Sample extract, pg 83
15. When a Customer Swears or Yells #1
THE SITUATION
While most customers are able to control their behavior to keep it within acceptable bounds, some customers may swear and yell when they are angry, or otherwise “act out.” Obviously, this is an upsetting situation for most employees, and it interferes with the employee’s ability to do his or her job. It’s hard to help someone who is yelling at you and not paying any attention to what you are saying. In situations like this, your first goal is not to try to address the specifics of the customer’s problem, but to use techniques to halt the inappropriate behavior. We’re going to be using some advanced techniques to stop the customer’s ranting and get the customer to listen and to respond to our efforts to help.
TECHNIQUES USED
- · Some People Think That … (Neutral mode)
- · Find Agreement Points
- · Empathy Statements
- · Assurances of Effort
DIALOGUE
In this situation the customer is upset because he received a parking ticket that he feels is unwarranted. He visits the town clerk (which is where tickets are paid), and starts to yell and swear at the clerk at the counter.
Customer: What the [bleep] is going on here? One of your stupid meter maids gave me a ticket for parking near a hydrant and I wasn’t within ten feet of the [blank] thing. I’m not paying for this thing, and I want you to cancel the [bleep] thing now. [Customer appears to be starting a long rant without stopping.]
Employee: Some people feel that their tickets aren’t deserved.
Customer: Darn right. I’m one of them. I’m fed up.
Employee: I can see that. You don’t feel your ticket is deserved.
Customer: So, what are you going to do about it?
Employee: Obviously, you are upset about this. You may not be aware that we have a way for you to appeal the ticket, if you like.
Customer: Yeah? How?
Employee: I’ll do my best to explain your options, so you won’t be liable for an infraction you didn’t commit.
Customer: OK.
EXPLANATIONS
When the customer starts raising his voice and using swear words, the employee realizes that until the customer calms down and begins to listen to the employee, nothing at all can be accomplished. So, he uses “Some people think that … (neutral mode)” to try to break into the conversation. The reason this technique works (when it does) is that it’s an unexpected response that the customer doesn’t have a ready-made answer for. Unexpected responses tend to derail rants. Notice also that the “neutral mode” response is short. That’s because an angry customer isn’t going to “hear” a long response.
The customer responds by indicating he is “one of them.” But what’s important is that the customer has become more attentive and is in the process of stopping the rant. The employee responds with an agreement point. Notice that the employee isn’t agreeing or disagreeing with whether the ticket is warranted, but is simply agreeing with the fact that the customer feels unfairly treated. Again, it’s a short response.
The customer, while not happy, now behaves in a more constructive and acceptable way, which signals the employee that he can move the conversation to what the customer can do to dispute the ticket. First, the employee uses an empathy statement and follows up with assuring the customer that he will make an effort to help.
HINTS
When you act and speak as if you and the angry customer are on the same side, there’s a tendency for angry customers to calm down and stop yelling at you, since they don’t see you as much as the “enemy.”
Remember, with angry customers, you can’t address their specific concern (in this case the ticket) until such time as the customer is calm enough to listen and behave constructively to help solve his own problem.
With angry customers, look to engineer an agreement. Look for things the customer says that you can agree with that won’t put you in an awkward situation. Finding agreement points is such a powerful technique that it’s often used by hostage negotiators.