“Please remain on the line. Your call is very important to us.”
How many times have you heard that before while waiting to speak to a customer service representative? When you finally do get to talk to someone, do you really feel like your call is “very important” to the company?
(Athena Sandrini/pexels)
Now let’s switch things around. You’ve been the customer, but let’s see this from the perspective of the customer service representatives. Taking calls from irate customers can be incredibly deflating—especially when you may not have the power or skillset to resolve concerns. No wonder customer service tends to have a higher turnover rate than many other industries. (According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average customer service representative between ages 20 and 34 stays at their job for just over one year, and the average call center turnover is twice the turnover in other departments).
Enter high-conflict negotiation coaches who specialize in de-escalating heated conflicts. When you enlist these professionals to train your customer service teams, they can boost your team’s effectiveness and morale and dramatically improve your company’s customer service. These coaches are experts in teaching people to defuse high-conflict situations and reach solutions that work for all parties involved.
High-Conflict Negotiation Coach Strategies
Here are several skills high-conflict negotiation coaches can teach to empower your customer service team:
1. Active Listening
It’s one thing to simply listen to a customer’s gripes, but it’s another to practice active and intent listening. This involves listening carefully to a customer without interrupting, forming biases about the customer, or predicting how the story will end. Making those mistakes can be all too easy, especially when the customer is upset.
However, actively listening to the customer will go a long way in helping them feel understood and lowering tension. High-conflict negotiation coaches are experts at teaching active, empathetic listening. They can offer techniques to help customer service representatives listen with empathy and an open mind.
2. Asking Clarifying Questions
Upset customers tend to vent to representatives. When they’re in the middle of venting, they often unintentionally include unnecessary details and gloss over important ones. It can be difficult to know which clarifying questions to ask and which details to highlight.
High-conflict negotiation coaches can teach customer representatives to spot essential details and ask questions in a nonjudgmental way. This shows customers that their issue is important and that the representative truly cares about fully understanding the problem. It also helps representatives understand the core issues to find a solution more quickly.
3. Maintaining Positivity
A smile is contagious; customers can hear a representative smiling through the phone. Maintaining a positive attitude is key to helping customers remain calm. After all, it’s difficult to stay angry at someone who is optimistic and friendly.
Remaining positive in the face of potentially angry customers is a tough skill to master. Conflict negotiators can help customer service teams remain positive—or at the very least, put on a positive front—and spread positivity to the customer for a better chance of success.
4. Adapting to Different Communication Styles
Every caller will have a different communication style. Some prefer to solve the problem as soon as possible, while others like to go off on tangents and use elaborate analogies. Still others approach the issue with kindness, while some jaded customers will begin the call with an unnecessarily angry or aggressive approach.
Navigating different communication styles can be tricky, especially if you haven’t been taught about the reasons for different approaches and how to handle them. Luckily, high-conflict negotiation coaches understand all the nuances of communication and are fully equipped to help representatives respond to each style. They can be an incredible resource to customer service teams, helping everyone have a smoother, more positive experience.
5. Communicate with Respect
No matter the customer’s communication style, it’s important for all representatives to remain polite, respectful, and professional. This is more difficult than it sounds—avoiding sarcasm or subtle insults is only part of navigating the minefield of a conversation with an irritated customer.
High-conflict negotiation coaches can teach customer service teams special techniques for communicating respectfully with customers, avoiding interruptions or placing blame, acknowledging concerns, and using polite yet assertive language.
6. Brainstorming Creative Solutions
Sometimes, helping a customer involves more than the standard protocol. Unique situations call for unique solutions, and it’s not always easy to find one that will satisfy both customer and company.
Fortunately, conflict resolution specialists are master negotiators. They have the ability to think on their feet and come up with creative solutions on the fly. They can teach teams how to be flexible and creative in problem-solving to reach a solution that works for all parties.
7. Establishing Clear Boundaries
Perhaps most importantly, customer service representatives need to learn to be respectful while protecting their mental health. Sometimes, certain customers will never be satisfied—they’re just looking for someone to yell at.
Customer service teams should never have to put up with verbal abuse. It’s vital for them to receive training on maintaining a professional exterior while knowing how and when to end a conversation due to a verbal assault.
High-conflict negotiation coaches can help customer service members learn negotiation skills to minimize verbal abuse and establish clear boundaries for protection. Team members who aren’t given these skills won’t last long in their positions, so it’s essential for companies to provide this aspect of conflict resolution training.
Regardless of the situation, it pays to receive training from experienced high-conflict negotiation coaches. Their unique skills and techniques help reduce tension and anger while maintaining professionalism and positivity. Whether helping customers resolve an issue or helping team members protect themselves, high-conflict negotiation coaches are an invaluable asset to customer service teams.