I work as a customer service rep for QVC and I get a lot of miserable customers who are just plain rude, demanding, and degrading. How do I handle those types?
Keep smiling, and take deep breaths. Politely but firmly point out that abusing you is not going to get them what they want.
Hopefully your company has a policy of protecting you from rudeness, allowing you to terminate a call if you are being abused or sworn at. If so, take a deep breath, and in a pleasant voice say, "It is not acceptable for you to talk to me this way. If you continue I will be hanging up." and then do it.
If you are not allowed to do this, let your supervisor know that you will be forwarding all abusive calls to them. When customers get abusive say "I am not here to be abused. I am putting you through to my supervisor." They will soon allow you to hang up on the really abusive ones.
For the ones who are unhappy and just want to complain, a magic phrase is "Thank you for letting us know." and listen to their complaint all the way through. Ask for details to clarify exactly what the problem is. If it is something you can’t do anything about, you can still hear them, and maybe forward them on to someone who can help. At the very least you have made them feel better because someone at least cared enough to listen.
The most important thing is not to let their misery become your misery. Don’t take thier problems on board as your problems.
October 9th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I used to be a customer service rep for ticketmaster. I would hang up on people who were flat out rude. but I didn’t value my job that much. on a slow day I would drag the call on for my own amusement to piss them off more.
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October 9th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
The best way to diffuse a rude and upset customer, is to give them the message right away that you are very sorry they are unhappy and you are on their side to find a solution. Most people take their anger out on the first person they reach, but once they know you are on their side to help it relaxes them. Just remember how you feel when you are angry at a business, you want someone to recognize your problem and help you out. If you have done everything in your pwer to appease them, then offer them the option of talking to a supervisor. That’s about all you can do.
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October 9th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Don’t you have a supervisor you could ask? Find out what the company policy is. Then, politely stick to it. It’s not your store and it’s not your money; so, follow the policy.
Don’t take the rudeness personally; it’s not personal. Remain calm and polite, and address the person as "sir" or "mam." You can laugh about it later.
If you really can’t handle the situation, call in your supervisor.
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October 9th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I completely understand how you feel. I handle rude and painful customers all the time. I guess, you should try to do your best, tell them you are trying to help them and understand their difficulty. Meanwhile talk to your manager on how to deal with difficult customers.
The best thing you can do for yourself is, tell that the anger is directed at the job and not at you. This absolutely helps. If they are verbally abusive, tell them that is not acceptable and report to your manager or HR.
Good luck to you.
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October 9th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Keep smiling, and take deep breaths. Politely but firmly point out that abusing you is not going to get them what they want.
Hopefully your company has a policy of protecting you from rudeness, allowing you to terminate a call if you are being abused or sworn at. If so, take a deep breath, and in a pleasant voice say, "It is not acceptable for you to talk to me this way. If you continue I will be hanging up." and then do it.
If you are not allowed to do this, let your supervisor know that you will be forwarding all abusive calls to them. When customers get abusive say "I am not here to be abused. I am putting you through to my supervisor." They will soon allow you to hang up on the really abusive ones.
For the ones who are unhappy and just want to complain, a magic phrase is "Thank you for letting us know." and listen to their complaint all the way through. Ask for details to clarify exactly what the problem is. If it is something you can’t do anything about, you can still hear them, and maybe forward them on to someone who can help. At the very least you have made them feel better because someone at least cared enough to listen.
The most important thing is not to let their misery become your misery. Don’t take thier problems on board as your problems.
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20 years in customer service
October 9th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Do you work on the phones or in person?
If you deal with customers in person, once they become rude, don’t give them any eye contact, they will talk less and less.
Try this out. Experiment with your friends and family and make eye contact when you talk to them and when they are talking to you, don’t make eye contact with them. They will end up talking less and less. I don’t know why this works but it does!
If you work on the phones, once a customer starts becoming rude to you, put them on hold for awhile. Say "ok sir/ma’am I understand your concern, please hold on for a moment."
This gives people a chance to calm down. Once a moment is over (you decide the length of the moment), then go back to the call. The customer will either hang up or state their complaint in a calmer tone. If they are rude to you again, then repeat the method I suggested.
I study about people’s behavior and have also worked in customer service, so hope my advice helps you
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October 9th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I try to find away to say yes to their request that fits within the guide lines of my companies policies.
I also try to let them talk as much as they like. I find if I constantly interrupt their rant they get worse.
I state that I am sorry that they are unhappy. This does not admit guilt on my companies part but allows me to comfort the customer.
I also try to remember that whatever they are complaining about is important to them and I try to solve the issue if I can.
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October 9th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
This is determined by QVC, not staff. Unfortunately, most companies require that you be patient and kind no matter what, so even if Mr. Smith calls you a blanking blankity blank, you have toi take it. I personally think that kind of attitude in customer service is exactly WHY so many people are hateful, spiteful, and vicious to so many people working in retail and service industries. It would be nice if the parent companies would step up and not require their employees to take the verbal abuse they do. Too many people nowadays see sales and service people as convenient targets for them to attack, people who dare not talk back for fear of getting fired. There is an old saying for girls who are looking for a good man to marry. "If he is rude to the waitress, he is NOT a good man." I think that goes for EVERYONE. people who are hateful to service people are usually NOT NICE people. They are usually bullies. it’s actually rare where the service person is personally deserving of the verbal abuse they take.
In any event, until companies change, be polite, distant, calm and helpful. Look at it as an exercise in self improvement, in holding your temper, and learning how to be patient in adversity. If you are on the phone and the verbal abuse escalates, I would suddenly develop a "connection difficulty" and lose the call.
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October 9th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I LOVE to kill a rude customer with kindness! it makes it alot more fun when they get mad because your too nice to them lol.
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