Transcripts
1. Introduction to the Course: At first glance, handling a difficult customer may
seem like a thankless job. Fortunately, you can't
develop skills and adapt to challenges
difficult customers pose and extend these
skills to handling difficult people and situations throughout your daily life. By improving the focus of
your thoughts and feelings, how you manage stress, and how well you listen to
and empathize with others, you will be better able
to meet the challenges other people pose in both your professional
and personal life. Implementing the guidelines in this course is the first step in a process towards forever changing how you
interact with others. So here are objectives
of the course. Research has consistently
demonstrated that when a clear goals are
associated with learning, it occurs more
easily and rapidly. With that in mind, let's
review our goals for today. At the end of the course,
you should be able to cultivate positive attitude, manage internal and
external stress, develop abilities to listen
actively and emphasize, build a rapport with customers in person
and over the phone, understand the diverse
challenges posed by customers, develop strategies to adapt
to challenging circumstances. I wish you a happy learning, and let's get started.
2. The Right Attitude Starts with You: The right attitude
starts with you. Keeping a positive
mental attitude in the face of the
difficulty isn't easy. In fact, according
to psychologists, our brains seem to be hardwired
to focus on the negative. However, here's some
positivity to focus on. Many studies have also demonstrated that cultivating
an attitude of gratitude and engaging in
regular exercise and meditation have dramatic effects on our sense of well being. Be grateful. It's
natural and easy to focus on the negative things
that happen in our lives. When a reckless driver cuts
you off on the highway, your pulse raises and your
adrenaline begins to flow. Maybe you start
to shake and it's likely that this feeling
stays with you for a while. However, the good things in
life often escape our notice, whether it's the person
who greets you with a smile or holds the
door open for you. Taking note of the
good things in life involve a
conscious decision. But it has a huge payoff. Oprah Winfrey once noted that the single most important
thing she's ever done was to write five things
that she's grateful for in a journal at the
beginning of each day, and the science backs her up. Psychologists for the
Universities of California and Miami performed an
experiment in 2003 that found that keeping a daily journal or
what you are grateful for can increase your own sense of well being
throughout your life. So make gratitude a habit. Sustaining a positive outlook requires consistent practice. It takes a moment to note what's going right can give
you a good feeling. Imagine the cultivative
effect of doing so daily. In order to do so, you have to cultivate a habit.
Forming a habit. Use a reminder, for example, at the beginning of your workday before or after you clock in, let this act as a cue to list five things you are grateful
for in a gratitude journal. Have a routine. Try to write in your gratitude journal at the same time every
day. Reward yourself. Although developing
a cultivated sense of gratitude is its own reward, the act of setting up a
specific reward helps to divide a large task
into many small tasks. For example, for after a week of successively
keeping your journal, pick a small reward
for yourself. Doing something consistently
becomes automatic over time, but that time can vary
18-254 days to do so. The average amount
of time to make a habit automatic is
around two months. If you miss a day,
don't beat yourself up. Take note, however,
why you missed it, as well as any strategies to counterattack whatever
caused you to miss it. Be aware that the change in
your routine can disrupt habitual behavior
and may require the development of a new
reminder and routine. Keep your body healthy. Regular exercise is crucial for producing a
positive attitude. It stimulates the production of pleasure chemicals in our brain, cold endorphins, and has been shown to combat
depression effectively. Important aspects
of good exercise never exercise beyond your
physical capabilities. The ideal exercise can
include flexibility, strength, balance, and
endurance training. Drink plenty of water. Vary your routine
from time to time by replacing old exercises
with new ones. Avoid exercise within the 3
hours before you go to sleep. Invoke in a piece. Cultivating positive
thinking is also a process of invoking
in a piece within. Here are some ways to do so. Identify negative and
automatic thoughts and counter them
with alternatives. Typically, these thoughts
frame situations in terms of black and white
and either odd terms. They also tend to
make logical leaps. For example, your boss may
have a look of disapproval. An automatic thought might be to assume she's angry because
you were late to work, but you were only
late to work by a couple of minutes and you are always on time,
if not early, so it's ridiculous that
your boss should be so angry and the train of assumption
can go on indefinitely. When you encounter
such thoughts, reframe your assessment from
terms that this is the case, to this may be the case, along with other possibilities. Consider other possibilities, including those that have
nothing to do with you. Practice reality testing
by asking your boss if she's upset with you and what can you do to improve
the situation. Practice meditation regularly. This helps you to
focus on the moment, as well as to feel more relaxed, and even doing as
little as 10 minutes a day can have powerful
effects throughout your day. Keep a journal of your
thoughts and feelings. This can be particularly
helpful during times of stress. It can help you to both articulate and organize
your thoughts. One study found that writing about intensely
positive experience for three consecutive days still contributed to positive
moods three months later. Schedule time for play. Make sure to take time to relax and enjoy life
on a regular basis. This will not only help you
develop a positive outlook, but also increase your
creativity. Case study. Monica was experiencing some
big challenges in her life. She had just graduated from college with a mountain
of student loan debt. She had no job, despite the fact that she had
been looking for months, her savings was dwindling
fast, and to top it all off, she had a nagging toothache, and knew a trip to the dentist would cost a small fortune, especially since she
had no insurance. When she thought about all
the problems facing her, it became overwhelming. She grew depressed. Her life consisted
of wasting away on the couch and watching
reruns of Oprah Winfrey. When she saw the episode
about gratitude, Monica decided to give it a try. She did have some things going right in her
life, after all. She now had a degree. She had a working
car, and best of all, Monica had family and
friends who encouraged her, including a professor
who was willing to recommend her
for an office job. The more she focused
on what she did have, the better she felt. In fact, instead of feeling depressed over everything
that lay before her, Monica started to feel enthusiastic about the
potential to future help.
