“tactics to help you get the most from those encounters. 1. When you have an opportunity to address a complainant face to face, listen. Work consciously at graciousness and control. Avoid becoming defensive or acting stern, cold, or judgmental. Especially avoid attempting to explain why the problem occurred. When they are levying complaints, customers are not particularly interested in your explanations for poor service, let alone what they should have done differently. They want to know (1) that they are being heard, and (2) that their comments are valued. Your explanations of why things work the way they do (“I’m just stating our policy”) will be seen as defensive and will only aggravate and irritate.”