I recently wrote about how cable companies are notorious for having the worst customer service of any industry and shared a great story from a colleague. That, apparently, got readers thinking, and I received another cable company service story that gives a glimpse into what service agents sometimes endure—if not often. That story follows.
Real World Story: “A friend of mine asked that I accompany him to return his cable and internet service equipment. He had recently moved and had cancelled his service. He had 15 days to return the equipment or be charged for it.
“The young lady who helped us at the counter was professional. She was friendly and cordial as she explained the process of returning equipment. My friend tried several times to hand her his big box of cable and internet equipment, along with remotes, coaxial cables, USB connectors, and telephone and power cords, and each time she said, ‘I’m sorry, but we don’t accept cardboard boxes here. All we need is the equipment that’s inside.’ I was getting a bit worried that my friend was not paying attention to what she was telling him, so I backed away from the counter and was not able to hear the reason why they didn’t accept boxes. I assume there’s a good reason.
“Next thing I know, my friend angrily dumps the contents of his box onto the floor next to the young woman. I’m absolutely speechless at his horrible display, but the young woman, on the other hand, takes it all in stride—calm and cool as a cucumber. She looks over at the pile and simply says, ‘Now that’s how you empty a box.’ She then smiles and, again without breaking her stride, she continues to explain the process for cancelling service.
“My friend then begins to rant about other issues, carrying on for a while with his juvenile demeaner. And by now, knowing that my friend is an unreasonable hothead (yeah, I could use better words to describe him, but ‘unreasonable hothead’ is what I’m going with here), she turns her computer screen to him and says, ‘And now, for peace of mind, which if I were in your shoes, I would want, I’ll show you here where I have cancelled your service as of today. I’m also going to give you copy of the cancellation, so you have it for your records. Our store’s telephone number and my name are on the receipt, so you can call me directly if there are any more problems. Is there anything else that I can help you with today?’
“With the whole store now staring at my friend, you can see the shadow of realization coming over him, knowing he’s been a donkey’s patootie and says, ‘No. That’s all. Thank you for your help.’”
Strategies that Turn it Around:
- Remain professional when under pressure: Being face-to-face with an irate customer is unrelenting pressure that can break many. However, the best in us can spur us to rise above the pressure to remain professional by acknowledging that we have an important job to do. That job is to solve problems; everything else is just noise trying to block us.
- Remain friendly when under pressure: When we are under attack by a customer, it is easy to be drawn into a tit-for-tat confrontation. But if we realize that a customer’s anger has nothing to do with us personally, we can rise above the pressure and remain friendly. In friendliness, we can empathize and sympathize with customers and their problems. We can focus on and be driven to find the solution instead of remaining mired in the problem.
- Remain calm when under pressure. By remaining calm while working with an irate customer, we can be a mirror to them. They may call us nasty names or treat us badly in other ways, but we can reflect back to them calm and tranquility. A calm mind allows us to focus on solutions, not the problem or the angry person. We need to be the voice of reason that rises above the angry voices.
Remember: Customers can become irate when they encounter a problem. Oftentimes, it’s not the problem itself that sets them off. It’s the feeling of NOT being heard or seen.
How do you rise above angry customers and their problems to find solutions?