3. Stress Management - Internal Stressors: Stress management,
internal stressors. Life is dynamic and
constantly changing. This simple fact
creates emotional, mental and physical stress. It's not possible to
avoid stress entirely. Instead, you have to learn
how to manage stress and navigate through situations
that trigger stress. Often, it is the
stressful situations in life that bring out our best. There are two types
of stressors, internal stressors and
external stressors. External stressors
relate to environment. They can involve
a wide variety of things from screaming
alarm clocks to crowded elevators to high pressure situations
such as a work deadline, caring for a sick loved one, and even positive events such as gaining recognition
for achievement. Often external
stressors represent things that are
beyond our control. Internal stressors are
those stress triggers that are internal
to each person. This can range from
feeling irritable to feeling tired
or unappreciated. Negative thoughts and
automatic thinking are forms of internal stressors. Irritability. Emotions are
universal. Everyone has them. Emotions are intrinsically good because they provide
information. Therefore, emotions are valid. For example, everyone
feels irritable at times. Irritation is a sign of anger, which tells you that something
is wrong or anxiety, which tells you that you
don't know an outcome. Those emotions are called swing emotions because they can either improve or damage
your performance. Irritation when
not addressed can snowball and reinforce negative
thoughts and feelings. Managing swing emotions involves slowing down your thoughts. Here are some steps.
Listen to self talk. Take note of I statements
versus statements. I statements imply agency
while statements imply plane. Are your thoughts fast or slow? Fast thinking indicates
arousal and the narrowing of focus while slow thinking expands your focus
and relaxes you. Are you thinking in complete
sentences or shorthand? Turn shorthand thoughts
into complete sentences. Take note of distorted
thinking styles. These are magnification,
thinking that something is bigger than it is two,
destructive labeling, assessing someone or something negatively, and number three, imperative thinking,
believe that something or someone should do
or be a certain way. Use your thoughts as
instructional self statements. When you notice
negative thoughts, try countering them with different statements
about your situation. If your thinking
involves magnification, then put things in a
different perspective. If your thinking involves destructive labeling,
be more specific. If your thinking
involves imperatives, counter with more flexibility
and consider other options. Take a time out. Anger, anxiety, and frustration all
narrow our focus. A breakaway from a situation can help you approach again
with a fresh perspective. When taking a time out, it's often good to have a plan on how to make
use of your time out. For example, if taking a time out of a situation
where you felt angry, try using up that
arousal energy by going for a run or some
other type of exercise. Unhappiness with your job. Everyone can feel unhappy
with their job at times, and this yields frustration, which is an emotional cue
that something isn't working. Frustration results from problems that appear
unresolvable. You may think you
know the situation, but if you are still
feeling frustrated, it's a sign that your
solution is the problem. In order to combat frustration, you have to reframe the problem. A simple way to do this is to frame the problem
with this sentence. The real problem isn't blank. The real problem is blank. This allows you
the flexibility to consider a whole new
range of solutions. Feeling underappreciated. Feeling underappreciated
involves the emotion of the dejection, depression,
or disappointment. These emotions lead to
poorer performance, unlike the swing emotions
which can go either way, known as blue emotions, these are marked by a lack of arousal and self talk
that is too slow. To counter this,
you need to instill emotions that arouse
your energy level, such as enthusiasm, confidence,
optimism, and tenacity. These emotions, unlike
swing emotions or blue emotions actually
enhance performance. All emotions have three
components that work together, and you can think of
them as a triangle. At the top of the
triangle is cognition. The way you self talk when
angry is different from the way you self talk when enthusiastic or
when disappointed. At the bottom left corner is the arousal level of an emotion. Both high performance
emotions and swing emotions are
high arousal emotions, whereas blue emotions
dampen arousal. The arousal level
allows emotions to act as cues to
signal behavior. At the right corner
is the behavior or reaction to an emotion. Mood management involves using
cognition, your thoughts, and assessment of a
situation to develop better strategies for
reacting to your emotions. Emotions also have a quality
of being contagious. For example, when
someone smiles at you, you feel an urge to smile back. When you feel unappreciated, this is a cue that you may
not be appreciating yourself. Finding ways to increase
your own enthusiasm and confidence makes you appreciate yourself more in this
emotional state, et communicate it to others. Here are some
strategies to increase your high performance
emotions of enthusiasm, confidence, optimism,
and tenacity. Acknowledge and
celebrate successes. Listen to a beat music
that makes you happy. Look for and appreciate
humor wherever you find it. A good belly love can change
your outlook for a better. Acknowledge what
is going on well, such as in a daily
gratitude journal. Before you go to bed each night, write down on an index card three statements
that will put you in a good mood and place
it on a nightstand or table so that you look
at it when you wake up. This way, you start
out each day on a positive note.
Not well rested. Football icon, Vince
Lombardi one said, fatigue makes cowards of us all. The quickest way to
lose focus and have poor performance is to
not have enough rest. The amount of rest you need
varies per individual. When you can awaken without
the need for an alarm clock, this is a sign that
you are getting an adequate amount of rest. Sleep disorders such as insomnia can interfere with getting
a good night's sleep. Here are some approaches
to dealing with insomnia. Don't try to force sleep. Let it come passively. One strategy is to read a
book until you feel sleepy. Avoid late meals and
exercising late at night. If you are feeling anxiety which can cause your
thoughts to race, try meditation to
quiet your thoughts. Writing in a journal
is another strategy. Often the antidote to
anxiety is information. If something is unknown
is making you anxious. Develop a strategy to find
answers and remember that sometimes the passage of time is the only way
to get an answer. Try taking a hot bath, but do so 30 minutes
before sleeping. Although a hot bath
is quite relaxing, immediately after
getting out of the bath, your body temperature
will lower. Allowing 30 minutes
before bedtime gives your body temperature
a chance to level off. Go to sleep and wake up on a
regular schedule every day, whether it's a day off or not. Being well rested
throughout the day is not solely a matter of
physical sleep, either. Another form of rest
involves taking breaks and getting briefly
away from your work. When feeling tired
during the day, stretching and doing
a few minutes of vigorous exercise can help
to recharge your batteries. Case study. Jennifer rides the subway home from
work every day. After a long day of work, Jennifer got on the subway, and at the next stop, a well dressed man with three well dressed
kids get on the bus. The kids keep running
around and being rowdy, while the man ignores them
with his head in his hands. Jennifer, can't take it
anymore and snap at the man. You need to control
your children. The man replies, You
are right. I'm sorry. We are coming back from a
funeral for them mother, and I guess I can't bring myself to discipline
them right now. Jennifer reconsiders
her earlier anger and calls the children to her. They play a game of I spy for
the rest of the trip home.
