How can I terminate a call with a verbally abusive customer without tarnishing my company's reputation?

Question

I need to read up on some examples that other companies encounter, but my searches usually come to naught.

Answer 1

I used to work in customer service and my supervisor told me I was under no obligation to continue to speak with anyone who became verbally abusive toward me. She said to either hang-up or say "If you would like to calm down and call back later, maybe we can discuss this".

Answer 2

Right....what I used to train people to do when I worked in the call centres in the UK.

1. When the person abusing begins, stop talking, don;t try to speak over them, they will ahve to draw breath sometime, wait for that moment.
2. no matter what they say, don't take it personally.
3. When they start, you have to regain control of the call, first thing to do, is to stand up at your desk, psychologically, it gives you a feleing of being above them, more important.
4. When they pause fro breath, you get in there, in a calm voice, tell them that you will not be spoken to like that, if they persist and continue to do so, you will terminate the call, give the warning clearly and calmly.
5. if they continue, butt in, over them and clearly, in a slightly raised voice, tell them you are terminating the call and they should place their comments in writing,. then end the call by replacing the receiver or clicking off the call.

Never, enter any arguement with them, it won't resolve anything, be very clear in the warning, and if your colleagues hear the call from your side, they will not put you down or anything, hopefully too, the call will be recorded, get the recording and get your manager to listen and understand your actions.

Answer 3

I worked in the refunds department at the corporate headquarters of a NYSE traded company. Fortunately there was a philosophy of taking all the time it takes to see that the angry customer is taken care of. Have the attitude that you represent the customer to the company rather than you representing the company to the customer... be the customer's spokesperson and let the customer know that you are on his/her side. Usually if they are verbally abusive, it is because they are upset about something, so with your attitude of being the customers spokespers you should make productive statements to find out the specific reason why the customer is upset... "I know you're upset, but I can't do anything for you until I know why you are upset... please let me help you." and "Our company is very concerned about these issues, I would very much like to know the details of your situation so I can assist you." are productive statements. One time I dealt with a customer that had spent months dealing with "the run around", he couldn't get anyone to listen to him and had a lot of difficulty getting assistance with his situation... by the time he got to me he was furious and frustrated. I could have just told him from the get go that I would process his refund and dropped the conversation there, but instead I listened to him go on for more than thirty minutes about his difficulties... what he really wanted was an opportunity to vent. I then told him that I would process his refund and send a memo to management concerning the specifics of his situation for review... taking the time to listen to him and make him feel like he matterd actually ended keeping him as a customer. So don't be short with a customer.... if you need to escelate the situation to management do so, otherwise listen to what the customer says, give him/her an opportunity to vent, and ask questions that get to the heart of what that persons real complaint really is. Good luck!

Answer 4

I have done technical support for about 10 years, and unfortunately have found it necessary to do this on a few occasions. If a caller becomes verbally abusive, I politely let the person know that if he/she continues, I will have to terminate the call. If the caller persists, I simply terminate the call and go on to the next one. I have worked for three companies doing tech support (and you'd know the names of all of them); none of them have required me or any other technician to accept abusive behavior, and quite frankly, I wouldn't work for a company that did.

Answer 5

Tell them politely to knock it off and there's no reason on the face of the Earth that you think this would be "tarnishing a reputation."

Answer 6

Not to interrupt them but listen until he has spoken his fill. He will have to stop at some time. Or say something like "you are breaking up, I beg your pardon" repeatedly.