Dealing With A Bad Call

Those who work in a call center will tell you of those
customers that are just plain mean. Some in fact will
attack YOU personally.

Why they do isn’t necessarily what you need to be
concerned about, there are people who are just prone
to being mean. What you need to know is how to deal
with the cruel comments and difficult situations.

An example of a bad call would be:

You answer the call to answer a billing question for
your local cable company. The customer immediately
says "what the *BLANK* do you people do all day? You
are all incompetent idiots...." Then before they
conclude their yelling, the customer calls you
something horrible.

What you do may depend on your personality type, but,
recognize you are still required to remain
professional.

Depending on the policies in your call center, it may
be necessary to hand the call off to a supervisor.
Some companies allow you to hang up when an abusive
caller calls, some companies do not.

If you’ve been attacked personally, DON’T take it
personally. Keep in mind, this customer doesn’t know
you at all.

For whatever reason, you have become the recipient for
their unhappy day. Do not take their words to heart.
It may be that you will need to take five minutes to
shake off their comments, but, realize it’s not you,
it’s them.

If you are feeling really bad about the call, it may
be necessary to sit with your supervisor and or CCM to
let them know how you feel.

Most calls to call centers are recorded, it may be
that your CCM and supervisor will listen to the call
to get a full picture of what happened. Just remember
though, it wasn’t your fault they were rude.

It’s your responsibility to answer their questions and
do your job. You are responsible for your reactions to
their call too.

Never let a bad call ware you down. Most customers are
good to work with and will thank-you for your help;
focus on that instead.