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  • Have a chance at fame!

    The following message was sent to you via the Customers Suck! Contact Us form.
    --------------------------------
    I am a weekly columnist for ******, and I'm reporting a column on how customer-service workers deal with angry people. I would very much like to interview the founder of this site about the challenges of these jobs, how they cope when faced with repeated angry calls every day, and how they keep from taking the stress home. I'm also interested in speaking a customer service rep who decided enough is enough, and left the field.
    My deadline is Friday noon Eastern time Sept. 17. I am sorry for the short notice; as a weekly columnist, I am always on this kind of tight deadline.
    I can be reached by e-mail at *****
    Thank you very much> I hope to hear from you soon. ********
    Right, folks. I'm away to work shortly. I'm going to be doing some responding myself, but that's going to be tonight. Suffice it to say, this is a fairly prestigious publication. I edited out contact details to prevent the lady in question being spammed.

    If you have any thoughts, please post them here.

    Rapscallion

  • #2
    That is totally cool! If its published, will we be able to see it?
    The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away.

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    • #3
      Don't forget the "little people" when you're on top of the heap...lol.

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      • #4
        Coping techniques, folks. That's what's needed Drop them in this thread!

        Rapscallion

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        • #5
          Remember they are yelling at you about the company... not directly at you. Take a deep breath, let them vent, then ask them what we can do so everyone is happy.

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          • #6
            Quoth DeltaSierra View Post
            That is totally cool! If its published, will we be able to see it?
            Forgot to reply to this. I'm not in the US and it's a big enough publication that I've heard of it. It's a significant one - more as and when.

            Rapscallion

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            • #7
              Staying calm is key. I don't know at first if a caller is just a normal person who is frustrated or a jerk who treats everyone else the way he is treating me.

              If it's the former, being calm usually turns the situation around. If it's the latter, staying calm makes me the better person. It's a win either way.

              A lot of it also has the do with the work environment.

              I work at a tiny company and don't have to stick to a script or worry about call times. That's a real bonus because I can tailor my technique to each situation and take as much time as necessary without worrying that I'm going to get dinged if someone needs extra time.

              If a call is going nowhere we can also pass the caller on to another co-worker. Sometimes just having a different voice or approach can make a difference.

              The owner respects our work and backs us up when we are enforcing the policies he sets. That sounds like a given but believe me there are numerous stories on this site about managers and owners who don't respect their employees' work or back them up.

              I'm also allowed to hang up on anyone who is truly abusive. I've only had to do it once. Just knowing I am not helpless and have control of the situation is a good way to keep calm and cope with a difficult call.

              Lastly, I can always come here and vent about the truly awful ones. Just getting it in words and knowing others might commiserate, laugh or cringe means I don't have to take it to heart or lose sleep over it.
              The best karma is letting a jerk bash himself senseless on the wall of your polite indifference.

              The stupid is strong with this one.

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              • #8
                I'm a customer service person who quit, though I may have to go back. *sigh*

                Feel free to forward her my contact info if you think she'd be interested.
                The High Priest is an Illusion!

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                • #9
                  As a medical professional, I remind myself that my "customers" (patients) could possibly be very sick. They have something going on with their bodies that they don't understand and they are scared. I do my best to explain the proceedure calmly, cheerfully, and simply. It really is the little things that make a huge difference such as a warm blanket or an extra pillow. I love what I do and I like to think it shows.



                  ETA: Hey, Raps, how anonymous is this publication going to keep the comments? I work in a pretty specialized field and I would hate for my company to figure out I post here. If this publication is as popular as you say, I don't want to chance my boss reading it and thinking, "Hey, that sounds like Jedi. Star Wars related screen name? Yeah, that's definitely her."
                  Last edited by jedimaster91; 09-16-2010, 01:01 PM.
                  I am no longer of capable of the emotion you humans call “compassion”. Though I can feign it in exchange for an hourly wage. (Gravekeeper)

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                  • #10
                    Don't suppose you'll be touching on the negative coping mechanisms of being treated as subhuman all the time working in retail? I know i coped through heavy drinking*/smoking, generally withdrawing from society and my friends. I become someone I don't like every time I work a retail job like my last one. I've never heard of a job where someone can try to hit you and you get reprimanded for "bad customer service" because you walked away to a safe area. It does a lot to how you see everything else in your life.

                    ever since I quit that godforsaken job, I've been happier, I dont think I've had a drink in upwards of five days (and its not a big deal), my stress dropped 150% and I've made a few new friends. I even text people with smilie faces now

                    *it got to about a liter a week. I've never in my life drank as much as I have in the past six months.
                    Last edited by Whiskey; 09-16-2010, 01:02 PM.
                    Thou shalt not take the name of thy goddess Whiskey in vain.