4. Stress Management - External Stressors: Stress management,
external stressors. External stressors can often
be a source of frustration. You have limited control over the things that come
at you in life. When managing stress resulting
from external stressors, adaptability and
understanding what you can control are vital.
Your workspace. An uncomfortable workspace can be a constant form of stress. Sometimes the stress is obvious, not having functional
equipment, for example, sometimes the stress
is more invisible, equipment that isn't
ergonomically sound. Fortunately, you do have some control over how to
manage your workspace. Make sure that you have
working and economically sound equipment so that these do not interrupt your ability
to be productive. It may seem innocuous, but CATA has very real
and damaging effects. It will increase stress
and create distructions, that damage your
creative process while encouraging
procrastination. Simply getting rid of
unnecessary clutter is enough to prevent procrastination
in many instances. Create a clutter
free environment by removing all non essential
items from the workspace. This includes trash, old
papers, and gadgets. You should feel free, however, to keep inspirational items such as to encourage you in
your own creative process. Steps to being clutter free. Remove unnecessary items, clean up the area at the
end of each workday, keep everything organized, and put things back
where they go. Do not allow other people
to clutter up your office. H space chosen for items before you bring them
into your work area. Loud work environment. Another external
stressor that can affect your ability to be productive
is a loud work environment. Loud sounds that
aren't specifically related to your tasks can
serve as distractions, making it difficult to
think and do your work. When handling a
challenging customer, loud noises in the
background can undermine the rapport you
build with your customer. Identifying the source
of the disturbance is the first step towards
handling a loud environment. However, when addressing
it, proceed respectfully. Coworker relations. Most of us aren't saints, and it's inevitable
that you will run across people
with whom you clash. However, when you are actively in conflict
with someone else, this can spill over into
the rest of your life. If you cannot
resolve differences with co workers in
a constructive way, how can you hope to handle
challenging customers? When you are angry and in
conflict with someone, it's rare for it
to be one sided. Consequently, when resolving
a conflict with a co worker, it's important to be willing to meet the other person halfway. Conflict is not the sort of
circumstance where you can win unless the person you are in conflict with
is winning, too. Here are some strategies
for resolving conflicts in a way
where everyone wins. Consider Anger Styles. Are you the type of person who needs to squash a
conflict immediately, or are you the type of
person who needs a time out in order to understand
the situation better? How about the person you
are in conflict with? Perhaps they need time to
reflect or perhaps they need an immediate acknowledgment that there is a conflict, that you are interested
in resolving it, even though you need
time to reflect. If you need a timeout, be sure to follow up with
the other people. Watch out for distorted and negative thinking
styles in yourself. We talked about it
in the last lesson. During conflict with
another person, it's real easy to fall into
the trap that they are jerk, impossible or selfish or any
number of negative traits. Rather than labeling another
person destructively, try identifying
specific behaviors or incidents and focus on
how you felt during this. Be assertive and direct. Avoid aggressive,
passive aggressive or even passive behaviors. Be aware of your own non
verbal communication and avoid escalating behaviors. Be flexible and willing to meet the other person
or people halfway. Listen and try to understand
the point of view. Reflect back to empathy when
you can honestly do so. Example, I can see where
that might have upset you. If necessary, seek out a third party to act as
a neutral arbitrator. When doing so, try to
involve the person with whom you are in conflict on the decision of an arbitrator. That way, you can avoid
the temptation or perception that you are seeking someone to turn against
the other person. Demanding supervisor. A demanding boss can be another powerful external
source of stress. However, usually, they have
a lot of stress on them, whether it's from
their bosses or your customers who
are, in effect, everyone's boss, not to mention whatever other stress points
they have in their life. A helpful approach is to
consider their needs and concerns as well as
yours. Case study. Angela's supervisor, Yolanda, assigned a
new project to Angela. Unfortunately, Angela's regular
workload was so high that she didn't see any way she would be able to complete
the project on time. Her first thought
was that Yolanda didn't like her and she
wanted to punish her. Angela recognized the
destructive labeling of the situation
and countered with a specific that
Yolanda might have a problem with how
Angela manages her time. Even after developing
a schedule, Angela still couldn't
find the time to complete her regular work and the project
on time, as well. She sent Yolanda an email asking if you could
schedule a meeting after lunch to
discuss the project and ways Angela could
better manage her time. During the meeting, Yolanda
told Angela that she assigned her the project because Angela is one of
her best workers. Together, they went over
Angela's schedule to find any ways where she could improve
her time management. Yolanda also reassigned one of Angela's daily tasks
to another co worker.
