Customer Service Skills Knowledge Base and Frequently Asked Questions
What techniques, hints, and advice can I use to maintain my cool and self-control when dealing with an obnoxious customer?
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It's not easy to maintain self-control when faced with an obnoxious, difficult or insulting customer. Some people are naturally better at keeping their cool than others, but it is possible to learn to control your own reactions. There are specific techniques and hints. We've described these in detail (and provided some exercises to help you improve your self-control) in The Defusing Hostile Customers Workbook, but for now, here's a quick summary of the techniques:
You can't take control of a hostile situation unless you can control yourself. Review some tactics and strategies that may, or may not be new to you.
One of the most difficult parts of the defusing hostility process is maintaining control over oneself. After all, hostile clients often say things that are personally demeaning or insulting...........If you allow yourself to get angry, and convey that anger to the customer, the situation is more likely to get worse rather than better. Some useful tactics to employ follow, remember you need to find out what works for you:
* Identify your triggers
* Slow down your responses
* Take a time-out
* I'm better than that
* I'm not getting suckered
* I won't pay the price
* Put on their shoes
* Observing
* Preparing
* Humor
* Venting/not venting
Robert Bacal is the author of two books on customer service: Perfect Phrases for Customer Service: Hundreds of Tools, Techniques, and Scripts for Handling Any Situation, and Defusing Hostile Customers Workbook. Most of the questions and answers in the Customer Service Knowledgebase (which you are reading now) is based on the material in these books.