move on from the conflict and lead to a better outcome.
We teach the AERO technique in our employee and manager training courses. These courses are highly effective at helping employees and stores protect themselves while keeping restricted products out of underage hands, andthey’ve received excellent ratings from both store employees and store managers.
AERO will work for almost all situations, but there are times when it’s not enough. If you find yourself physically threatened by a customer and must make an illegal sale for safety reasons, report the incident to your store manager right away and follow your company policy on handling these situations.
Saying no to a customer can be difficult and uncomfortable. You want to be helpful. But remember that refusing a sale is not your choice, and it’s not personal. It’s store policy, and more importantly, it’s the law. These are rules you just can’t bend or break, not if the store is busy, or even “just this once.” While they may not be happy about it, most customers will understand. And when that happens, congrats! You’ve just de-escalated the situation!
For questions about We Card, our programs, and our activities, please visit www.wecard.org or contact us at comments@wecard.org.
