My first job was at Kmart. I was 16. It was at Kmart that I learned that customers could be difficult. Customers could get so upset they’d cuss, make threats, and demand to speak to a manager.

It was at Kmart that I learned how not to handle a difficult customer. This lesson came from the courtesy of my friend, Beverly Johnson. One Thursday evening, Beverly, just 17, was put in charge because management in our area was gone for the day.

I joined Beverly on a price-check at the Service Desk. When we got to about 20 feet away from the Service Desk, Beverly and I looked at each other and without saying a word, our eyes communicated, “Oh shit.” We saw one of our notoriously difficult customers.

The customer was Nancy. She was known to return large numbers of items, usually clothing. She’d have her kids (all 5 of them) wear the clothes until they literally wore out. Then, she’d return the clothing. She always had a receipt, and she knew that anything could be returned anytime for an in-store credit. If you dare challenge Nancy, she’d raise her voice, get her dramatic hand gestures going and then, demand to see the store manager. Tonight, Beverly was the “manager.”

We approached the desk, and the first thing Beverly said was, “We’re not taking that junk back!”

“Excuse me?” Nancy was genuinely shocked. No, this little girl didn’t just tell me I cannot return these items! is what I imagined she was thinking.

Beverly, serious as a heart attack, said again, “We’re not taking that junk back.”

“Little B$#&@, yes you will!” No, she didn’t! Even for Nancy, this was extreme.

Yesterday I delivered a full-day of soft skills training to a new client in Denver. We had such a fun day. Lots of participation, solid takeaways, table discussions that I know were behavior changing. I love the feeling I get after a day of soft skills training.

Have you ever checked out my onsite training workshops?

• Workshop attendees have said, “Myra’s positive attitude really makes me feel that one person can completely change another’s state of being” and “Each one of us walked away with something new, and all of us feel we could have sat and listened to her for days!”

• Training is customized to your needs. I meet with your management team before the training to discuss your objectives and I review a sample of your agent calls to help me understand where you are today.

• I’m known for my high engagement, stories and humor – your people will love spending the day with me and my team in soft skills training!

Here’s what a recent client had to say about my training:

Myra delivered two full-day workshops for us, and we could not be more pleased.  She took the time to listen to our needs and created workshops that combined her expert knowledge with the specific customer-service ethos we want ingrained in our employees.