You are a customer service rep and you have an angry customer. What do you do?
Many Customer Service Representatives instantly say “I am sorry,” but this gives the signal that you have created the problem. Do not accept responsibility for something you did not have anything to do with.
Try, “How can I help you?”
Then the individual starts telling the customer service rep their problems, going on and on. The customer service rep hardly has room to say a word.
What the customer service rep should do is look at them with a friendly face and
start asking them questions.
Questions that relate to almost any situation:
What is their account number?
What is their address?
What is their phone number?
Dates (of problems, issues, previous contacts, etc.)
What do these all have in common? Numbers, numbers, numbers. When you ask someone to give you an answer that has numbers in it, they instantly start calming down.
“Why?” you ask? Because it causes them to start using a different part of their brain. The brain has so many functions and each one sends different signals. Anger uses one. And numbers use another, so asking them to say numbers calms them down. They can no longer be angry because they are using a different part of their brain.
Unpleasant customer service will be passed on to others very fast and can ruin your business. When people receive great customer service they often take it for granted but do enjoy it and will return.
Give the numbers trick a try - it works!