Most contact center employees, after doing their job for several months, will come up with their own tips and tricks to better deal with angry customers. One phrase can have a large positive or negative impact on a customer. Here are 5 possible responses that you could give to customers - and the risks that come with each one.

“Please calm down.”

Your intentions may be good with this one - you really just want the customer to calm down, because what they’re upset about is not as big of a deal as they’re making it out to be. This can make them even more upset than they were initially. Being told to calm down is like being told your problems are irrelevant. After telling someone this, you’re likely to get even more of an ear full than originally scheduled for you.

“Don’t yell at me.”

One thing that is very important to note is that in this job, you’re very likely going to have people yell at you. That doesn’t mean you’re doing your job incorrectly, or should be yelled at, it just means people are more likely to yell when they’re having issues as opposed to when everything is going smoothly. With that said, you need to just listen to your customer yell. After they seem like they’ve gotten it all out of their system, restate what they expressed to you in a calm voice, and then work to fix their problem as quickly as possible. Then after you get off the phone you can take measures to de-stress and prepare for the next call.

“I feel your pain.”

If the person who is calling you wanted to speak to a therapist, they probably would. Whatever situation they’re currently experiencing is probably not physically painful (unless you’re using public safety dispatch software), so a better response would be something like, “I understand.” This way you’re letting your caller know that you recognize their problem - without pursuing your life goal of becoming a shrink.

“What can I do to help you now?”

This may seem like a perfectly fine response at face value, but it gives the caller control of the conversation. To be able to fix their probably quickly, you need to be in control of the conversation and be actively listening to their needs. At this point they should have already told you the problem. If you need clarification, restate what you think you were told in the beginning and ask if that is accurate. This way you’re staying in control of the call and still understanding the problem. There are many different types of call center recording software and employee performance monitoring software that can be used when dealing with customers so that call center employees can be coached after the call about things they could have done better, or things they already did well.

“This is important.”

This is like highlighting your words. When a customer hears this, they will intentionally tune in to hear what you’re going to say. Make sure to not use it too much though, because then it will lose its power. It’s good to use it right before you’re going to offer the caller a solution, or you’re going to ask them a question about their situation to ensure that you have their full attention and that whatever you’re asking is going to get done.

There are many different phrases not mentioned above that can also be positive or negative for your customer relations. Just make sure to stop and think about whatever you’re going to say before it comes out of your mouth. If it would make you feel silly or inferior, saying it is not a good idea, because your customer will most likely feel the same. There are many different types of customer survey software that allow your customers the option of taking a survey after the call to tell about their experience. If you’re interested in this software, contact us, and we’ll get you set up with the software that works best for you.