5. Transactional Analysis: Transactional analysis. Our focus thus far has
been on developing ourselves into positive
oriented individuals who can manage our moods
and stress levels and adapt to an unpleasant
circumstances in a constructive way. Now, we begin to focus our attention on the interactions
we have with others. Conceiving of human
interaction is a series of transactions
where we have positive and negative rewards is a helpful approach towards understanding our
relations with customers. Transactional analysis
builds on this conception. What is transactional analysis? Transactional analysis
is an approach to psychology that
developed in the wake of two competing schools of psychology, psychoanalysis
and behaviorism. Psychoanalysis was
concerned with the inner workings
of the mind called psych behaviorism
was concerned with outward behaviors and
how to change them. Transactional analysis focuses on interrelations
among people, including both outward behavior
and inner motivations. Was behaviorism
and psychoanalysis focus on inward and outward
aspects of an individual, transactional
analysis focuses on one's relations with others. Parent. Transactional
analysis divides our behavior and
motivations with others into three
styles of behavior. Parent, child, and adult. The parent style can be
thought of as the kill joy. The parent style is
our mimicking of parental behavior
in our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. For example, when we talk
to someone as if they are a child or someone talks
to us as we were a child, this is the person acting
in the parent style, communicating in this style often exhibit distorted
thinking styles, particularly thinking
in imperatives that are filtered through
our past experiences. The child style
involves behaviors that focuses on fun and
avoids responsibility. If someone ever responded to
you with a reply such as, stop bringing me down or I don't want to or
they cast at you. Chances are they are operating
within the child style or child aspect of
themselves. Adult. Transactional analysis
considers the adult mode to be the best mode to operate in when it comes to
problem solving, including challenging
interactions with other people. Rather than focusing on
the way things should be, as the parent mode does, or the way you want things to
be as the child mode does, the adult mode
focuses on the way things are and how to
adapt oneself to them. Transactions between
others can be characterized as
complimentary or crossed. Complimentary transactions
include child to child, child to adult, and vice versa, parent to parent
and adult to adult. Communication that
is complimentary can continue in this
fashion indefinitely. Here are some examples. Adult, is the report
finished? To adult. I finished it, and I am
about to deliver it to you. Parent, why haven't you
cleaned your room yet? I have told you
repeatedly to child, you always knack me. Child. Hey, let's keep work
and go to the park. To child. Yes, work is boring anyway. Parent, you should
stop procrastinating. To parent. You should
mind your own business. Cross transactions interrupt the back and forth flow of
complimentary transactions. Cross transactions
include adult to child, adult to parent, child to adult, and parent to adult. Not all complimentary
transactions are beneficial, nor are all cross
transactions negative. Cross transactions merely change the nature of the
relationship flow. Here are some examples. Adult is the report
finished to child? Why are you always nagging me? The conversation
can then turn into a complimentary child to child interaction or parent
to child interaction. Adult, I'm cleaning up
my room now to parent. I shouldn't have to remind you. The conversation
can then turn into a complimentary parent to child or parent to
parent interaction. Child, let's keep work
and go to the movies. To adult. I can't afford to
miss work. My rent is due. An adult response can in turn elicit a complimentary
adult response, such as, Yeah, I
need to work too. Parent, you should have finished that report already. To adult. You are right. Here's my plan
to improve my efficiency. Or you are right.
Here is the report. How can I improve to
get it done faster? This adult response
can eventually lead to a complimentary
adult response. That sounds like a good plan. Or here's how you can improve. While it's true that
the cross transactions can continue as such, they eventually resolve into
complimentary transactions. Consequently, when
you interact with a customer who is in
parent mode or child mode, the best way to
break the chain of negative complimentary
responses is to respond and stay in
adult mode yourself. Case Study. Agnes and
her friend Miriam, were having an argument because Agnes was supposed to
pick up Miriam from work. Agnes got stuck in traffic
and her phone was dead. When Agnes finally
picked up Miriam over an hour late,
Miriam was upset. An hour late? Come on, Agnes. Miriam said. You just
can't be reliable, can you? I'm not unreliable. Agnes said, I'm here. Why do you have to come
down on me? Buzz off. I just can't trust you to do
a simple favor, said Miriam. Agnes took a few deep breaths. She realizes that
Miriam had probably had a tough day at work and
just wanted to get home. Even though Agnes was
tempted to remind Miriam that she was
doing her a favor, after all, Agnes knew that
if she pointed it out, it would only escalate matters. Instead, she replied, I'm
really sorry my phone was dead. I probably should
have changed it, but I got caught up
doing other things. It's okay, Miriam said. She remembered Agnes was helping her by
giving her a ride. Being late wasn't
totally Agnes' fault. Miriam realized the real problem wasn't that Agnes was late. The real problem was
that Miriam was tired and needed to get off her
feet and away from work. Now that Agnes was here, she could do that, and for
that, she was grateful. These things happen sometimes. I'm sorry I snapped at you.
6. Why Are Some Customers Difficult: Why are some
customers difficult? Well, many of your
interactions with customers will be
pleasant and positive. You inevitably will
have to interact with customers who are
difficult in some way. Keep in mind just as all of your emotions
communicate to you, so you can assess
your situation. This is also the case for
the difficult customer. Regardless of why they
are angry or upset, their feelings are valid. Understanding the
different reasons behind their behavior can help you
to resolve their difficulty. They have truly had a bad
experience and want to vent. Venting swing emotions such
as anxiety and anger can be a useful strategy
towards slowing down thoughts and reaching a
more calm, emotional state. When customers want to vent, they want a solution. But what may be more
important is that they feel that they are hurt and
their concerns are valid. Listening actively with empathy can help customers
who need to vent in order to de escalate the emotional state to
a less aroused state. Empathy is the faculty to resonate with the
feelings of others. When we meet someone who
is joyful, we smile. When we witness someone in pain, we suffer in resonance
with his or her suffering. Mattie Ricard, W someone
to be held accountable, customers looking
for accountability feel anxious and angry. Will anyone resolve
their problem? Keep in mind that
being accountable is not the same thing
as accepting blame. An adult mode
assessment of reality might understand that you personally didn't
cause their problem, but a parent mode assessment
might perceive everyone at your business as incompetent as evidenced by the
customer's problem. Customers who are looking for accountability may seek in
terms of blame and fault. This, however, is not
truly being accountable. To be held accountable
is to acknowledge that you can be reasonable from
where things go from here. When you take responsibility, you are saying that you
are able to respond to the situation rather than saying the situation
is your fault. Often, when you reassure a customer that you
are going to help them and you offer a specific strategy on
how you will do so, this helps the customer
feel less anxious. By providing specific
information, you help customers to de
escalate their anxiety. By showing a willingness
to take responsibility, you speak to the customer's
parent mode response and shift them back
into adult mode. They have truly had a bad
experience and want resolution. When customers express that they are looking for resolution, they are operating
in an adult mode. Even if they are angry or
expressing frustration, they can quickly
de escalate when they know that you are
working towards a resolution. Sometimes conflicts
can arise when the resolution is not what
the customers want or expect, including the idea that a complete resolution
may take time. In this case, being honest
and offering multiple options can help a customer accept the range of resolutions
being offered. Remember that the emotion of frustration tells us that
something isn't working. Providing multiple
options to a customer can let them know that
you are looking for a solution that will work. They are generally unhappy. Customers who are
generally unhappy people can be exceptionally difficult. When you ask what's wrong, they can launch into an
entire laundry list. Often unhappy people pursue negative rewards in
their interactions. Consequently, they
may want you to sleep into a child or parent
mode to complement their corresponding
child or parent mode because this confirms the
