What if your day could go sideways at pretty much any minute?
That’s what life is often like for call center employees. Normally, the work is very engaging, and it’s rewarding to help solve problems for others. However, these workers never know if the next caller is going to be an angry one.
Once you have an angry caller, it’s tough to know what to do. If you say the wrong thing, you might end up making things worse instead of making them better.
The solution is simple: You need a call center game plan when it comes to angry callers. Keep reading to discover exactly what you need to do!
1. Keep Your Calm When a Caller is Mad
You can usually tell if a caller is angry right away. Instead of responding to his anger with more anger, try to keep your calm the entire time.
As a call center worker, it’s important not to take angry calls personally. The caller is angry at your company rather than you as a person. However, if you get angry yourself, you’ll become the focus of their annoyance.
Additionally, angry callers are usually looking for solutions. If you keep your calm, you will have an easier time helping resolve the issue. Solving problems is often the most rewarding part of the job!
2. The Right Words to Use During Your Conversation
When a caller is angry, it’s important to choose your own words carefully. In fact, you may want to write short scripts that map out how you respond to different kinds of angry calls.
For example, you should apologize, but not for anything your company has allegedly done. Instead, stick with phrases like “I’m sorry to hear that.” You should also speak with empathy, saying things like “I understand how you feel.”
It can be difficult to be so nice when someone is so angry. However, you should respond to these callers the way you wish someone would respond to you if you were having a terrible day. We recommend not scripting entire exchanges, though, because this can make your responses sound wooden.
3. Patient Listening is a Must Skill in a Call Center
While it’s tempting to immediately offer angry callers solutions, you should spend some time patiently listening to what they have to say. There is a chance the caller simply needs to vent some of their frustrations with your company.
While they vent, you should write down the key aspects of their problem. After they vent and hopefully calm down, you’ll already have much of the info you need to potentially help them find a solution to their problem.
4. Your Tone of Voice Matters with the Customer
Your tone of voice matters with angry callers because it can instantly make them more upset. It’s important that your tone does not sound amused, condescending, sarcastic, or angry.
Growing up, you might have heard your parents say, “It’s not always what you say, but how you say it.” This is especially true when you’re on a phone call because the other person cannot see your face or body language.
Ultimately, this is why it’s useful to practice both what you’ll say (the scripts for angry callers) and how you’ll say it (your tone) to be successful.
5. Avoid Putting Angry Callers on Hold If Possible
Call center workers should avoid putting angry customers on hold whenever possible because putting them on hold may make them angrier!
Chances are that you normally put people on hold while you try to find a solution. Keep in mind that angry callers are already annoyed at your company. If you put them on hold, such a caller may think you are ignoring them or even talking about them behind their back.
Instead, try to keep the caller on the phone while you work on a solution. In a polite and honest way, tell the customer what you are doing at different points to resolve the issue. This can help to de-escalate the situation.
6. Repeating Info Back to Customer is Important
After you hear the angry caller describe their problems, you should repeat the information back to the caller as a summary of what you need to work on resolving. This repetition helps reassure the customer you are closely listening to their problem.
As we noted before, angry callers are already mad at your company by the time they call. They may be worried that you won’t be on their side when it comes to solving their issues.
The simple act of repeating info back to the customer shows them you are listening. This may make them more reasonable for the rest of the call.
7. Provide Solutions for Angry Call Center Callers
Most angry callers have a specific problem they want you to resolve. It’s important to provide solutions and generally keep the conversation focused on finding a resolution.
It’s important to let customers vent. If it goes on too long, they may go off on a number of unhelpful tangents. This eats into your time on the phone and doesn’t help the caller with their issue.
This is why you should be writing down caller details and workshopping solutions to their issue as soon as possible. Look for opportunities in the conversation to interject and tell the customer you may have a solution to their primary issue.
8. Stay Honest and Stay Positive During the Call
While you should always be polite to all callers, you must also be honest with them. That sometimes means telling angry callers what they don’t want to hear.
For example, you may have to tell a customer that your company can’t fix the product because he waited until the warranty had expired. Or you may have to point out that something the caller thought was a company problem was actually their own mistake.
It’s important to be polite but upfront about these things. If you don’t know the answer to a problem, it’s important to admit that, too. In the long run, your honesty can help de-escalate an angry call.
Find the Best Call Center Job Today!
Now you know the best ways to deal with angry callers. But do you know where to find the best call center to work for?
Here at Seguros Confie, we are always looking for workers who want to take their careers to the next level. To see how we can help find the job you’ve been dreaming of, all you need to do is apply today!