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Profanities string together, spilling out across the telephone. The words are vulgar, loud and inescapable — with a client shouting out his anger, claiming dissatisfaction with a business, a product and… you. Your position within customer service brands you the voice of a company. It’s easy therefore for men to blame you for every single problem. And you blanch as further obscenities are given. They’re becoming more and more personal as the seconds spin on.
You decide there’s only one action to take: you yell at him, releasing all of your frustration for a client and his petty complaints.
This… is a mistake, however, and one that could cost you both your customer and your job.
Those within the service field often suffer verbal attacks — with their integrity, intelligence and more questioned. It’s easy to give in to such attacks, to scream at consumers and demand apologies. This is counter-productive, however. It offers no rewards (beyond the momentary pleasure of stunning an angry man into silence). It instead causes irreparable damage: with clients fleeing, sales tumbling and staffers dismissed.
It’s vital to remember then that all customer service performers must stay calm. Maintaining steady voices and sympathetic smiles is essential. These will soothe irate individuals and reveal the source of problems more quickly (rather than forcing staffers to decipher what each rant means). Exchanging insults helps no one. It simply exacerbates the situation — and this is never wise.
Customer service staffers represent their companies. They must therefore ensure that such representations are worthwhile.
