In this approximately four minute audio/video clip, you'll hear a Dell customer and a Dell service representative talking about a computer issue, where the customer escalates his anger quite quickly. (Caution: Contains swearing)
What you'll hear is a customer service representative who stays calm, and on the surface of it, sounds like he's handling the situation well. And, yes, staying calm is exceedingly important, but the truth is that the rep does a number of things incorrectly.
Let's test out your ability to diagnose where the rep went wrong, why the customer's anger escalated, and how this could have been handled much better.
Some Hints:
- In my book, If It Wasn't For The Customers I'd Really Like This Job: Stop Angry, Hostile Customers COLD While Remaining Professional, Stress Free, Efficient and Cool As A Cucumber.
there's a section on the escalation cycle and how a moderately angry customer can become ballistic very quickly. What is the customer NOT getting throughout this entire interaction that is causing him to get more and more angry?
- One of the principles we talk about is making sure we communicate in non-bureaucratic ways, since when a customer feels he's being treated as "just another customer", rather than as an individual, it makes verbal abuse more likely. How does this apply to this interaction?
This audio clip is classic and ideal for learning because unless you understand some of the psychology of angry customer interactions, you will think the rep is doing well. But he makes a LOT of errors. So,show off your expertise and tell us what he should be doing. Respond by leaving a comment
