Customer Service = Verbally beat up/Verbal abuse?? (employee, credit, debt collector)

[convextech]

Originally Posted by Down in a Hole

So is this really how it is? I just think this is just wrong to talk to someone like that on the phone and i NEVER act this way. I bave customers that interrupt me all the time(which is annoying) and im supoosed to just shut up and take it.What can i do? Its gets really annoying and anytime someone on my team gets tore up by a customer, they are told to suck it up(happe ed today already, but someone else) Any advice?

That's a call center environment for you. Either find another type job or grow a thicker skin. The customer is always right, regardless of what you think.

[Book Lover 21]

It's true, there is a wide range of call centers. I worked in call centers for 15 years.


I once worked at one where people received notices that the interest rate on their credit card went from 4% to 14-24%. That was a real treat. Talk about abuse. I think this was when my abusive childhood came in handy. I just sat there, filing my nails, periodically jumping in with "I'm so sorry Mr. Jones. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do." It really all just rolled off of me. Some people around me took it really hard and couldn't handle it.


There is a difference geographically too. These are all generalizations and don't apply to ALL people, but I noticed some definite trends.


Sorry to say, because I lived there a long time, people in Los Angeles lie lie lie. Seriously. I would tell them that child support liens were on their credit report and they would deny it all day long. People in the SF Bay Area seemed to be very intelligent and patient. New Yorkers, well, don't get me started haha. People in the deep south were super sweet, Jacksonville FL people were, well, let's just say, interesting.


My favorite clients were people in Oklahoma and Tennessee. These were the most genuine and kind people I dealt with. Even if they were in a difficult situation, they would handle it with grace and dignity.


The last call center I worked in was dealing with business owners. These were just a higher class of people. They understood what I was telling them and understood my point of view. Sometimes they didn't like it, but they handled it okay most of the time.


Hang in there. Remember they are actual people and not just disembodied voices. Try to see things from their point of view. And if you can, get ahold of one of those squishy balls that you are supposed to squeeze for stress relief. Don't squeeze it, straighten out a paper clip and stab it when you need to. It will do wonders for your morale.

[convextech]

Originally Posted by maggie2101

I don't agree with this. Sometimes the customer is a sociopathic A-hole and the company is better off without them as a customer.

Sorry, but that's not realistic. The company is making money off that person regardless of their foul mouth.

[SVTLightning]

Originally Posted by convextech

Sorry, but that's not realistic. The company is making money off that person regardless of their foul mouth.

It is realistic. Sometimes you have to fire a customer. Sometimes they are more trouble than they are worth.


On my side job I recently had to fire a customer. Did I lose some money because of that? Sure. Am I glad I don't have to deal with that customer anymore? You betcha!!

[Book Lover 21]

Originally Posted by convextech

Sorry, but that's not realistic. The company is making money off that person regardless of their foul mouth.

99% of the time, this is true. I had a situation once when I worked in a bank. This guy was constantly bouncing checks (which is actually profitable for the bank because they charge all those fees). He would come in on a regular basis begging us to reverse fees. The manager FINALLY put her foot down and said no. The next time that guy comes in, tell him no more fee reversals.


So of course, I was the lucky person he came begging to. When I told him the bad news, he said, "You know Book Lover, one of these days I'm going to come in here with an AK47 and just start hosing people down." I smiled and excused myself. I walked over to the manager and told her that she needed to immediately escort him out and close his accounts. When she started telling me that I was overreacting, I told her I would sue the bank if she didn't.


So she did.

[JohnCurtisEstes]

Originally Posted by Down in a Hole

Ok so I work for a financial management company on the call center side. When i first started, things were great! I had very few rude customers amd i helped everyone out. That was 5 months ago. I dont know what happened since then, but this week has been atrocious. Just last month alone, i jad a guy physically threaten me over the phone, i got called stupid, unintelligent amd the worst person ever by someone else, and i have been getting rude and snarky people all this week.

I never thought people could be so rude and mean, at my last call center job, i actually got told S my A÷=< and im a guy! I just get annoyed, but i have seen grown women crying in the hallway and on the floor at my last job over this kind of abuse. Its just not right. Why do corporations allow people to speak like that too us without any recourse?

I have worked customer service before and i have NEVER been spoken to in person the way that i am on here. I had a co worker tell me last night that i needed to suck it up and this is what we get paid for..wait..say what? No i dont get paid to hear people screaming, yelling, cursing at me, putting me down, and threatening me. I told my co worker that this is what therapists are for, but its NOT my job to get verbally beat up like this.

