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Be Polite To Service People
Your problem is not their fault so don’t treat them like it is
Yesterday I was talking to a friend who is a supervisor for the customer service department of a local HVAC company. I live in Texas, so, as you can imagine, AC is pretty important, particularly during the hot summers.
This summer has been particularly bad. The heat started in June and has not let up.
My friend was relating that people would call up angry because their AC was out. My friend understood why they were angry and frustrating. So did the customer service workers.
After all, no one wants to be without a way to cool off when the temperature goes above 100 degrees F. Even people lucky enough to have a pool only get temporary relief.
My friend said as long as the callers limited themselves to what she called “normal upset behavior”, they were tolerated. However, if they started yelling or cursing out the customer service person, she would be called to deal with the customer.
She said in those situations, she always makes sure the customer is put on hold for a few minutes.
“This is not to punish the customer,” she explained. “It’s to give them a chance to cool off before I talk to them.”
