Dealing positively with complaints over the telephone
Featured in the Complaint handling for positive outcomes training manual
By Nina Lockwood
Category: Customer Service
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
In a survey reported in the British press (Daily Mail, 2001), two-thirds of the respondents said they were more likely to express their anger over the telephone. For a service provider, therefore, dealing positively with complaints over the telephone is a skill worth developing.
You start by introducing the participants to a formula for dealing with complaints over the telephone. This encourages them to put themselves in the customer’s shoes in order to assess their own expectations of the outcome required. You then discuss the importance of building rapport whilst on the telephone, and introduce the participants to five key skills for getting onto the same wavelength as their customer. Next, you look at difficult callers, that is, people who are abusive, long-winded or simply difficult to understand on the telephone, and also at difficult behaviours. You provide suggestions for coping successfully in these situations. Finally, you remind the participants once again of the importance of listening to the customer when dealing with their complaint on the telephone.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to help participants to look at the basic telephone skills of building rapport and effective listening in relation to complaints, and to deal with ‘challenging’ callers and their sometimes difficult behaviour.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 6 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 02:45:00 |
| No of Pages: | 18 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers with participants at all levels as an essential skill, it is particularly relevant for anyone who deals with customers on the telephone or who is responsible for handling complaints.
Download the training activity, Dealing positively with complaints over the telephone as featured in the Fenman training manual; Complaint handling for positive outcomes