Anyone already working in a customer service job knows that angry customers go with the territory. The degree to which you can transform that anger to happiness is the very measure of how well you do your customer service job.
Sometimes it's easy - you can quickly resolve the customer's problem and turn them back into a rational and often grateful human being. And that can feel great. Other times - like when you get a run of ranting customers who all seem to hold you personally responsible for everything that's wrong with their life, their cat's life and the world in general - it's not so easy. And that can get you down in your customer service job. But don't let it.
Here are some tips for protecting the true inner self of anyone considering a customer service career:
Don't take it personally. First contact with customer services often involves the customer expressing negative emotions to some degree. A fair percentage of these people will think they have a right to be downright rude to you. At this stage you can comfort your real inner self with absolute certainty that whatever the customer is complaining about couldn't possibly be your fault. Always remember that the customer knows nothing about you personally; they can't be angry at you personally. So don't take it personally.
Empathize and Listen. In customer service jobs it helps to remind yourself that, like you, most angry customers are usually nice people and they'll soon turn back into their normal selves once you start helping them. Often their anger is understandable and there's usually something you can empathize with. Listen carefully to their initial outburst, and try not to interrupt, except to make sympathetic noises. Most customers feel a lot better after expressing and explaining themselves, especially if they feel they are being lent a sympathetic ear.
Maintain perspective. Its part of every customer service job description that you remain polite and positive at all times and do your best to resolve customer complaints within company policy. But of course some people are just plain unreasonable and some problems just plain irresolvable, no matter how good you are at your customer service job.
If someone is beginning get through your professional armor, try to find a way put them back into perspective. Maybe contrive a reason to put them on hold and have a quiet scream to yourself. Better still have that quick quiet scream with colleagues whose sympathy and humor will often give you the morale boost you need to put the smile back into your voice. Having photos of family and things you love at hand will also help remind you that this angry idiot at the other end of the phone has no real bearing on your real life. If you work in a photo-free zone, just keep one in your purse or wallet, or in a folder on your desktop.
Your company philosophy may state that ' the customer is always right,' but anyone working in a customer service job knows that a small percentage of the time the customer can be verging on the barking mad, downright bad or simply - dare we say it - wrong. Hopefully the tips above will go some way to protecting you true inner self the next time you get a ranter in your headset.
