Here's a tip that I learned a ways back in the restaurant business.

When a customer would ask for something, or make a special request,
my immediate response was about as basic as it gets:

LET ME SEE WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU!

Gave me time to go back and forth with the customer, and to hussle
back into the kitchen to talk with staff, etc., focusing on what we
could do to help them!

Whether there was anything I could actually do or not, (and yes,
sometimes it was nothing more then a little chirade) at the very
least it gave the impression that I was doing everything I could.

Basically just another way of doing exactly what Don did, but a
very effective approach.

Rod Carr