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Customer Service Information |
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What Every Employee Should Know About How to Prevent Customer Service Conflicts
There are five techniques that have been proven to be effective in resolving, minimizing, and preventing conflicts. And by conflicts I am referring to any of the following that may take place between two or more people: misunderstanding, miscommunications, arguments, disagreements, mixed messages, fighting, etc. A. Active Listening: Use this approach when you want to let the customer know that you're truly paying attention. Do so by totally involving your eyes, ears, and body. Pay attention to his body language, move close, cup your hand over your ear, lean forward, etc. Be patient to let the customer fully explain himself. Avoid interrupting and asking questions in a rapid spitfire fashion. (Doing so might cause the customer to feel like a crime victim being interrogated by the Police.) If you do have to interrupt (sometimes this is necessary to take charge of a rambler), do so politely and professionally by asking permission first. Say, for example, "To better serve you, would you mind if I ask a question or two?" B. Paraphrasing: Use this approach when you want to make sure you did not miss what was said. "So, if I understood you correctly, you said there were only 5 spaces." (This works extremely well with the next technique, but can be extremely effective if not overused.) C. Summarizing: Use this approach when you want to break up lengthy complaints into smaller pieces that you can remember and understand. Rather than let the customer ramble on about what is wrong with the product or service he bought, take control by asking him to tell you about each portion/phase/section of the complaint before moving on the next. D. You-Message: Use this approach when you want to reflect to your customer what you're observing. * Reflect the customer's emotion. (Identify and name the emotion you are observing.) Say directly to the customer with a smile and pleasant tone of voice, "Mr./Ms Customer, you seem rather angry, mad, provoked, etc. about your situation." (This puts the customer at ease. It defuses his/her emotions from escalating into angry shouting matches or something worse. Be patient and wait for his response that might be an angry agreement with you: an A-HA Moment! You've connected!) E. I-Message: As a last resort, use this approach to communicate with the customer when: * your communication and that of the customer might become hostile; * the communication might become a shouting match; or * the words might turn to physical confrontation. Now put your I-Message into action by following these sequences of steps: 1. Get his attention. (Address the customer in a positive, polite, and professional manner.) 2. Identify your emotion. (Identify and name the emotion you are feeling.) "I feel happy/am excited to serve you, etc. when you approach me . . ." 3. Name his misconduct. (Identify the behavior that is offensive.) "... however when you call me names, throw things at me, spit at me, etc." 4. State the consequence(s). (Identify the consequence that you wish him/her to change. And stop! Be extremely cautious not to ramble because by doing so you run the risk of throwing a spark on the cinders.) "... it makes me feel disrespected, etc." Put it together and it should sound like this: "Mr./Ms, I feel happy/am excited to serve you, etc. when you approach me; however when you call me names, throw things at me, spit at me, etc., it makes me feel disrespected and incapable to serve you, etc." (Stop! Wait for a response!) Research has shown that the response is 95-98% non-confrontational or non-aggressive. Remember: This approach lets the customer know that, although you disapprove of his (or her) conduct, you still care to help and serve him. Now put the five techniques together by SOARING to the top of the Mountain by: * Summarizing a conversation that is becoming too lengthy. * Observing to see if the customer's body language matches the words spoken. * Actively listening to what is being said by making eye contact. * Reflecting on what you thought you heard. * Indicating that you truly care about the customer and not his deed. * Naming the misconduct to bring it out into the open. * Going beyond the emotions to get to the facts. Remember: When you maximize your potential; we all win. When you don't, we all lose. Š Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in ezines, newsletters, and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Although advance permission is not required, please notify us at execandgroup-consulting@yahoo.com when you use this article. Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW, Management Consultant and Trainer, conducts seminars, lectures, and writes articles on his theme: ... helping you maximize your potential. He offers management, marketing, and parenting resources at his Maximizing Your Potential blog.
