{"id":2431,"date":"2019-09-18T15:00:32","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T19:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/conversational.com\/?p=2431"},"modified":"2022-10-18T08:57:16","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T12:57:16","slug":"humanizing-phone-communication-with-empathy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conversational.com\/humanizing-phone-communication-with-empathy\/","title":{"rendered":"Humanizing Phone Communication with Empathy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Communicating via the telephone isn’t usually problematic, but when the phone is used in customer service, issues can (and do, on occasion) arise. You might hear these issues called by many names \u2013 rude customers, abusive callers, etc. \u2013 but underlying them all could be a simple lack of empathy on the receptionist\u2019s part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without empathy, normal customer service interactions can quickly turn nasty, peppered with name-calling, yelling, threats, and more. If the customer on the other end of the line doesn\u2019t see the person answering the phone as a \u201creal\u201d person with feelings, but rather as a faceless representation of the company they\u2019re currently upset with, it\u2019s easier for them to devalue the person by talking down to them, raising their voice, or hurling direct insults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dark side of customer service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a well-known, growing problem in the customer service industry. Callers are real people with real feelings \u2013 and so are receptionists, answering service attendants, and call center representatives. Those who answer the phone as part of their job can likely tell you stories you wouldn\u2019t believe about callers being aggressive and rude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps worst of all, reps are expected to remain calm during these \nscenarios and are sometimes encouraged to do what the customer asks, no \nmatter how ridiculous or abusive their behavior becomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Psychology Today wrote an eye-opening article titled \u201cThe Last Bullying Frontier: Call Center Representatives Take a Beating\u201d<\/em> that details the abuse and language phone operators sometimes have to deal with on the job. A quick excerpt from the article shows the effect this bullying behavior can have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018People burst into tears here all the time,\u201d a woman at one call-center said. \u201cI was cursed at, called stupid, slow, moron, retard<\/em> and idiot<\/em> so many times a day-I cried myself to sleep every night.\u2019 Why didn\u2019t she quit? She was a single mother and she needed the job.\u201d\u2013 Psychology Today<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

To call someone an idiot or moron without ever having met or spoken to them before is obviously unwarranted behavior. It shows a total lack of respect and empathy for the other person. That\u2019s why humanizing phone communication with empathy starts with mutual respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The customer is always right?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In America, we often hear the saying \u201cThe customer is always right.\u201d That\u2019s a good general rule, as most customers are polite, caring individuals that make reasonable requests of the companies they do business with. But a general rule can\u2019t be applied to every single scenario, and sometimes, the customer isn\u2019t right. Sometimes, the customer is rude, wrong, or even abusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why do some customers act so poorly in a scenario where so many \nothers manage to get through without so much as an unkind word?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because some lack empathy and just don\u2019t see the person answering the phone as another human being worthy of respect. Instead, they see them as a mere representation of the company who\u2019s wronged them and who isn\u2019t allowed to \u201cfight back\u201d or defend themselves \u2013 in other words, they\u2019re an easy target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rarely do we see individuals starting fights with or screaming expletives at customer service agents in public (though it\u2019s certainly happened before). It\u2019s much harder to be downright rude to an employee who is standing before you than to an employee who\u2019s \u201cjust a voice on the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humanizing phone communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a society, we need to fix this problem. We need to stop giving \n\u201cfree passes\u201d to the small minority of customers who go beyond rude and \ninto abusive territory \u2013 if we wouldn\u2019t tolerate it at home, in school, \nor in public, we can\u2019t tolerate it on the phone. We need to ensure that \nthe friendly, professional folks answering phones around the country can\n go into work without worrying about what names they\u2019ll be called that \nday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establishing better phone communication and improving customer \nservice interactions can be as simple as setting clear boundaries for \ncustomers and showing more empathy and mutual respect. Setting clear \nboundaries might involve creating a policy that states an employee \nshould disconnect from a caller that issues an insult, is warned once, \nand doesn\u2019t stop the behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can lead the change, even if you\u2019ve always been a model customer yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next time you call customer service, make it an exercise to treat the representative just as you\u2019d want to be treated. Remember that the employees who answer the phone are not usually the ones responsible for the issue you\u2019re having with the company. Respect that representatives are limited by company policies and are likely doing everything they can to help you. Remember the phrase \u201cYou catch more flies with honey than with vinegar\u201d if you believe rudeness is the only way to get the outcome you want. And if you\u2019re really struggling to interact peacefully with a representative and feel yourself getting angry, you could ask to be transferred to someone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More empathetic and respectful phone interactions create happier employees that stick around longer, get more done, and enjoy their jobs more. Isn\u2019t it time to change the way we talk to receptionists and customer service reps?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Communicating via the telephone isn’t usually problematic, but when the phone is used in customer service, issues can (and do, on occasion) arise. You might hear these issues called by many names \u2013 rude customers, abusive callers, etc. \u2013 but underlying them all could be a simple lack of empathy on the receptionist\u2019s part. Without empathy, normal customer service interactions … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-service-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHumanizing Phone Communication with Empathy - Conversational LLC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/conversational.com\/humanizing-phone-communication-with-empathy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Humanizing Phone Communication with Empathy - Conversational LLC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Communicating via the telephone isn’t usually problematic, but when the phone is used in customer service, issues can (and do, on occasion) arise. 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