My supervisor is no help and she says that i take things "too personally" if i did that, then i would respond back which i dont. Its not that people say something, but that it happens MULTIPLE TIMES through out the day. The customers are also incompetent and never have the information that we need and they are not helpful. I cant help someone that is not willing to help themselves. At the end of the day, im tired and just want to go home and crash from being verbally beat on. I would love to change jobs, but this job does has some perks, weekends off, benefits, free gym membership and i cant really afford to anyway

So is this really how it is? I just think this is just wrong to talk to someone like that on the phone and i NEVER act this way. I bave customers that interrupt me all the time(which is annoying) and im supoosed to just shut up and take it.What can i do? Its gets really annoying and anytime someone on my team gets tore up by a customer, they are told to suck it up(happe ed today already, but someone else) Any advice?

I also work in a call center for a MAJOR cable co., and customers usually are not calling to say they love you (!).


Just part of the job working in a call center, nothing unusual!!

[mikeyyc]

No one deserves to be crapped on. I am totally fine with firing abusive customers, and have done it on occasion. You can disagree, you can make a point, you can get angry. No one needs to be personally attacked over something as stupid as a consumer product/issue.

Before you all start telling me "That's not how it works", it is how it works if the Company chooses. I run credit and collections for a global company. I have zero tolerance for abuse, and will drop customers that feel the need to act like that. In return, sales and operations support the decision, as these people are generally the highest maintenance along with the lowest profit guys, and take up an inordinate amount of time.

[convextech]

Originally Posted by Book Lover 21

When I told him the bad news, he said, "You know Book Lover, one of these days I'm going to come in here with an AK47 and just start hosing people down." I smiled and excused myself. I walked over to the manager and told her that she needed to immediately escort him out and close his accounts. When she started telling me that I was overreacting, I told her I would sue the bank if she didn't.


So she did.

I would have called the cops too.

[Down in a Hole]

Originally Posted by Tulippsy

Sadly, this sort of behavior is not restricted to customer service work. I was a flight attendant and boy, talk about the abuse I used take. When I put my uniform on to go to work, I used to feel like I was getting dressed for battle.

Some advice: visualization and a relentless positive attitude really help. I would imagine myself enveloped in a magic bubble that was impervious to negativity. I would also try to send love out to every passenger that I interacted with.

When I would get some miserable, entitled, usually frequent flyer who refused to be satisfied, I would ask, "Mr/Mrs. Jones, what can I do right now to make this better for you?". Usually at that point they would realize I wasn't a magician who could manifest extra overhead bins or two seats together and they would calm down.

What you are doing is a form of emotional labor. You not only need to solve a problem, but you need to make the customer feel happy and valued. That requires emotional energy on your part. You need to develop skills to strengthen that barrier between you and all the negative energy coming over the phone. It takes practice, but you can do it. The first step is realizing that other people's negative emotions are affecting you, and that's where you are. Good luck to you.

Haha, sorry but that first line made me LOL for real haha. Still, flight attendents have a hard job and you should not have to be mistreated. I do my best to stay focused and positive, but when you take 60+ calls a day and 1/2 are people complaining, it can really wear you down.

I guess that is the problem, it requires emotional energy that I do not necessarily have. How do I strengthen those barriers?

Originally Posted by maggie2101

Nobody gets paid enough to deal with that crap. Comcast, AT&T, and others are proof that the customer is not always right. That is an antiquated idea that is just not true.

You are right, I really don't.

Originally Posted by LampTrill

I have worked in customer service roles most of my life up until about 6 months ago. Now I work mainly with computers, which is wonderful...I can yell at them all I want with no repercussions! lol

Words to live by: Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Clearly some people don't understand this concept. I also think it's easier to hide behind a telephone and berate someone, then doing so in person. Takes more guts, than many folks seem to lack.

The worst verbal abuse I ever witnessed was when I worked at an amusement park. They would employ many younger kids (as young as 14). It is absolutely sickening to watch a grown adult (with children!) laying into a 14 or 15 year old. Absolutely disgusting. One time it got so bad, I went and found my manager. The kid getting threatened, screamed at and berated was literally sobbing and cowering in fear of this crazy woman. Manager came over, things continued to escalate. The police they have there had to escort the woman off the premises. The kid was 15 years old, my manager told me that he quit right after that & had his parents come pick him up. Freakin' terrible & absolutely disgusting.

