Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Steps to Help Protect Agents Against Angry, Demanding or Just Plain Weird Customers
A short amount of time spent reading the news today reveals a truth about humanity: we’re a pretty irrational, illogical and sometimes downright mysterious group of individuals. If you work with the public on a regular basis, say as a waiter or a contact center agent, chances are you’ll have some whopper stories to tell about weirdness that ensued in the course of your job. Call center agents have been asked to name pets, have initiated tech support calls because their computers won’t work while the power’s off, and have generally expect agents to have the powers of Superman and Batman combined. (Here’s an amusing list of “call center weirdness” from real agents.)
While they seem funny now, ask any group of people to deal with the weird, the hostile and the plain stupid day in and day out, and there will be repercussions, according to a recent blog post by Monet Software (News - Alert) CEO Chuck Ciarlo.
“Here is the part that isn’t so funny – too many of those calls can contribute to agent burnout,” he wrote. “It’s a challenge for every contact center regardless of size or industry, as evidenced by consistently high attrition numbers. Given the investment required to hire and train a replacement every time an agent decides he or she has had enough, it is critical for managers to hire wisely, and take whatever actions are feasible to create a more positive professional environment.”
In other words, there’s a bit of an obligation for managers to ask like virtual bodyguards and protect agents against customers. While certainly most customers don’t intend to cause the trouble, the ones that do can negate the effects of the nice customers. The contact center, in essence, becomes a kind of emotionally fraught front lines, and in extreme cases, contact center agents can even acquire a kind of post-traumatic stress disorder, particularly when dealing with abusive customers.
So what can you do about it? For starters, try to shift some of the calls off the telephone channels and onto digital channels, Ciarlo recommends. This can help decrease costs, but it can also help reduce the emotional toll on agents.
“Certainly the hostile calls aren’t going to stop, even if multichannel capability shifts some of them to email, online chat and social media,” he wrote. “They still have to be dealt with, but reading an angry screed does not raise the blood pressure as much as being yelled at on the phone.”
Next, you need to hire agents who are equipped to handle the challenges. Think about the demographics of your customers. Are they elderly? You may need agents who have more patience, and clear speaking voices. Are they young? You may wish to look for agents who are less formal. Are they tech-savvy? Make sure your agents are, too. If they’re a mix, you’ll need a good mix of agents.
“The more you understand the particulars of your business, the easier it will be to find the right agents to handle them,” recommends Ciarlo.
Finally, ensure that your agents have some flexibility to go off the script to resolve issues. Nothing enrages customers faster than “talked at” by a robotic agent who isn’t responding to the customer’s real problems, or isn’t showing any empathy. By hiring good agents and allowing them to “go above and beyond” as needed, angry customers can be diffused faster, and just-plain-weird customers can get the attention they may be seeking.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi