Building an Effective Strategy for Handling and Reducing Customer Complaints

Contact center agents are under more pressure than most workers. While they may not be saving lives like ER doctors, they often are saving customer relationships, sales and future opportunities for their employers. Each time a contact center worker picks up a call, he or she becomes the organization’s ambassador…the face and voice of the organization. Dealing with angry or upset customers is part of their job, yet many agents aren’t properly trained for the experience.

“It’s the occupational hazard that never goes away, which is why contact center agents are trained extensively (or certainly should be) on how to remain courteous and patient while on the receiving end of unbridled hostility,” wrote Chuck Ciarlo, CEO of workforce optimization solutions provider Monet Software in a recent blog post.

It’s not an easy task, and it takes a certain quality of person to remain upbeat even in the face of hostility and borderline abuse. There is, however, something to learn, even from the most difficult calls.

“Through it all, keep in mind that even these calls can provide valuable feedback,” wrote Ciarloo “Call recording and quality management tools should be used to discover relevant data in a hostile customer engagement. There are opportunities here to salvage a strained customer relationship, and to avoid problems in the future.”

In other words, it’s worthwhile to keep track of what (specifically) is setting customer off. Is it the long wait times? Is it the rambling IVR message at the front end? Is it too many transfers? Are agents not listening to customers properly? Are they offering insufficient solutions to customers? While certain people seem to fly off the handle easily, chances are that some disgruntled customers become that way because of something your organization isn’t doing right. There is a big difference between angry calls and abusive calls, and agents should understand this. It’s also critical to determine the difference between occasionally angry customers and “serial complainers” who are continually on the hunt to “get something” from the organization. Whatever the customer type, according to Ciarlo, there is one formula that works well for the average contact center.

“One popular strategy for handling a difficult call is known by the acronym CARP – ‘Control, Acknowledge, Refocus, Problem Solve,’” wrote Ciarlo. “It was created by Robert Bacal, who wrote a book with a title that should appeal to every contact center agent – ‘If It Wasn’t for the Customers I’d Really Like this Job.’ His advice for handling complaints – ‘Control’ the situation with polite but firm responses; ‘Acknowledge’ concerns in a way that takes them seriously; ‘Refocus’ the conversation to solving the problem rather than complaining about its existence, then ‘Problem Solve’ and wrap it up.”

Using call recording to hunt down problematic calls and classify complaints can help companies understand what changes they need to make in order to reduce complaints. Also, too few companies offer their contact center agents specialized training in complaint resolution. As a result, difficult customers present an enormous challenge for them, raising their stress and reducing their performance (and spiking job turnover). Not everyone is innately equipped to handle complainers, but with some remedial training and guidance in cultivating empathy for customers with problems, agents can reduce their stress, and that of their customers. 

Edited by Stefania Viscusi