Lived Experience Forum

[florencefifty]

I had a shocking day with demanding customers, one of whom is the father of a staff member.

I seriously don't understand why customers are annoyed sometimes. I work in an inbound call centre. They called us, not the other way around, but they act like we're inconveniencing them with every second that goes by, as if they're forced to be there.

I had someone respond to a message they got from us. They had an outstanding fee of $14, basically because there were a few days that weren't paid for. It was confusing enough, but the customer started over-analysing and debating me about it. Not abusively, but stubbornly. I tried so many ways to explain it to him, and even my support staff were wondering why he wasn't understanding that he had to pay $14. 

I had JUST proposed a solution to his problem that he created for himself, and he started getting abusive and asked me to take the payment and get it over with. That was my intention the whole time, but he made it way more complicated than it needed to be. 

I had a customer complain about a process he had to go through. It's literally thirty seconds, it's barely a process. But he said "I'll just go to a company that doesn't need to do that". He was on a train at the time.

Making a complete fool of himself in public. Can you imagine being on a train and seeing someone argue with a customer service representative because cheques can't be e-mailed out? You'd be concerned for your safety.

How do you cope with abusive customers after work finishes?

[FloatingFeather]

Hi @florencefifty,

Sounds like your day was really a lot. Working in customer service can be challenging - I used to work in retail and would sometimes have negative experiences with customers. 

I read somewhere recently that the demands on customer service staff in terms of challenging customers and/or abusive customers is on the rise. Whilst there is never an excuse for this I do think some of the reason is due to financial strain on a lot of people. I think sadly a lot of people are really struggling to get by financially these days so saving every cent they can get is important. A family member of mine is solely reliant on the pension so every cent does matter to her. Whilst I know that $20 may not be much to some to my family member that is a lot.

When I worked in retail and came across difficult customers I tried to remind myself that this was not about me per se, this more about the customer projecting their feelings upon me/the situation although I do know it can be hard to not take it to heart sometimes, especially if you have had a few difficult customers. I think it's also great that you have shared your feelings here and are reaching out for other peoples idea around this.

I do hope today is a better day at work for you.

Warm wishes,

FloatingFeather

[outlander]

hi @florencefifty
im sorry you were treated like that.
i dont work in a call centre but some of my clients have been quite abusive in the past. for me ive had to learn to leave my work at work and treat myself to something nice afterwards.

Some people have no manners and is often taken out on those around them rather then thinking before speaking. To me the guy on the other end of the phone was abit frazzled as to why he had to pay extra, perhaps he was struggling with his finances and couldnt explain that or was to embarrassed. Sometimes you have to think to yourself 'ive done my best today and thats all i can do' and start again the next day.