Breaking Bad News to Customers: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Delivering bad news to customers is an unavoidable, emotionally charged aspect of customer service that frontline service employees face regularly. Whether it's announcing a price increase, explaining a service failure, or delivering unfortunate personal news, these critical moments can significantly impact customer satisfaction, brand reputation, and employee well-being.

In this seminar, Professor Dominique Greer will present cutting-edge research on how frontline service employees across diverse service sectors navigate the challenging process of disclosing bad news to customers. Drawing on extensive interviews with 114 service professionals, the presentation will reveal the six-step process successful employees use to prepare for, deliver, and transition through disclosing bad news.

Financial services provider Dan Hynd will complement the academic insights with real-world cases of disclosing bad news in financial services, demonstrating practical approaches to softening the blow when delivering difficult information to clients.

This session will provide valuable takeaways for:

Business owners seeking to enhance customer experience even during difficult conversations
Managers looking to better support and train frontline staff
Service professionals wanting to develop effective coping strategies for stressful customer interactions

Learn proven protocols that can transform potentially negative exchanges into opportunities for building trust and maintaining customer relationships, even when the news isn't good.

About the presenters

Professor Dominique Greer, Professor of Marketing at the QUT School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations

Professor Dominique Greer is a Professor of Marketing at the QUT Business School. Her research focuses on how co-creation in professional services is disrupted by deviant consumer behaviour. Dominique has published extensively in leading academic journals, including the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Services Marketing, Risk Analysis and European Journal of Marketing. With a passion for translating academic findings into practical business applications, Dominique regularly collaborates with industry partners to offer evidence-based protocols that help organizations better prepare their frontline staff for real-world challenges.

Mr Dan Hynd, Director of Hyndsight Financial Services

Dan Hynd is a finance expert with over eight years of experience in commercial, small business, and residential lending. Having worked across various banks and brokerages, he brings deep industry knowledge and a client-focused approach. As Director of Hyndsight Financial Services, Dan leads a team dedicated to helping clients with all finance-related transactions, big or small. The firm specializes in providing tailored lending solutions that simplify the process and deliver the best outcomes.