Anti-Customer Behavior

We have all taken calls from someone who is being unrealistic, or unreasonable, it is a fact of life in a call center. But how we respond to those callers and then to the operations room at large tells a lot about the kind of person we are and the kind of company we work for. For example:

Mrs. Queen calls, she sounds like a senior citizen and she wants to report that her newspaper is being thrown in the bushes and not on her doorstep. She is quite upset; this is the third time this week and she has reported it twice already. The agent dutifully fills in the message ticket and tells Mrs. Queen that she will give her message to the office when it opens. The agent doesn’t feel especially sympathetic and it not only shows in her lack of compassion while speaking with Mrs. Queen, it shows after the call.

“My paper was in the bushes again today.” she mocks aloud in a crotchety old voice, garnering some giggles from agents seated nearby. “I sure wish I didn’t have anything better to do than to complain about where my paper lands.” The agent continues, “she has no idea how difficult it is to aim those things; and at 6:00 in the morning no less!”

This agent’s performance sets the stage for the morning. “You will never believe THIS!” laughs another agent, “Mr. King just called and he wants to know why it took 15 minutes for us to call him with a canceled appointment this morning. He couldn’t understand it took five minutes to get his client off the phone, she wanted to ramble on and on, and then we had a couple of calls to deliver that were in line before his message and that took time. Geez, what does he think – he is our only customer?”

The mood in this operations center is going to go from bad to worse. No one is going to have a good day, and they probably won’t even know why. This kind of behavior, subtle though it may be, is why people don’t want to go to work. This is not a happy place to be.

In a negative atmosphere, we often experience one-ups-man-ship “I can outdo YOUR story; listen to this!” And so it goes; each person adding to the snowball of discontent. If you want a happier, more productive place to work vow to never allow negativity in the workplace. No mocking, no complaining, no criticizing! These practices undermine the whole idea of Customer Service. When a negative attitude prevails, kindness, and helpfulness – the things your clients EXPECT from your service - are non-existent. If you want a better place to work, and you want to attract more customers, keep your operations center a positive, happy place to be.

Ban Negativity!

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