MORE RESOURCES: AI Chatbots Are Ready to Talk to Customers. Sort of. The Wall Street Journal Pricing, AI, DPA, Customer Service Tools; Bill Emerson Interview; Training This Week; STRATMOR CD Workshop Mortgage News Daily Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in âBest Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Yahoo Finance Qme secures $3M funding to streamline customer service across Africa Techpoint Africa Building Competitive Advantage in Customer Care Through AI The Business of Fashion 311 Customer Service Center City and County of San Francisco FTC Finalizes Order with H&R Block Requiring Them to Pay $7 Million and Overhaul Advertising and Customer Service Practices for 2025 and 2026 Tax Seasons Federal Trade Commission News Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in âBest Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Business Wire Ikea expands integration with assembly services platform Chain Store Age JEA is inviting bids for 19-story downtown tower that used to be its headquarters The Florida Times-Union American Lamprecht Enhances Visibility for Air and Ocean Shipments Using Descartes Solution Supply Chain Dive Women in Fintech: A Conversation About Loyalty Ecosystems in Financial Services with Becky Hill Finovate Neterra Enhances Its Customer Service Monitoring System Total Telecom Gladly Named a Leader in Constellation ShortList⢠for Digital Customer Service and Support PR Newswire QueueKioskâ˘: Saving Thousands of Active-Duty Man Hours & Improving Customer Service at the MPF Office Kiosk Marketplace Finally, hard data on a real-world AI business use case: Itâs huge for customer service Sherwood News Liverpool reinvents customer service through digital platform ComputerWeekly.com CSPI & Nutrition Action Customer Service CSPI Newsroom Firm to expand customer service in Yorkshire with new service centre Golf Business News Textron Aviation to Open New Service Facility at Essendon Fields Airport, Expanding Capabilities in Australia Pittsburg Morning Sun Help Department of Taxation and Finance Six Game-Changing AI Customer Service and CX Strategies Hospitality Net Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) New York State Department of Health Cigna's customer-centric strategy could ripple across the sector Modern Healthcare Major AI Success Story: Giftify Achieves 40% Faster Customer Response Times with Enterprise AI StockTitan Contact Us About Your Bill myclearwater.com Customer Service Center apps.tampagov.net Customer Support | Department of Corrections Governor Tom Wolf 311 - Birminghamâs Customer Service Center City of Birmingham (.gov) 70% of customer service to rely on AI by 2028: Gartner Outsource Accelerator Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) DESCO's meeting held to enhance customer service and power reliability The Business Standard My experience as a Customer Service and Sales Intern Toby Shapiro's Experience at A.D. Sutton and Sons Chapman University 3 Ways To Quickly Make $50 GOBankingRates Deltaâs annual profit-sharing day spotlights âpeople firstâ strategy The Atlanta Journal Constitution Welcome to Riverside Public Utilities City of Riverside (.gov) Celebrate Customer Service Week City of Riverside (.gov) Which companies have the best customer service? Amazon, Shein, Costco among top-rated brands USA TODAY Con Edison Proposes Investments to Meet Growing Demand for Clean Energy, Enhance Customer Support T&D World Fulton County Recognized as a 2024 National Customer Service All Star Fulton County Government Contact Reverb Support Reverb America's Best Customer Service 2025 Newsweek 8 strategies for using AI for customer service in 2025 Sprout Social Attorney General Bonta Demands Better Customer Service for Californians California Department of Justice AI for Customer Service Market worth $47.82 Billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets⢠PR Newswire Can artificial intelligence rescue customer service? The Economist Permitsâcustomer services King County Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications Federal Communications Commission Department of Transportation Governor Tom Wolf 11 key elements of excellent customer service Business.com Shep Hyken, HPU Customer Service Expert, Mentors Students and Staff High Point University Transforming Customer Service: How Robotic Process Automation is Reshaping Call Centers IBTimes India Summer EBT | Department of Human Services Governor Tom Wolf How Intercom Achieves 86% Resolution Rates with Claude AI: A Customer Service Revolution - Anthropic Office of Developmental Programs Governor Tom Wolf |
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