negative view of life. Destructive labeling is dealing with generally unhappy people. You can help them by
refocusing their attention on the here and now and
the problem at hand. Rather than asking what
is wrong, you can ask. How can I help you today? Or look for specific steps you can take to resolve
a specific issue? Remember that the
way to counteract destructive labeling in yourself is to focus on specifics. This focus on a specific
resolvable problem in your impossible to
please customer can aid in counteracting the
destructive labeling. You may find that they
continuously resist and try to lure you into
a child or parent state. If possible, you
may have to call a time out to regroup yourself. The most important
step in dealing with generally unhappy
customers is to remain authentically positive
and in an adult mode. Dealing with this
type of customer can be a source of frustration, so be prepared to reframe
the problem when you identify this emotion in
yourself or your customer. Case study, Jenny's cellphone continued to drop calls
and shut off on its own. This created some friction with her parents and her boyfriend because calls had been dropped during particularly
tense discussions. She had called
customer service twice and spent over 2 hours
on the phone with them, including over an hour on hold. Yet she still hadn't
her problem fixed. Ginny, resolved to let the next customer service
person she talked to really have it
because she was angry and wanted this problem
resolved yesterday. When Roger, the customer
service representative, answered Jenny's call, she
said, You guys are awful. Jenny launched into
a long run about the evils of her
cellphone provider. Roger listened to Ginny's
vent without interruption, except to offer emphasis for
what she was going through. He couldn't understand
why she would be so angry and frustrated after spending so much of
her time dealing with her phone and not
finding a resolution. When Jinny had finished venting, Roger paused a few
seconds and replied, I'm very sorry that you had
to go through all of that. I will help you to have a working phone as
soon as possible. Roger looked through
Denny's account notes and found an order had been
entered for a new phone, but the order never completed. He saw that the call had dropped with both of the previous
representatives. Hmm, Roger thought. The real problem isn't
her phone not working. The real problem is that she's on that phone when she calls us, so we are never able
to complete her order. Roger asked her if there was an alternative number he could call her at if the call dropped. Roger assured Ginny that
he was on this and would continue to work with her until they found a
workable resolution. Ginny was starting
to feel better about the situation and gave Roger the phone number
to her parents. Ginny said, I guess you
guys aren't all bad.
7. Dealing with a Customer Over the Phone: Dealing with the
customer over the phone. When you eliminate one
of your five senses, your other senses tend
to become sharper. This is an important fact to consider when working with
a customer over the phone. Since you cannot see the
customer, nor the you, the audio aspects of the
interaction becomes magnified, including such aspects as
your tone of voice and any noises occurring in the background on either
side of the line. Listen to the
customers complain. The value of listening
cannot be overestimated. However, listening involves more than simply hearing the
words the customer says. Developing the skills
of active listening can make sure you cannot only hear the words
your customers say, but it can also
help you understand your customer's concerns
on a deeper level, as well as being the first step towards building a rapport
with your customers. Here are the different
aspects of active listening. Use encouragers. Encouragers are short
words or phrases that indicates to a
speaker that you are paying attention to
what they are saying. Words, phrases, and
sounds such as. Uh huh. Go on. Hm. So what happened
next, et cetera? Encourage speakers to
continue speaking. You can't overdo this, however, or you run the risk of disrupting communication
through interruption. Repeat key phrases. This is another way to
encourage the speaker to continue and to
make them feel hurt. Here's an example.
The speaker says, Yesterday, I went to the
store to buy a loaf of bread. The listener can't combine a repetition of a key
phrases with encouragers. A loaf of bread. Okay, go on. Paraphrase and summarize
the speaker's key points. So what I'm hearing you say is offer empathy that must
have been really tough. Or I can see why
you would be angry. Stay in the moment
and listen fully. It might be tempting to
interrupt because you've anticipated what else the
customer is going to say. Keep in mind, however, that while you may have heard the same issue over and over
from different customers, your interaction with
this customer is a unique experience with
a unique individual. Even if the
experience is exactly like what everyone else has
told you throughout today, this customer may need to fully anticipate the experience
in order to feel hurt. Listening fully also
involves taking note of volume and tone of
voice and pace of speech. This indicates the emotional
state of your customer. Higher volume, tone, and pace indicate an
arousal emotion. Enthusiasm, perhaps, but also anger,
frustration, or anxiety. Context matters. Keeping a pen and pad of paper
handy to write down any questions or thoughts
you might have can counter the temptation to formulate a response as the
speaker is talking. However, this can
take you out of the immediate moment and out of actually listening
to the customer. Use this strategy sparingly when an issue is
particularly complex. Think of it as taking notes on what the
speaker is telling you. Probe with open ended questions. Open ended questions are the opposite of closed
ended questions, which can be answered in a word. For example, were
you able to log in, closed ended questions
with a yes or no answer. Versus when you enter your username and
password and hit Enter, what did the screen show? Open ended questions with
a more involved answer. Be genuine. Active
listening is not about using vocal and
communication tricks to give the illusion
that you care. Active listening means
that you are fully present in the
interaction and that you truly care about
what the customer is going through. Build rapport. Active listening is
only the first step towards building a rapport
with your customer. A rapport is a state of harmony between you and another
person or group. Here are some strategies
towards building a rapport. Address the other person by name early and reinforce
that where appropriate. While addressing
a person by name can come across
awkwardly if overdone. Too much in this case is
better than not enough. Have a smile in your voice. When you smile as you speak, you insert a note of positivity
into the interaction. However, a fake smile can
communicate sarcasm instead, which brings us to
our next point. Use we language to indicate the collaborative nature
of the interaction. Remember that as a customer
service representative, you are acting as a partner with a customer to find a
solution to a problem. Employ selective, non threatening icebreakers
and small talk topics. Politics and religion
are subjects to avoid. Remember that
making a small talk isn't always the best approach, especially if your
customer sounds excessively angry or impatient. Be honest and genuine. If you truly do not know
the answer to a question, be upfront about that, but also demonstrate a
willingness to find the answer. Using specifics
helps demonstrate empathy and actively listen. Speaking with an
even pace and in a lower tone of voice
helps to build a rapport. Be attentive to silence. Prolonged silence can be
uncomfortable for some people, but the short silence
allows you the opportunity to digest what
the customer is telling you, and it indicates to the customer that you are
thinking about what they said. Show agreement with the customer when you do genuinely agree. But after acknowledging
agreement, express specifically
why you agree. If you must disagree
with the customer, give your reasons first before
expressing disagreement. Be polite in your interactions. You can offer compliments
when genuine, but don't overdo it. Avoid offering criticism. Instead, offer alternative
in the form of a question. What if we tried this? Do not respond with
negative words or emotion. When working in the
customer service field, you will frequently encounter negativity from your customers. If you respond with
negative words or emotions, this can reinforce
that negativity, while responding
with empathy often requires that you acknowledge a customer's negative emotions. Your choice of words can set the tone for the remainder
of the conversation. For example, to acknowledge
that your customer has had a frustrating experience using the word challenging
rather than frustrating, can communicate
that the problem is solvable one rather
than insolvable. Offer a verbal solution
to your customer. Offering a solution or a range of solutions helps to diminish a customer's anxiety because this provides
specific information. People like to know where
they stand in a situation. By offering verbal solutions,
you speak to this need. When you offer your solutions, make sure to be specific and
set realistic expectations. When offering a
range of solutions, indicate your preferred solution
and why it's preferred. Confirm that your customers
are on board by asking. Does this work for you?
