In the construction supply industry, customer-facing employees—like counter staff, inside sales reps, and delivery coordinators—regularly navigate high-pressure situations. Whether it’s a delayed order, a pricing dispute, or a product issue on-site, conflict is part of the job. That’s why conflict resolution training is so important.
But here’s the catch: many companies invest in training that looks good on paper but doesn’t actually prepare teams for the realities of the job.
Here are the most common mistakes distributors make when delivering conflict resolution training—and how to avoid them.
- Focusing Too Much on Theory, Not Enough on Practical Application
The mistake:
Many programs spend too much time on general communication theory or psychology, leaving employees wondering how to actually apply it during a customer call or counter interaction.
How to avoid it:
Use real scenarios from your day-to-day business—like short deliveries, billing errors, or jobsite delays—as the foundation of the training. Walk through how to de-escalate the situation, how to communicate next steps, and what tone/language to use. Role-play is key.
- Treating It Like a One-Time Event
The mistake:
Conflict resolution is often handled as a one-off session during onboarding or an annual meeting, with no follow-up or reinforcement.
How to avoid it:
Build it into your ongoing training plan. Incorporate refreshers, shift huddles, or monthly team check-ins where employees can talk about recent customer issues and how they handled them. Reinforcement helps the training stick.
- Ignoring the Emotional Side of Conflict
The mistake:
Training often focuses on what to say but doesn’t address how employees should manage how they feel during high-stress situations.
How to avoid it:
Teach techniques for staying calm, taking a breath, and not taking customer frustration personally. Emotional regulation is just as important as problem-solving when it comes to de-escalating conflict.
- Assuming Everyone Has the Same Baseline Skills
The mistake:
Distributors often deliver conflict training as if every team member has the same comfort level with confrontation, communication, or customer expectations.
How to avoid it:
Gauge where your team stands first. Some may need help with tone and professionalism, while others may struggle with follow-through or accountability. Tailor your training and coaching based on experience and role.
- Not Including Managers in the Training
The mistake:
Customer-facing employees are trained on conflict resolution, but supervisors and managers aren’t aligned—or worse, they’re left out entirely.
How to avoid it:
Managers should be trained alongside their teams and equipped to coach, reinforce, and model good conflict resolution themselves. If the leadership isn’t consistent, the training won’t stick.
- Leaving Out Internal Conflict Scenarios
The mistake:
Most conflict training focuses on external issues with customers, but doesn’t address internal friction between departments or coworkers—which can be just as damaging.
How to avoid it:
Include modules on handling tension with teammates, misaligned responsibilities, or breakdowns between sales and operations. Strong internal communication builds a better customer experience.
- Not Measuring the Impact
The mistake:
Companies roll out training, but never track whether it improves results—or even gets used.
How to avoid it:
Monitor KPIs like customer complaint resolution time, first-call resolution rates, and customer satisfaction scores. Check in with your team about how often they apply what they learned, and identify where additional support is needed.
Final Thought
Conflict resolution training is one of the most valuable tools for customer-facing teams—but only if it’s done right. When you focus on real-life situations, make training ongoing, and support it from the top down, you give your team the confidence to handle difficult moments professionally and effectively.
And when your team handles conflict well, customers remember—and come back.
