Tips on How to Deal with Divas and Other Difficult Personalities

Would you like to know how to better handle difficult customer service situations?

Shep interviews Laura Baxter, author of Dealing with Divas and Other Difficult Personalities: A Mindful Approach to Improving Relationships in Your Business or Organization!

First Up:

Shep begins the show by discussing difficult customers. He briefly goes over his Five Step Process to dealing with customer complaints, and explains how some customers are more demanding or sometimes more unreasonable than others. Sometimes, we need to understand our customers’ personalities to resolve their complaints. That’s what customer service is all about – understanding who your customer is and trying to adapt to their personality.

Featured Interview:

Shep begins the interview by asking Laura for her definition of “Diva.” Laura provides a bit of history about the word Diva, as well as her own definition. She then continues to explain how a Diva doesn’t have to be female. A Diva can be a man, customer, co-worker, or anyone you have issues with.

Laura then discusses her new book, introduces the acronym D.I.V.A., and shares how to overcome difficult customers. They discuss the importance of how a Diva or difficult customer interaction must not negatively affect the rest of your encounters. You need to find your triggers and be able to reprogram yourself to react more calmly in tough situations. The key is to adapt to the difficult personality. Stop, look, and listen to discover the needs of the difficult customer so you can better assess how to take care of the Diva/difficult personality, and connect with them.

Top Takeaways:

DIVA stands for:
- D – Define the situation
- I – Finding your Inner strength
- V – Valuing yourself and the other person (understand them)
- A – Associating with the Diva
Stop, Look, and Listen before dealing with a difficult customer.
- Stop – Pause for a moment and make sure you are centered and calm in this moment.
- Look – Watch what they are doing. Watch how they are, and what signals can you get from their behavior that show their needs? Perhaps even hidden needs.
- Listen – Listen to the words they say and how they say it and mirror back what they are saying to you.
The Four Most Powerful Mental States – Try to master being in these states and you will be successful.
- Love
- Gratitude
- Forgiveness
- Play

About: Laura Baxter is an American opera singer, author, and performance coach. She has studied the effects of the voice and body on non-verbal communication and leadership for over 25 years, and she brings this experience together to help her clients perform and communicate better. She is the co-author of several German books and the sole author of her new book, “Dealing with Divas and Other Difficult Personalities: A Mindful Approach to Improving Relationships in Your Business or Organization.”

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, best-selling author and your host of Amazing Business Radio.

“What triggers emotional reactions to people? It may be something someone says. Whatever it may be, you need to recognize these triggers and reprogram yourself to react calmly.” – Laura Baxter