If the answer is no, probe further to determine your customer's
objections. Case Study. Theresa works in a call center for a cable service provider. One day, she received a
phone call from Frank, who was frustrated because he had bought a pay
per view movie, but was charged twice
for it on his bill. Teresa listened to Frank
describe his reaction to opening his bill and finding
it was more than he had planned for because
of the extra charge. He didn't have
enough money to pay his bill on time if
the charge stood. Theresa replied, Yes, Frank, I can understand why you feel concerned about paying too much, especially since you
can't afford it. Theresa knew that it
would take a minute to find the extra charge in
Frank's account records. She said, I will
just need to look at your account and see if we
can remove the extra charge. It might take a minute. I see that you are calling
from Cleveland. How has the weather been lately? Frank and Teresa
discussed the weather, while Teresa looked at Frank's account and saw that
he had been charged twice. She said, You are right, Frank. We have been double charged. I'm sorry you had
to experience that. It looks like I'm unable to remove the charge
at this time, but what can I do is add
the credit to your bill. She told him what the bill was without the extra charge and asked if he could afford to pay that. Frank confirmed this. So Theresa said, If I apply the credit to
a bill that should put you up to date
once you've paid the reminder, would
that work for you? A Theresa asked if there was anything else she could
help Frank with today. Frank said no, thanked
her and hung up.
8. Dealing with a Customer In Person: With the customer in person. When you interact with
a customer in person, you have both greater challenges and greater
opportunities to build a rapport with the
customer that you have when speaking with
them over the phone. Consequently, nearly
everything said about handling a customer over the phone is in play along with
additional approaches. Listen to customers concerns. Actively listening to a
customer involves a little bit more than what's
involved when listening to a customer
over the phone. Distractions become
more obvious. So in this case, keeping a notebook handy
to write in while listening to the
customer becomes more detrimental than helpful. When interacting with
a customer in person, non verbal communication
can supersede verbal indicators that you
are listening and engaging. Here are some non verbal aspects
of active listening that work in conjunction with verbal aspects of
active listening. Make eye contact
but avoid staring. The appropriate
amount of eye contact varies from person to
person and cla to calre. Keeping eye contact for approximately 60% of the
time is a good baseline. But adjusting this for a few instances of eye
contact when dealing with shyer individuals because too much eye contact
can intimidate. An attentive posture involves
leaning slightly towards the speaker or tilting your
head towards the speaker. Use non verbal encouragers,
such as noting, holding a thumbs up sign
or other gestures that communicate the same idea
as verbal encouragers, such as gone or yes. Listen fully by
paying attention to your customer's body
language and posture. Reflect back to your
customer's expressions when you can't do so genuinely. A willed unconscious
reflection or mirroring can indicate
inattentiveness, so this is something
you must not fake. Automatic mirroring,
however, reinforces the idea that you are engrossed in what the
other person is saying. Allowing yourself to
be distracted can completely negate
customers beliefs that you are listening to them. So avoid looking at the
clock or your cell phone, writing or doodling or
playing with your hair or picking your fingernails.
Build rapport. Building a rapport face to face involves three
additional components, your customer's
physical presence, including appearance, body
language, expressions, and mannerism, as well as yours and the environment
where you interact. All of these aspects of one's
physical presence convey a tone of information that people frequently
process unconsciously. In order to build a
rapport with someone, you have to consciously adopt a neutral position and
avoid making assumptions. You must also be aware of what your physical appearance
communicates and use positive and open
expressions and postures, such as facing someone directly without having your
arms or legs crossed, looking them in the
eye and smiling. Your environment can also
affect our port building. For example, a desk or
counter between you and your customer can close
communication to some degree. This is why people
stand and step away from the desks when
greeting new customers. Communication without
physical barriers in place facilitates
building a rapport. Respond with positive
words and body language. People tend to synchronize their behavior when
they interact, which is why mirroring
another's expressions, poster, body language can be effective in
building a rapport. It's also why responding
to negativity with positivity can diffuse a
customer's negativity. Following up expressions
of genuine empathy with positive words and body language
that convey enthusiasm, confidence, optimism,
and tenacity, it can open up an
opportunity for the customer to synchronize
your positivity. While faking empathy
can convey phoniness, faking confidence is
a situation where the advice fake it till
you make it applies. From a psychological
point of view, acting with the self
confidence that you want will actually help
increase your confidence. If you believe that
you can do something, you create a self
fulfilling prophecy. The greater you believe, the more likely you
are to succeed. So here are some helpful steps. Dress the part that
you want to play. Relax and smile. Be aware of your
body and posture. Use the appropriate vocabulary. Aside from words, when a customer indicates in words that the
situation is resolved, this may not be the case. Good customer service
means you have to go deeper to find
true resolution. When body language,
tone of voice, and the words uses
are all in agreement, this indicates a true
resolution has been reached. If a customer's answer yes to your question about whether
the issue is resolved, but the customer is
responding with the curt one word answers in a
flat tone of voice, or they roll the
Is or sign loudly, they probably have not
found a resolution. Make sure that the
tone, inflection, verbal and non verbal
behaviors are all in agreement before
determining that the resolution has been reached.
