Handling Telephone Abuse

Customer service as its affectionately known revolves around the telephone. You have to be very particular when delivering customer service over the phone. Since they can't see you, your voice and style is pretty much all you have.
Problem is, people are animals. I'm not referring in any evolutionary sense -just the behavioral. Once an animal senses you are afraid of it, it's likely to attack you. Angry people on the phone are pretty much the same:
Customer: "YOU PEOPLE ARE *&$#@@#!! I DON'T BELIEVE YOU DID THIS!"
(Here the caller's testing the water, to see whether the listener's afraid or not?)

Customer Service Rep: 'Oh, Oh, I'm sorry, oh..umm..hmm..sir...ummm, I'm sorry'
(Voice trembling with fear. Guess what? Green light - Attack me!)

"YOU'RE SORRY!? I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE SORRY! I WANT YOU TO FIX THIS &^$%^%&^ PROBLEM!" (Attack mode!)
Hmm, sound familiar?
If this has happened to you I bet you felt really insulted by the put-down. Probably so spooked that every time the phone rings now, you're haunted by the memory of that call. On the other hand, you may have argued back and thought to yourself "HA! I showed him! No way is someone going to talk to me like that!"
And it made you feel a whole lot better right? And the customer never buys from you again and tells 10 others how much you suck. So - Wrong!
Here are some handy tips on how to handle phone abuse and turn the caller into a loyal customer. Customers who have their complaints solved quickly and satisfactorily, are more likely to become loyal than ones who didn't
1. Realize the anger is not directed at you, personally. I've seen people literally in tears because customers yelled abuse. They were angry with the situation they faced and were coming to you for a solution. They didn't call to abuse you. They don't know you! They called you for a solution. Don't take it personally.
2. DON'T dispute the claim; DON'T re-direct the blame - When the customer is charged and yelling, stay silent. Or verbally "nod", by giving an "uh-huh", "OK", "right", "I see", or some such, whenever they reach the end of their sentence.
3. Don't talk over them! LISTEN. This lets them pour out all their negative thoughts and they soon realize that yelling isn't going to work. Don't say "No, I don't think so, you must have your account confused, our systems simply don't do that". You'll add fuel to the fire by doing this and they'll end up shouting "YOU'RE CALLING ME A LIAR NOW?!!?". And don't blame someone else - or another department in the company - for the mistake. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry, must be accounting again, they haven't gotten anything right all year". This makes you and your company look unprofessional and incompetent. LISTEN to the customers problem. If they continue to yell and scream, using bad language, and so forth, don't say: "LOOK IM NOT TAKING THIS!" and hang up. No. "Hmm, Mr. Taylor, I really would like to help you. I think it would be a good idea if we talked about this when we've BOTH cooled down". This takes the focus off his behavior.
4. Once you've clearly understood the problem, repeat it back to them in their own words. Write down what they say and underline what's relevant to the situation. Something like this, perhaps: "OK, Mr. Taylor, I want to make sure I've understood you correctly and please correct me if I'm wrong. OK, so what we need to work out is why your account balance is missing a $4000 payment you made last month (their own words), right?"
5. Once the customer agrees with you (you should always ask questions that get a YES response), empathize with them. Not sympathize, EMPATHIZE. I've heard some pretty pathetic examples of this! People whom you know (just from their tone of voice) don't give a damn about your problem. You can just picture them chewing on a toothpick with their feet up on the desk and surfing the Internet while you're talking! Then all of a sudden they say "Oh, that's terrible isn't it?" Its insulting. Instead, comfort them by letting them know what they're feeling is absolutely normal. "Mr. Taylor, you have every right to raise this issue with us. (avoid using 'complaint' or 'problem'). And I know very well I would feel the same way if this happened to me. That's why I insist on fixing this." (insist is powerful - you won't stop until its done). If the problem can be fixed there and then, tell them right away. And don't just hang up. Finish with a: "Thank you so much Mr. Taylor, is there anything else I may help you with?"
6. If you need time to look into the problem, tell them just that. Under promise and over deliver. If it takes 30 mins to fix, tell them you'll get back to them in an hour. Then call them in 30 minutes. Better that, than the opposite. Follow up. After a few days, either send them a letter or call them to ensure they are 100% satisfied.

FINALLY: ALWAYS hang up last. How many times did you suddenly remember a question you wanted to ask and got as far as the:

"Oh! Hello, are you there...?" just as... "Click" ...... the phone hangs up. Make sure they're finished.
Follow these quick tips and watch your complaint levels drop. You will also be surprised how many people apologize once their problem has been handled. Proof yet again the anger is directed at the problem and not you