Taking Calls from Difficult Customers

Name: Taking Calls from Difficult Customers
Author: KnowledgeCity

Learn best practices for dealing with challenging customers

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 6 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

(upbeat music) Welcome to taking calls from difficult customers. While taking calls from customers, you may encounter a few people who are challenging to communicate with. Some may be aggressive and uncooperative, others may dominate the conversation to the point where you're unable to get a word in. And some might not respond to you at all. But for every difficult customer, there is a strategy you can employ, so both of you can successfully engage in a productive conversation. These lessons will cover three main types of difficult customers. Aggressive customers. Overly talkative customers. And Unresponsive customer. You will gain the tools needed to handle these customers with compassion and discover professional strategies for dealing with them. You will also learn more general approaches to customer interactions that will help your calls go as smoothly as possible. Let's examine why some customers behave in frustrating ways on the phone. Aggressive customers often express their frustration in an extreme way. This behavior may occur because of their anger toward your company or from something completely unrelated they're experiencing in their personal life. Customers who are overly talkative or on the other end of the spectrum unresponsive, may just not know the proper etiquette for communicating with customer service representatives. For example, an overly talkative customer may be lonely and an unresponsive customer may be multitasking or distracted to the point where they can no longer give you their full attention. Let's use Anne as an example. Anne works at a customer service call center for a tech company and has had all sorts of conversations with callers. Here are three typical situations where she must manage a difficult customer. Let's identify why the customer is causing a problem and what can be done about it. Customer one, when customer one calls Anne, they start out by introducing themselves and asking her how she's doing. While this is perfectly acceptable, the customer then begins to go off topic complaining about a problem they're having at work and asking for advice about a personal issue. Anne doesn't add any of her own experiences or opinions about this overly talkative customers' personal tangent. Instead she persistently, but kindly changes the subject back to the matter at hand. She asks the customer closed ended questions about why they are calling? And what she can do to help them with that particular issue. Customer two, starts the call by angrily demanding a refund for a product they consider defective. After Anne listens to their complaint and checks company policy. She determines that she cannot give this person a refund. After politely delivering the news, the caller continues to rage at her and demands a refund . In this case Anne continues to use a friendly tone with the aggressive customer and does her best to help them, offering alternative options. Anne has two courses of action to take, depending on the customer's behavior. If the customer continues to demand something she can't help with, politely citing company policy may placate the customer. But if the customer continues to be abusive and refuses to be helped Anne can transfer the call or even hang up. Customer three, when Anne takes a call from customer three, she has trouble ascertaining what this person wants. They either don't respond or mutter their answers, and Anne can't figure out how to help them. There are usually two explanations for an unresponsive customer. Either the customer is busy or has had bad reception and is not in a good place to be making the call. Or there is a language barrier. If communication with the customer is too difficult Anne can ask if they can call again later. If she believes that a language barrier is causing the problem and the resources are available, she can ask the customer if they would like to talk to someone in the language that they're most comfortable speaking. When dealing with difficult customers, the key is understanding. It's best to listen to the customer, step into their shoes and try your best to empathize with their situation. Even if what they're saying is coming off, as unreasonable, it's important to maintain an understanding tone and position yourself as an ally throughout the duration of the call. It's also important to remember, to keep time control and time management in mind when taking calls from customers. Any extra time, you spend on someone who is giving you trouble is time being taken away from customers who are patiently waiting their turn. As a result, these otherwise pleasant customers may become difficult in response. Keep your eye on the clock while taking calls. If you feel that a call has gone beyond the standard time limit because of a customer's behavior, try to find ways to accelerate the communication process. As you can see, you may encounter all sorts of tricky situations while taking calls from customers. But if you're prepared with the appropriate strategies and take the time to practice them, you'll be able to handle whatever and whomever comes your way.

Intermediate Provider : KnowledgeCity 6 Lessons · 25m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Urdu, Chinese

Course Description

Dealing with challenging customers during calls can be difficult, but there are tools available to help. These lessons will help you identify the types of difficult customers you may encounter on the phone. You will gain the knowledge to give you the confidence you need when encountering the aggressive customer, the overly conversational customer, or the unresponsive customer. You will also discover valuable ways to engage with each type of customer, with useful scenarios you can incorporate into your professional phone routine. You will soon have the skill set to handle a variety of phone situations, increase your active listening skills, and speak with compassion when needed.

What You'll Learn

Identify and assess the different types of difficult customers you may encounter on the phone, including aggressive, overly conversational, and unresponsive customers
Communicate effectively with a variety of difficult customers using practical scenarios
Stay in control of challenging or awkward conversations
Engage with unresponsive customers using valuable techniques
Handle customers with understanding and speak with compassion when needed
Strengthen your active listening skills for a range of phone situations

Key Takeaways

Dealing with challenging customers during calls can be difficult, but there are tools available to help.
Identifying the type of difficult customer you are speaking with helps you respond with confidence to aggressive, overly conversational, or unresponsive customers.
Each type of difficult customer can be engaged using valuable, scenario-based approaches you can incorporate into your professional phone routine.
Handling difficult calls effectively involves staying in control of the conversation, increasing active listening skills, and speaking with compassion when needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course for?

This course is for people who take phone calls and need to handle difficult customers, including aggressive, overly conversational, and unresponsive customers.

What types of difficult customers does this course cover?

The course covers the aggressive customer, the overly conversational (talkative) customer, and the unresponsive customer.

What skills will I gain from this course?

You will gain skills in handling confrontation, telephone skills, customer interaction management, and active listening, along with the ability to stay in control of challenging conversations and speak with compassion when needed.

What lessons are included in this course?

The lessons are: Encountering Difficult Customers, Overly Talkative Customers, Aggressive Customers, Unresponsive Customers, Handling Customers with Understanding, and Test Your Knowledge.

Does the course include practical examples?

Yes, it provides useful scenarios for engaging with each type of customer that you can incorporate into your professional phone routine.