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                    • #11
                      In my experience, we act as syrupy nice to the rude customer as we can face-to-face, then talk about them behind their back. Could be in the breakroom away from customers, could be at the bar later, but we're going to vent and get it out of our system.

                      And on the off chance this gets used, I'd prefer to be kept anonymous.
                      Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

                      "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

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                      • #12
                        If your job doesn't require you to say very much to the customer, then don't, otherwise you're going to say something you'll regret. I was a courtesy clerk (bagboy) at a grocery store, and all we were required to do with customers was bag their stuff and say, "Have a nice day/night". If I got a nice customer, I would chat a little, but if I got a rude one, I shut my mouth.
                        "We were put on this Earth to fart around, and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise." -Kurt Vonnegut

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                        • #13
                          I find letting the customer get it all off their chest first - interruptions make em even more angry, as does the phrase "calm down".
                          Lowering the tone of your voice also helps you sound more authoritative and soothing, and using empathic phrases like "I understand" That is very frustrating"
                          Or as I like to say EAR - Empathise, Acknowledge, Resolve/Respond. You will get the occasional assnugget that just wants to bitch for the sake of bitching. With experience you can generally tell who those are, and you can take control of the situation by offering solutions; if rebuffed; ask them what they would do and if it's something wholly unreasonable, tell them that you are unable to assist and terminate the call. But that's just my experience really...
                          The report button - not just for decoration

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                          • #14
                            I've spent my last 5 years in customer service, both at retail and in call centers. It was the call center experience that really made me grow a spine and I've since come up with a list of truths about customer service.

                            1) Some customers will never be happy.

                            2) Some customers will have totally unrealistic expectations

                            3) You should never be punished for following policy, even if that means upsetting someone.

                            Dealing with difficult people really isn't that hard. Like someone else said, you learn not to take it personally and all you can do is offer as reasonable a solution as possible. If the customer continues complaining, escalate it to another manager or supervisor to deal with. If you are the manager or supervisor, make your final offer and give them the chance to stay or go. The threat of "I'm never coming here again!" is practically worthless in the eyes of a front line worker. We really don't care because we're not paid enough to care.

                            The problem that customers seldom see is a lot and I do mean a LOT of service workers not only have to put up with a bunch of crap from customers, they have to up with a bunch of crap by their superiors as well. Go ask a desk clerk if they feel respected by the higher ups, you'll rarely get a "yes" answer I guarantee it. The "morons in management" forum on this site is more the rule in business, not the exception.

                            Of the management decisions that have come down in the past year where I work, I can count the number that seem logical and reasonable on one hand.

                            What this means if that if we are overworked and underpaid and under appreciated by the people we work for, we aren't always in the best of moods or the most motivated when it comes to dealing with customers. It's a combative environment out there these days.

                            I try to limit the stress by doing as many non stressful things as I can when I'm not at work. Sites like this that allow me to gripe anonymously help too. I also work with a great group of people which really helps.
                            "If we refund your money, give you a free replacement and shoot the manager, then will you be happy?" - sign seen in a restaurant

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                            • #15
                              I wrote a series of articles about my experiences in the workplace. Here are a few excerpts that apply to pretty much every workplace situation, especially direct customer service.

                              If your job is just a paycheck job then that's how you have to treat it. Punch in on time, work your shift and go home. Do what's asked of you, of course and collect your paycheck at the end of the day.
                              Just remember, when going above and beyond what's required of you, you're doing it for you. But in all likelihood you aren't going to make employee of the year. And it's a very rare thing to actually be rewarded when a customer compliments you because frankly, that's what's expected of you.

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