“What will it take to fix the problem?”
In this option you simply ask the other person/party what they want in order to put an end to the conflict.
If their response is able to be accommodated (that is, the proposed solution is viable) then the easiest and most effective strategy is to do what the person identifies.
This should totally resolve the issue and provide the person with exactly what they want.
In many ways this is a win-win outcome because the customer/other party gets what they want and so do you (you have quickly resolved the issue within the boundaries you have to operate within).
Never be afraid to ask the other party what they want. If you cannot accommodate their demands you at least have more information which can be used to guide further negotiations. Be very careful, however, about promising what you cannot deliver – never tell the other person you will accommodate their wishes: just ask what those wishes are.
Where the other person makes a simple suggestion as to how to resolve the conflict this may be an approach not previously considered yet one which can be readily accommodated.
Meet the other party half-way
This is a ‘compromise’ solution where both parties give-up something.
It means the other party/customer is prepared to settle for less than their optimum solution, and the business is prepared to give more than what it wanted to initially give.
Compromises are a common way of settling conflict but they require goodwill on behalf of both parties.