Imagine a sari-sari store owner is frustrated because a popular Nestlé stockout lasted four days and they lost sales. How would you handle that conversation?

Situation

I was visiting a regular account, a sari-sari store in Guadalupe, and the owner immediately complained that their Maggi noodles had been out of stock for four days and customers were going to a competitor store.

Task

I needed to calm the owner down, take responsibility for the service gap, and restore their trust while getting the product back on shelf as soon as possible.

Action

I first listened without interrupting and said 'I understand po, this is really frustrating for your business and I'm sorry for the inconvenience.' I acknowledged the lost sales by saying 'I know you lost around 50 pesos per day from those customers.' Then I checked our delivery schedule on my phone, found that the next delivery was two days away, but I called our dispatcher and arranged an emergency partial drop of 15 cases within 24 hours. I also offered to personally pick up stock from a nearby distributor if needed.

Result

The owner visibly relaxed after hearing the specific solution. The stock arrived the next afternoon. I followed up two days later to confirm they received the full order. The owner continued ordering from us and even started referring two other store owners to me within the month.