Phone rage

Course Overview

This course is designed to equip participants with an understanding of how to handle rage on the telephone, and thereby the potential to transform difficult callers into satisfied customers.

Skills Gained

• Understand how the telephone can cause or exacerbate aggression
• Maintain a calm and professional image, even under intense pressure
• Control stress levels manage personal stress and prevent the knock-on effect
• Learn how to turn raging customers around - restore customer confidence and strengthen loyalty

Prerequisites

None

Course Outline

Defining phone rage: is it a new phenomenon? Is the level of rage increasing? How do rage and anger differ? What is acceptable and what is unacceptable?

• The importance of the telephone as a business tool: the differences between telephone conversations and face-to-face communications
• the importance of managing phone rage!

Causes of phone rage: the top ten triggers

• Staying in control: understanding and managing the emotional response under pressure
• natural reactions vs. learned responses!

• Practical techniques for transforming raging customers: listening with empathy
• gaining insight and control through questioning and clarifying
• responding constructively when you cant say yes
• personalising the call

• Using positive language: being aware of red rags which escalate anger
• getting the tone right!

• When and how to say enough: how to deal with offensive verbal abuse
• when and how to get your manager involved!

• Getting support from your organisation: policies in place
• recovering from an incident!

Action planning