9. Sensitivity in Dealing With Customers: Sensitivity in dealing
with customers. Customer service
professionals will inevitably interact with customers who provide specific
kinds of challenges. Becoming sensitive to the
type of customers you will deal with and
developing strategies for specific customer
situations will make those difficult customer
situations less challenging. This model offers challenges of the types of challenging
customers that you will face, along with specific
approaches that can make those interactions not only less challenging but more
rewarding as well. Customers who are angry. Dealing with a customer
who is angry requires patience and the utmost care
in managing your own mood. An angry customer can populate you or arouse
your own anger. Here are some steps you can take when handling
an angry customer. Don't take it personally. Whatever the reason the
customer has for being angry, it probably didn't
involve you personally. You can own the
problem as well as the solution without owning
the blame for the situation. Be aware of your own
auto defense mechanisms. Defensive thoughts such as, I won't be treated this way, or if I don't stand
up to this person, I will fail, tend to encourage
you, feel under attack. Remember that these types
of thoughts often display distorted thinking
patterns. Remain calm. Take deep breath to relax, and slow your own
arousal levels. No matter how outrageous your
customer's runting may be, coming across, look for and note any kernels of truth
in the statement. Listen actively
and ask questions when appropriate to
understand the real problem. Use a brief moment
of silence to allow your customer to finish venting and to allow
yourself to regroup. Once you respond,
express agreement with the customer about any
of the truth you noted. Express empathy and offer an
apology for the experience. This allows you to apologize without expressing
any wrongdoing or accepting blame and express willingness
to find a solution. Customers who are rude. A customer who is
rude to you can make it very difficult
for you to do your job. Rude and abusive comments
can be discombobting. In addition to implementing
the suggestions presented for handling
an angry customer, you may have to take
additional steps to handle customers who are
rude and abusive to you. Here are some suggestions. Remember that your role as a customer service
representative is to act as a partner with the customer in resolving
the customer's issue. This helps to keep you in the adult mode in
the transaction, even when the other person is operating in the child mode. When a customer is being
directly abusive towards you, it may become necessary to
remind the customer that the personal attacks aren't helpful towards
resolving the situation. However, this may
be done delicately. When you point out such
behavior to the customer, make sure that you do so from a place of
calm and optimism. You could remind the
customer that you are dedicating to helping
them resolve their issue. Consult with your company
or supervisor regarding business policies towards customers making
personal attacks. Many companies have a
three strikes out policy. However, keep in mind that
taking a step such as this may escalate the issue rather
than de escalate the issue. Applying a three
strikes you are Out approach must be
used sparingly and with careful consideration of your immediate goal of helping customers
resolve their issues. If you find yourself in
a position where you must warn a customer
about abusive language, try to do so without snapping
or being curt yourself. Rather than de escalating, snapping at the customer, can put them on the defensive and encourage
escalating behaviors. Customers with different
cultural values. We all come from different
cultural backgrounds, and the differences in
these backgrounds can put you in a position as a customer service
representative, where you are dealing
with someone with a completely different
set of values. How people express anger, for example, differs widely. Some may take the
approach that they need to whip the other
person into shape or that sarcasm and
ridicule can shame someone into providing the
other person what they want. For example, a Japanese woman might express anger
to her mother in law by arranging flowers on the dinner table
haphazardly or improperly, whereas the same situation in the US might include shouting. Remain open to the notion that different cultures are
just as valid as your own. Recognize any distorted
thinking patterns in your reaction to a customer
of a different culture. Reactions such as imperative
thinking are common and should be countered in your own thinking when
you recognize them. Customers who cannot
be satisfied. There are times when
you will have to interact with
customers who won't be satisfied no matter what you do with customers
with this mindset, it may be impossible to find a resolution that
they are happy with. Nevertheless, you
still have to try. As with any other type
of challenging customer, your first step is
to remain calm and functioning in the adult
mode in the transaction. Here are some
additional strategies. Ask the customer directly what a successful resolution
would look like to them. They may or may not be
able to articulate this. If what they require is something
beyond your capability, you should be
upfront about this. For example, a customer
may not be satisfied unless they receive a full year of your product at no cost. Most likely, from your position as a customer service
representative, this is something you would
not be able to authorize. Remember if you begin to feel frustrated what the
real problem is. Sometimes reframing the
problem may point to a viable solution offer a range of solutions that are
within your purview. If they want something
that you can't deliver, offer alternatives that
you can't deliver. Occasionally, what the
customer is looking for in terms of resolution is
something you cannot do, but your supervisor can. However, you should try to
exhaust all possibilities to refrain from suggesting
a supervisor as an ad hoc solution. If the customer
requests a supervisor, follow your company's policies regarding escalation procedures, but try to exhaust all possible alternatives within your power. Case study. Ed stormed into the Autopart store and stopped in front of Daniel,
a sales associate. Eddie was red faced, and when Daniel asked
how he could help Eddie, Eddie replied, You better believe you're going to help me. I've been back to the store three times to buy
the same part, and you dit, keep selling
me the wrong part. Daniel apologized for
Eddie's experience, and Eddie replied,
yeah, well, I'm sorry. All a bunch of
incompetent idiots. You going to help me or are
you another incompetent? Daniel took a deep breath, paused for a second, and then looked Eddie in the
eye and smiled. Daniel said, Well, Eddie, you are in luck because
they discontinued our incompetency
training sessions before I started working here. So I'm sure we can get it right. Daniel smiles and joke made
Eddie smile for a second, and then he said,
A wise guy, huh? Well, just fix my problem. Daniel asked Eddie what
the vehicle he had, and then he reexamined the
part Eddie was returning. Daniel realized that the
part had been put in the wrong place so that all the parts hanging
there were the wrong ones. Let me find the right
part in the back, Daniel said, and then found the correct part
and brought it out. He compared the part
with the other one and confirmed that he was giving
Eddie the correct part. If you have the car
in the parking lot, I can come with you and make certain that this
is the right part. Eddie agreed, and
they went out to the parking lot to
test the new part.
