Recently, Joe Newcomer witnessed a squabble between a customer and one of the customer service representatives, Tina.

Recently, Joe Newcomer witnessed a squabble between a customer and one of the customer service representatives, Tina. The customer, Maria, was attempting to return what she claimed was a defective belt sander. She claimed the sander caused a serious abrasion to her husband's arm, resulting in a trip to the emergency room. There is no question that Tina was rude to Maria in her response. Not only did she curtly refuse to honour the return, claiming the return was beyond the 30-day "no questions asked" return policy, but she suggested that perhaps Maria's husband hadn't appropriately followed the directions. Specifically, she asked whether her husband could read English. Maria angrily responded that although she and her husband are Latino, they are Canadian citizens and fluent in English (Goodwin & Griffith, 2013, p. 13).

The main character in this scenario is Joe. As Joe, you will a report and role play a conversation with Tina about her behaviour towards the customer.

a.    Analysis of the conflict/problem:

                                              i.    What is the problem from each person's perspective?

                                            ii.    What else might be going on in the situation?

                                           iii.    What are the underlying interests of each person?

                                           iv.    How can the interests of both parties be integrated to define the problem in a way that includes both perspectives?

                                             v.    What are options for resolving the problem?

                                           vi.    Choose one option as the recommended solution and provide rationale as to why it is the best solution.

b.    Plan to address conflict/problem

                                              i.    Select the most appropriate approach for resolving this conflict based on the Thomas-Killmann model. Identify why the approach you've chosen is the best approach and why the other approaches would be less effective.

                                            ii.    What are the key messages you need to communicate in the discussion with the other person?

                                           iii.    Provide a script for the conversation, including anticipating the other person's responses.