Handling Customer Complaints

from Resource Associates 31 Aug 14 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz

Customer Service – if they’re trained & good – are proficient at handling conflicts. They have the ability to maintain positive (+) attitudes while engaged in their work. However, a continual barrage of negative customer interactions can be a reality within the role of a Customer Service worker, and they can cause what is commonly called emotional work.

Emotion Work.
1) Short defintion – the requirement of a job that employees display the required emotions (restrained, positive). toward customers – under any circumstances.
2) Long definition – work performed by any service employee who is required, as part of his or her job, to display specific sets of emotions, with the aim of inducing particular (+) feelings & responses among those for whom the service is being provided. In this respect, employees are being required to control and use their own emotions in order to influence the emotional state of others
3) Arlie Hochschild, author of The Managed Heart: Communication of Human Feeling, defines emotional work as displaying a set of emotions that differ from the emotions the service provider is currently feeling. Based on this definition, people in service jobs who are acting differently than they are feeling, can experience high doses of emotional work which can cause stress, fatigue, & diminished impulse control.

Higher level of Stress for Customer Service, no matter what product or service they provide, due to the fact that customer interactions are always fueled with many types of emotions. Stress is a physical reaction that you experience when you cannot cope or have difficulty dealing with a negative or threatening situation. Due to the direct connection between a service provider’s role and stressful situation, learning how to understand, manage, and reduce stress becomes an important skill to master.

Stress Management for Dummies, author Allen Elkin cites:
– 7 out 19 people felt stress at some point on a typical workday.
– People reported that they lost their temper an average of 5 times a month.
– Many people reported that stress contributes to doing things they regret later.
– About 5% of those asked said stress was preventing them from enjoying their lives.

Effects of Stress. People under stress tend to be more on edge and will erupt more quickly and violently, increasing their number of conflicts with people in general. Extreme stress saps your energy because your body is functioning in emergency mode. Stress tightens your muscles, impacts your breathing and the flow of oxygen to your vital organs, and it can cause sleep to be difficult. High stress can put a strain on many of your bodily functions and can lead to high blood pressure, ulcers, & heart attacks. It can become a vicious cycle.

ID & Reduce Stress – which can have many health benefits, as well as making your life more enjoyable & satisfying. It is important to identify what pushes your buttons and produces stress in your life.
1) Identifying your stress producers is the first step in effectively managing and reducing stress. Understand where the stress is coming from or what events are activating the stressful feelings you are experiencing.
2) In order to effectively manage stress, you must build or increase your tolerance for stress. Stress management is your ability to deal effectively with adverse events and stressful situations without falling apart.
3) Having a positive outlook on new experiences and change is also important + the ability to stay calm and maintain control in stressful situations is a large part of building an increased tolerance level. People who excel at stress management tend to face crises and problems head on with a positive (+) attitude rather than surrendering to feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, & self-doubt.

Comments: Any other ideas of how to reduce “Stress” in your life?