10. Scenarios of Dealing With a Difficult Customer : Scenarios of dealing with
a difficult customer. In order to handle certain
types of scenarios, when dealing with
difficult customers, it's important to
have a strategy in place before you find
yourself in that situation. By engaging in role
playing beforehand, you can practice what strategies
you would employ and how best to implement
them. Angry customer. Consider the following scenario. You work at an Internet
service provider firm. A road construction crew
accidentally cut a cable that allows the company to provide Internet connections
for your company. You have not been
given a timetable on when this should be fixed. A customer calls to the
helpline and gets you. He is angry because his business relies upon the Internet. Each hour the Internet is down means a loss of revenue
for his business. When you tell him you don't have an estimate time for a fix, he begins to shout at you. Explore, how would you address
this customer's issue? What kind of alternative
solutions could you provide? What kinds of strategies
would you use to de escalate the situation?
Rude customer. Here's a scenario where
you would have to deal with a customer who's
being rude and abusive. You work for a customer
service representative at the call center for a company that makes exercise equipment. A customer calls in complaining that her treadmill
motor is smoking. She has called in previously and was informed that her
warranty have been void because she didn't follow the maintenance instructions in the handbook for her machine. She is upset because
no one ever told her about maintenance when
she bought the machine. She starts calling
you a crook for robbing her and continues
to call you names. Explore what steps
would you take in this situation to remain
calm and relaxed. How would you go about de
escalating the situation? How do you avoid correcting the customer and putting
her on the defense? If it became
absolutely necessary, how would you phrase a warning to refrain from
personal attacks? A customer from another culture. You are a customer service
representative who is dealing with a customer over the
phone who has a thick accent. His culture values
haggling and deal making. When you suggest a
possible solution, he automatically discounts it. What suggestions
would you employ to make sure you can
understand the customer? If you realize the customer
is trying to haggle with you, but you only authorized to
allow so much as a solution, what strategies would you employ to address this
cultural difference? An impossible to
please customer? You work for a cellphone
company that is experiencing an outage in
a specific area of town. A customer calls in to complain. She has a sick mother
and needs her phone to work so that she can
contact emergency services. When you ask her what
solutions she is looking for, she replies that she needs
her phone to work right now, and she wants your
company to pay for her service
for the next year. How would you express
empathy with this customer? While the scenario
appears unsolvable, what alternatives could you offer to help this difficult
to please customer? What would you do
if the customer demands to speak to the
CEO of your company? Case study. Sue walked into the office for her
electric company and asked for some assistance. Su had a thick Chinese accent that made it difficult
to understand her. Emmy, the customer
service representative, repeated back what she heard Sue say to make sure
she understood her. Sue's bills showed that she hadn't paid her
previous month's bill, but Sue insisted that
she had and showed Emmy the bank statement that showed her check
had been processed. Emmy knew that she
couldn't credit the bill, but would have to send the issue onto her billing department
for further research. When she informed Sue of the situation and asked if this was an
acceptable solution, Sue frowned but said yes. Emmy recognized the
disagreement between Sue's body language and
her verbal statement. Emmy said, What if I
call you in two days so that I can give you
our billing department a chance to review
the situation. But this way, I can let
you know where things are at without you having to
come back out to our office. Sue smiled and shook
her head, yes. She told Emmy she appreciated her for taking responsibility
for the problem.
11. Following Up with a Customer Once You Have Addressed Their Issue: Following up with the customer, once you have
addressed the issue. The difference between
having a customer who is satisfied and the
customer who will remain loyal can
be determined in the steps you take to follow
up with that customer. Once you have resolved
a customer's issue, before you end the transaction, take a moment to summarize
for the customer what the issue was and what the
resolution was as well. Ask the customer if the
situation is resolved and how you may further assist
them. Call the customer. If a customer thinks
the situation is resolved and it
appears to be so, imagine how they would feel if after you end your
interaction with them, the problem comes up again. In addition to maintaining a positive relationship between the company and the customer, it is a good idea
to follow up later and make sure the issue
is still resolved. It's also a good way
to show that you genuinely care about your
customer's circumstances. Send the customer an email. Some companies
prefer that you do not call a customer
to follow up. Another option is to send the
customer a follow up email. Try to let at least
24 hours pass before doing so to allow time for
a problem to come back up. Another advantage of
sending an email is that it can be less time
consuming than a phone call. Mail the customer a small token. When a customer has gone through a difficult challenge,
a small token, such as a gift certificate or a coupon can help
ease a bad memory. Make sure that
whatever you send is appropriate and within
your company's policies, snail mail a handwritten
or typed letter. A letter sent
through the mail has an added advantage
of allowing time to pass between the
initial interaction and the moment your customer
receives your letter. This period in between
allows the customer to be certain that an
issue has been resolved. A handwritten letter is also a good personal touch
that gives customers a sense that they are cared for as individuals. Case study. Ashley had worked with a
customer over the course of a few weeks over resolving a particularly difficult
to resolve issue. In the course of
several phone calls, she learned that Janine, her customer, was
to finish working on her PhD in the coming week. Ashley was relieved that the issue had been
finally resolved, even though it had been a trying circumstance
for both her and Janine. Ashley wrote out a
handwritten letter that thanked Janine for her patience and congratulated Janine on her success in school. Three weeks later,
Ashley received an autographed picture of Janine in her cap
and gown that said, Custom of all life,
thank you, Ashley.
12. Wrapping Up: Congratulations on
finishing this course. Although this course
is coming to end, I hope that your journey
continues onwards. Developing the
emotional intelligence and mood management skills to handle challenging
customers is a process. Expecting or
demanding perfection is detrimental to that process. Instead, celebrate
your progress. Words from the wise, I chink, the classic of changes. No situation can be favorable until one is able
to adapt to it and doesn't wear oneself out with mistaken resistance.
Charles Darwin. It's not the strongest
of the species that survives not the
most intelligent, but the most
responsive to change. Mother Theresa, kind words may be short and easy to speak, but the echoes are endless. Lessons learned, cultivate
a positive attitude, manage internal and
external stress. Develop abilities to listen
actively and emphasize, build a report with customers in person and over the phone. Understand the diverse
challenges posed by customers, develop strategies to adapt
to challenging circumstances. I wish you the best of
luck in your career.
Mackenzie Wilson
