Before he was communications chief of a major utilities company, David Chalmers worked in newspapers. Most days the desk took calls from curious readers.
But if something went wrong with the crossword puzzle, the phones would go into meltdown as callers vented their rage about using the incorrect spelling for a Mongolian yak scraper.
“One day one of the reporters took a call from a reader who ranted for 20 minutes and wouldn’t be pacified. When the caller finally paused for breath, my colleague said: ‘I’ll say a prayer for you.’
“It was such an unexpected response it took the wind out of the caller’s sails and they instantly calmed down. It’s not what I’d expect any of my team to tell our customers today but it taught me some people just want a hearing and to know you’re on their side.
“After all, we don’t know what they’re going through themselves.”
If you already work in a Call or Contact Centre – or if you’re looking through the many top vacancies on s1jobs – brace yourself.
Angry, upset and frightened people often take out their life’s frustrations on the first person they encounter . . . and that will be you.
Diane Marshall works in the Call Centre of a chain of estate agents. It’s her job to phone potential purchasers after they’ve been for a viewing to get their feedback on a property.
“Some people will tell you why they liked or disliked a property but a few will treat a less-than-perfect property as a personal insult.
“I recently dealt with one lady who’d been to see a beautiful apartment. It had been upgraded to an exceptional standard but she gave me pelters about a lack of cupboard space.
“When I managed to get her to stop shouting, it turned out she was recently widowed and loved the apartment but was nervous about making such a big financial decision on her own.
“She felt vulnerable and was terrified her son and daughter would criticise her for doing the wrong thing.”
What Diane and David have both learned about dealing with unhappy customers is to be kind, professional and patient – and, above all, appreciate a caller may be going through a tough life situation.
‘”You don’t have to accept abuse but by not reacting angrily you give the caller space to calm down and access the more rational part of their brain.
“Often they end up apologising for their outburst and you can then get to the root of their complaint.”
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