See, that is TERRIBLE! This kind of behavior is exactly what I am talking about...there is just no reason to do that to someone. I personally would have stepped in because I can't stand to see a person bully someone else and that is exactly what that situation is. Workplaces should be held accountable for allowing that kind of behavior to continue.

Originally Posted by MaryleeII

In a call center you're not allowed to disconnect.....

Yep, I even got physically threatened once, and you are not allowed to disconnect.

Originally Posted by kaykay

Call Center jobs tend to be that way. It's unfortunate but you just have to decide if it's worth it to you because of pay or other benefits. If it's not, start looking for something else.

I currently work in a job in which I typically have at least one person call daily who is irate. Some are abusive and some actually throwing a temper tantrum like a child. Anymore, it's like I kinda am observing their tantrum like a bystander. I don't like it obviously but I also don't take it personally either. It helps that I can transfer the call and not handle the situation. Also if the person is cussing, we can terminate the call after a warning.

Basically, though, if it is consistently unpleasant, I would say try to find something else or somewhere else. Customers will be abusive anywhere but there are places where the representative , again, is allowed to terminate a call if the customer is cussing, threatening, etc. There are places where the management will give you more support than what you are describing.

Yeah, not all of our supervisors are that way, but I had the great (mis)fortune of having a lazy supervisor that is not helpful at all. When I thought about it, I felt like she was blaming me for having an issue by saying that I need to stop taking it so personally. Heck, when I went to her it was during our coaching and I just wanted to know what I can say back(if anything) and would it affect my quality score, its not like I came to her sobbing about it lol

[Down in a Hole]

Originally Posted by kaykay

We are where I work if the person is cussing.

We can disconnect if they cuss at us, but I don't think its cussing in general.

Originally Posted by MaryleeII

OP----its tough, I feel you pain!


I do call center work from home, and have for the last 8 years. The benefits are:


I get paid
I work from home
My schedule is very flexible and I can work family, kids, etc around it



The cons are:


Pay isn't that great, and varies from month-to-month
no benefits


Biggest drawback---rude callers!


Just tonight, I decided I'd had it! I just couldn't take one more rude caller! I just logged off early and cried. Regardless of the hit I take in my stats, I simply couldn't do it anymore. I told my dh I quit, its not worth the verbal abuse.


The advice to "suck it up" only goes so far. To say you will get used to it, well, that only goes so far. I've been doing this type of work for 8 years, so, I've gotten as "used to it" as I can. I'm now at my plateau. This is all I can take.


First, take a good look at the type of people who even conduct their business via phone. Those who don't have Internet. Why don't they have Internet? They don't live in that socio-economic world---or put more bluntly, they're too dumb/poor to have a computer! Just as well, most are functional illiterates.


People don't know how to talk on a phone. They don't understand you have to speak into the mouthpiece, not wave it all around, or on speakerphone, etc. Most people text now, so actually talking clearly into a phone is becoming a lost art. Proper enunciation, diction, etc are also lost by the wayside.


Many are true functional illiterates. They literally can't spell their own names! I say "May I please have your first and last name, and will you spell that for me?" They respond by asking another question, going off on a tangent, and I have to ask 2-3 times for their name! Then, its some mumbled version. I keep asking for them to please spell it, many are stumped right there, they really can't spell their own name


Then, they start babbling a blue streak all about their "problem" while I'm trying to get their ID information. What few realize is, I'm on an automated system and it won't let me proceed to the next page until I've filled in all the fields from the page I'm on. Sometimes its taken 5-10 minutes to drag their name and address out of them! Then, they have no idea how to "actively listen" I ask for their account number, they give me their zip code. I ask for their phone number, they give me their social security number.....and so on. When I tell them their account doesn't come up, and read back the account number they gave me, they scream at me that's no my account number, you stupid b**ch. That's my VIN number, or some such equally polite answer.


