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Helping Angry Customers

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As a call center representative, you will come across angry callers on a daily basis. How you handle these interactions can ether lead to a successful resolution of their issue or losing the customer forever. The following five steps can help to calm the caller, enhance the productiveness of the call, decrease handle times and increase customer service quality.

Building a Process for Handling Angry Customers

• It is important to stay calm during a call to prevent the situation from escalating. Here are a few tips to try:
• Focus on using an even tone while you speak. Using an agitated or angry tone will simply infuriate the caller even more.
• Remember that the customer isn’t angry at you. It is the situation that is making the caller angry.
• Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel if this happened to you? Having a little bit of empathy for the caller can go a long way.
• Take a few deep breaths to calm your nerves while the caller is talking.

Remain Calm

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• You can usually determine whether or not the caller is angry within the first few seconds of a call. When you come across an angry caller, it is important to simply listen to them before trying to defuse the situation. Effective listening means that you are truly seeking to understand.
• While the caller is speaking, it may be helpful to jot down the major points of their problem on your notepad. Angry callers tend to go on tangents. Keeping notes will help you to find an answer to the problem more efficiently and will also allow you to maintain your focus.
• If the caller is threatening you, using violent language or swearing, you should give the customer a warning. If the customer continues inappropriate behavior, you may politely let them know you will be ending the call.
• Example: "I do apologize, however if you are unable to keep the call professional, I will need to end the call and speak with you at a later time."

Listen

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• Many customer service representatives will put an angry caller on hold, believing that the hold time will allow them a moment to calm down when in reality, this agitates the customer. Putting a customer on hold at random is antagonistic and does not allow the customer to feel heard. The hold time will add to the caller’s frustration, escalating the situation.
• Instead of putting the caller on hold while you research the problem, talk to them. Let them know exactly what you are doing to solve their problem. For example,
• Example: “It seems to me that you may have a billing error. I’m pulling up your bill, Ms. Jones, and taking a look. I see that you were billed on the first of the month and the payment was made automatically through your credit card. You said you changed your method of payment, so now I am going to take a look at the notes on your account to see when that change was made.”

Avoid the too much HOLD button

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• When the angry caller has finished talking, it is important to make them feel as if you are on their side. You can do this by:
• Apologizing about the problem
• Conveying empathy
• Repeating/ summarizing their main concerns
• Implementing these tactics will not only make the caller feel you are listening to them, it will also give them a few moments to calm down. You may be surprised at how much calmer they are when they start talking again.

Repeat Information

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• Finally, compliment them on being patient or tell a joke to lighten the mood. If the customer can leave feeling heard, humanized, or even happy, you've done the best you can!

Make them smile

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• Before ending the call, ask the caller if there is anything else you can help them with. If they say yes, but you cannot help with their request, let them know that you will get them to someone who knows best and transfer them.

Go the extra mile

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• Give them options
• Giving your callers options to resolve their issue will make them feel more in control.
• Example: "Could you pay your bill today or would it be better to pay it next week?"
• Offer something
• If appropriate, offer a small credit ($5-10 based on the situation) with supervisor approval

Make the Caller Happy

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Basic Troubleshooting

Alula Connect Panel

• Click the yellow banner on the bottom with the touble message.
• Turn off the audible alert on the top right corner.
• Navigation – demonstrate step-by-step on how to acknowledge the troubles beeps and have them practice.

2 GIG GC3

• Home Button
• Bubble sign icon at the top of the screen
• Click alerts
• Click the arrow pointing to the left

2GIG GC2

• Home Button
• Security
• Yellow box with a caution sign
• Press OK

Alder Simple Panel

• Home Button
• Envelope icon at the top right corner of the screen
• Turn off the audible alerts for current trouble condition
• Press okay

Acknowledging Trouble Beeps

Aldesa Training Department

Thank you..