Take your feet out of your mouth: avoiding the most common managerial communication pitfalls.(EXTRA CREDIT)

In today's highly competitive business world, customer satisfaction has never been more important in the growth of a company's "bottom line." Unfortunately, corporations are now dealing with a more diverse and more varied customer base, and in turn, forced to solve more complex and challenging customer service issues, complaints and disputes. These developments are now confirming what customer service professionals have always known but were seldom allowed to admit: the customer may not always be right.

Moreover, disagreements and disputes, if not carefully managed, can escalate into more severe confrontations, with resulting negative effects including workplace violence, lawsuits and litigation, and diminished productivity. What causes conflicts to escalate? The following are the most common communication pitfalls that show how managers can enrage a customer by what they say and how they say it:

(1) Attacking the person rather than the problem--making personal attacks or statements, which belittle the individual instead of working to solve the issue.

(2) Over control--wielding authority, using your position of power to intimidate or push others around without attempting to solve the problem.

(3) Cultural ignorance--disrespecting diverse cultural communication patterns; becoming defensive when approached by someone with difficult-to-understand accents or differences in dress or appearance.

(4) Re-escalation--causing a person's anger or hurt feelings to resurface after the original disagreement was successfully defused.

(5) Lack of audience awareness--ignoring the crowd of curious onlookers who may very quickly gather at the scene. This can prove extremely dangerous if the crowd becomes hostile.