Then, there's the old people who can't hear. What, what did you say? Speak up, I'm 83 years old.....look, I have the greatest respect for the elderly, I dearly loved my grandparents, but they didn't drive you crazy! The elderly callers keep interrupting, right in the middle of a sentence. What, what....especially trying to give them a number...like a phone number. They interrupt right in the middle, so essentially we're overtalking each other. Everytime I draw in a breath, they overtalk me Perhaps if they would SHUT UP and listen they could hear the number, etc. Then, they never have anything to write with. Look, if you're calling to place an order, or ask for CS, wouldn't you have paper and pen? Then I'm supposed to wait while they search all over the place for an "ink pen". Or I get to hear them shout "Hey, Leroy, fetch me an ink pen" which blasts back in my ear. Then, I try to give them the number, information, whatever, and the "ink pen" doesn't work. Then, they have to find some place to write it down, I had one lady tell me to wait just a second, honey, I need to tear apart this Kleenex box to write on. Then, They literally can't write! Don't try to give them more than one number at a time----I do speak slowly, clearly, and repeat it, but by the second time they're still stuck on the area code---ok, now, that was 8 what? 800! 8 who? 800! Honey, first you say eight, then you say eight hundred, what's the matter, you stupid or something?


All the while, we're being timed on these calls. I was recently written up for long talk time...I'm somehow supposed to control the call. Well, you can't control stupid!


I explain the offer 'til I'm blue in the face---that's 2 orders, 19.99 each, plus $5.99 S&H. Then, I summarize it, so basically that's approximately $26, ok? Ummhmmm.......I only recently realized most don't understand "approximately". I know such orders can be confusing at times, so I go out of my way to keep a running total for them. Then, we get to the end, I tell them their total, and they go ape$hit on me. You're trying to cheat me. the offer said $19.99. This is false advertising.....I think half the time the callers are drunk, high, and/or just plain stupid..


Then there's the foreign callers. They can't speak English worth a damn, and get upset with me if can't understand their mish mash. Look, they are in our country, no one guaranteed them the right to CS in whatever language they choose to babble into the phone. And no, they might think they are speaking English, but no version of English I can understand. The "language barrier" callers are the most obnoxious of them all. They actually might understand if they would actually SHUT UP AND LISTEN but no one can understand when they keep overtalking. Then, they can't pronounce the spelling of their name, and they always have the "email addy from hell" about 15--20 characters, they can't pronounce half of them, dots, underscores, etc, etc.....ok, look, its their email addy, they somehow set it up, at least learn how to pronounce it!




Long rant here, but, OP----call center jobs are the pits!I would only recommend them as a survival job, to bring in some needed income while looking for something more tolerable. For me, and the money I've earned, its simply not worth it


I'm seriously thinking of quitting this and looking for other work. Problem is, I'm disabled, my health varies, some days I simply can't work, and I can pick and choose my hours the way I'm set up now. But looking back over the last several years, I have to wonder if the small amount of money I make is worth the emotional toll?

Wow, you literally nailed a lot of my issues right on! Everything from the number to foreign calls. I have to ask for a number too and its like, what social security number? Did i say social security number? no...telephone number? nope, not that either! lol.

I don't know what you have to say at the beginning, but I do not start with, "How may I help you" because they would instantly go into their long problem and I can't verify the account, so I introduce myself, ask whatever verifying information that I need, and THEN when I have their account pulled up, then I ask them how may I assist them.

And yes, I get people that interrupt me too and it really bugs me, it shows a lack of respect and everytime they do it, I have to shut up and listen, sometimes, I have to interrupt when they decide its a good idea in their mind to read me the entire letter they got, which I can also see on my computer screen. This wastes time and is not necessary. Now they added it to where we cannot interrupt the customer at all, so if they interrupt us, we have to just shut up and take it...it sucks

I will be in training sometime later this month, so I will be off the phones for a bit. At this time, I will be spending 5 HOURS EVERY DAY(all day on weekends) on looking for another job. I promised myself this, no more call centers, this is the last one, like ever.

Originally Posted by WeHa

You said its a Financial Services company, does that mean you're doing debt collection? That would explain a lot about the responses you're getting.

I actually wanted to answer this..i deal with INSURANCE, so the recent downturn in the stock market has nothing to do with what I do. A lot of times, we send out several different notices(usually 3) saying that we need proof of insurance. A lot of times, the customers do not answer or don't care, then we have to purchase insurance for them because they have an auto loan and now the payment goes up...and now they are mad.

Ultimately, it is their fault, we tell them what we need and we don't get that information. Its not like the bank forced them to take the loan or came to them. A lot of the time, I get customers who think we call the insurance company for them or the dealership, we are not anyone's secretary and the loan is in the customers name, so that is the person that should be handling the loan.

Or at least that is how it was explained to me in training...