The basics people actually notice
Acknowledge everyone within a few seconds even if you can't serve them yet. Eye contact, a greeting, and a realistic wait time. Most complaints are really about feeling ignored, not about the product.
← Work-ready essentials
Service excellence
Customer service and difficult moments
Greet, read the room, fix what you can, escalate what you can't — and stay steady when someone is angry at you.
About 8 minutes · Step 5 of 6 in work-ready essentials
Recovering a problem
Use a fixed sequence so you don't have to think when you're flustered: listen fully, apologize for the experience, fix or offer the best thing you can do, then check they're happy. Do not explain why it happened until they've been heard.
- Apologize for the impact, not for a fault you can't confirm.
- Offer the remedy you're allowed to give without asking — know that limit in advance.
- Tell someone afterwards, so the cause gets fixed for the next customer.
When someone is angry
Stay low and slow: drop your volume, slow your speech, keep your hands visible and open. Don't match their energy. Move the conversation to the side if there's an audience. If they become abusive, threatening or won't stop, you are allowed to end it and get a manager — nobody is required to absorb abuse.
Serving everyone well
Adjust to the person in front of you: more time, clearer speech, a written note, a chair, a quieter spot, or a step-free route. Speak to the customer, not their companion or carer. Never assume what someone needs — ask.
Selling without being pushy
Recommending the thing that genuinely suits someone is service. Pushing the expensive one on someone who didn't want it is a complaint waiting to happen — and it costs the repeat visit.
Knowledge check
Quick quiz — 4 questions
Pick an answer to see instant feedback. Every retake shuffles the order and pulls a fresh set from the module question bank.
1. A customer smiles and thanks you after you rang up their order. What is the best response?
easy2. A customer complains that their food took too long. You can see the kitchen is swamped. What do you say?
medium3. A customer is angry about a wrong order. What comes first?
medium4. You're not sure whether you can give a refund. What do you do?
medium
0 of 4 answered.
Say this, not that
Language you can borrow.
Order is wrong
Weaker
“That's what you ordered, though.”
Stronger
“I'm sorry — that's not what you wanted. Let me remake it right now, and take the extra shot off the bill.”
Why it works: No arguing about whose fault it was; fastest path to a customer who comes back.
You genuinely can't help
Weaker
“There's nothing I can do, sorry.”
Stronger
“I can't authorize a refund myself, but I can get my manager now, or take your number and have her call you before six today. Which works better?”
Why it works: Two real options instead of a dead end.
Abusive customer
Weaker
“Absorb it and keep smiling until you're shaking.”
Stronger
“I want to help you, but I'm not able to continue while I'm being spoken to like that. I'm going to get my manager.”
Why it works: Calm, non-escalating, and it names your boundary. Tell a manager afterwards either way.
Before you move on
- You acknowledge every customer within a few seconds
- You know exactly what you can offer without asking permission
- You listen fully before explaining anything
- You know when and how to escalate to a manager
- You report the cause afterwards so it doesn't happen again