How to be assertive in any situation

How to get good service

It’s happened to most of us; you find yourself on the receiving

end of poor service, sales pressure or bad workmanship.

Trying to get things put right can leave you feeling stressed,

upset and frustrated.

The main issues with getting good service are knowing your

rights, deciding what you do and do not want and having the

confidence to take control. In this way, you will avoid being

bullied and feeling at the mercy to others who have more

control and authority.

In each of the cases in this chapter, you will see how an assertive

approach can make all the difference to getting good service.

Asking for what you want

155

Grant decided to have a real wood floor fitted in his living

room. He ordered and paid for oak flooring from a local store.

The fitter didn’t turn up on the agreed date. He’d been double-

booked. The sales assistant gave Grant a new date and the work

was rearranged for the beginning of the following week.

Although the floor was fitted on the new date, it was not finished.

Grant was told that the fitter had to go and attend to another job.

It was another ten days before the room was completed.

One month later the floor developed a fault; it had buckled,

rising along one section. Grant blew his top.

PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE

156

As a result of the negative outcomes of past experiences, Grant

had learned to become helpless and resigned. He perceived that

he had no control over events, so he was unwilling to even try

to exert influence over situations.

To begin with, Grant failed to take control when he accepted the

new date he was given. It was not the most convenient day for

him, but because he didn’t want to risk the floor not being fitted

again, by insisting on a more convenient time, Grant resigned

himself to the date he was given.

The same thing happened with getting the floor finished;

instead of insisting that the floor was completed that week, by

another fitter if necessary, Grant accepted the excuses he was

given and waited another ten days. By the time the floor devel-

oped a fault, because he’d not asserted himself on the previous

occasions, the fault was the last straw for Grant – a pressure

cooker had developed and he exploded!

As well as allowing the situation to get worse, one of the main

reasons people like Grant find themselves stressed, upset and

at the receiving end of bad service is because they simply don’t

know how to say what they want in an assertive way.

It’s time to make a change!

“

They simply don’t know how to

say what they want in an assertive

way.

”

Assertive ACTION

When you do not receive the service you expect, before you

resign yourself to what you are told is or is not possible, decide

for yourself what you do and do not want.

Once you know what you want to happen, simply and clearly

state what it is that you do or do not want.