Two Tokens Theory of Customer Service

In every customer interaction, two tokens are placed on the table:

1. “This is the worst thing that’s ever happened.”
2. “It’s not a big deal.”

Here’s the rule: once one person picks up a token, the other person is forced to pick up the opposite one.

• If the customer picks up “this is the worst thing ever” and we minimize it, they’ll only escalate.
• If we pick up that token first—treating their concern as if it’s the worst thing—it frees the customer to pick up the other token and calm down.

What This Means for Us

• We never downplay or dismiss a customer’s frustration.
• We acknowledge issues with seriousness and empathy, even if they seem small.
• By picking up the “worst thing” token first, we create space for the customer to feel heard and de-escalate.

How We Apologize

An apology is not an admission of failure—it’s a tool to preserve trust. We:

• Acknowledge the customer’s experience: “I understand this has been really frustrating.”
• Apologize sincerely, even if the issue isn’t our direct fault: “I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with this.”
• Take ownership of the solution: “Here’s what we’ll do next…”

Bottom line: In property management, even “small” problems feel big to our customers. When we validate and apologize sincerely, customers usually relax and work with us instead of against us.