Manage the Irate Customer

A culture of service trains employees to recognize that the customer that complains has something to say and wants to say it.  The tendency of the recipient of the caller is to defend the company position and needs to know that the skill that is required is active listening.

However, the recipient of the call may feel under personal attack.  Good training helps the employee to "manage the experience".  The proper technique is to thank the caller for providing the company information about its service or product and request that the caller elaborate. When required the caller should be asked  to explain more.  The listener should let the caller speak.  It is also appropriate to ask the caller if there is anything more that the caller wants to relate.

The company representative should identify what options are available to resolve the difficulty.  After a review of the options the company representative should indicate what shall be done and identify when it will be done.  As always in good customer relations and in building a culture of service the company representative should thank the caller.