VoIP & CRM Blog TMC

Handling Abusive Callers in the Call Center

April 20, 2006

Susan Campbell has a good article on TMCnet about the abuse suffered by agents working in call centers in India: see "Indian Call Center Agents Suffering Health Problems Due to Caller Abuse." According to a recent survey, Susan writes, "25 percent of call center agents identified hate calls as the main reason for workplace stress."

This calls to mind an article from David Sims from last year, "Call Center Workers Allowed to Hang Up." That article commented on a trend in Indian call centers toward giving agents more options in dealing with abusive callers. David quoted one Indian software industry expert who said, "Indians are by nature courteous towards foreigners, but there can be too much of a good thing and companies increasingly provide assertiveness training. If people felt in the past they had to be polite in the face of brazen rudeness, now they say, 'I don't think I do.'"

An article directed at call center agents in India, "How to handle abusive BPO customers," gives 10 tips from call center trainer Nasha Fitter of Fitter Solutions:

  1. Learn to count to 10.
  2. Speak calmly.
  3. Politely ask the caller to speak slowly and clearly and to lower his voice.
  4. Put the caller on hold for a few seconds if you need to recover your composure.
  5. Keep a picture that helps you to stay calm in front of you -- a peaceful scene or a photo of a loved one.
  6. If a call continues to get worse, escalate it to your supervisor.
  7. Ask the caller to refrain from using abusive language, if that's permitted.
  8. De-stress after a rough phone call -- Fitter suggests yoga or breathing techniques.
  9. "Press the mute button and swear back," while using "your sweetest tone" when actually speaking with the caller.
  10. Talk with your supervisor or group leader after a stressful day with difficult callers.

AB -- 4/20/06



Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Related Tags: , , , , ,

Listed below are links to sites that reference Handling Abusive Callers in the Call Center:

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for Handling Abusive Callers in the Call Center:
http://blog.tmcnet.com/mt3/t.fcgi/25290

Comments to Handling Abusive Callers in the Call Center