Call Center Customer Service Tips for “Shaking Off” a Tough Call

Just get off the phone with an irate and brutally loud customer? Bad telephone conversation with your boss that has left you stressed? No matter the cause, tough calls can you leave you physically and emotionally drained. Don’t worry we can help!

Having answered millions upon millions of calls over the past 30 years, we know a thing or two about call handling. Allow us to share our top call center customer service tips to help you shake off any tough call that comes your way.  

Our Call Center Customer Service Tips 

1. Breathe In, Breathe Out

Taking deep breaths in order to calm down and relax is no newfound stress-reliever; it’s been around for quite some time now. But do you know why focusing on inhaling and exhaling calms you down?

LiveStrong.com explains the effects slow breathing has on your nervous system, “Breathing slowly and mindfully activates the hypothalamus, connected to the pituitary gland in the brain, to send out neurohormones that inhibit stress-producing hormones and trigger a relaxation response in the body. The hypothalamus links the nervous system to the endocrine system, which secretes the hormones that regulate all activities throughout the body.”

So after you hang up the telephone go ahead and take a few moments to calm your mind and body. If you need some inspiration, Time Magazine lists 6 breathing exercises that take less than 10 minutes to complete.

2. Go for a Walk

It doesn’t have to be a long walk, but just step away from the office and walk outside for five minutes. Allow any stress or anxiety that built up during the difficult call to melt away with each step you take. A momentary change of your environment should also help you to release any negativity you may be feeling.

Get that blood circulating and as we advised in a previous blog, “Clear your mind and get back in a neutral zone so that pent up anger does not leak into other conversations.”

3. Call Your Favorite Customer

Is there a particular customer or client that really appreciates what you do for them? Maybe you can give them a quick call to touch base and see if there’s anything they need. This is a fantastic twofer kind of solution to combatting a tough call.

An unexpected ‘how can I help you’ phone call will make your favorite client happy that you continue to give such great customer service. It will also replace your recent negative telephone experience with a super positive one. This particular suggestion is one of our favorite call center customer service tips.  

4. Listen to an Upbeat Song

A recent study conducted by the University of Missouri discovered, “…an individual can indeed successfully try to be happier, especially when cheery music aids the process.” Blast your favorite upbeat song and really give it your all to absorb the happiness. Be sure to put your earphones in so as not to disturb your colleagues.

Our call center suggests trying one or two of the following songs:

1. I’m Walking on Sunshine, Katrina and the Waves
2. I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), The Proclaimers
3. Juke Box Hero, Foreigner
4. Hey Ya!, Outkast
5. I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas
6. We Didn’t Start the Fire, Billy Joel
7. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
8. We Built This City, Starship
9. You Shook Me All Night Long, AC/DC
10. Free Fallin’, Tom Petty

5. Visit the Water Cooler

If your office doesn’t have a water cooler visit with one of your co-workers and distract yourself from thinking about the tough call. Entrepreneur Magazine recently taught us that, “Harmless gossip between colleagues can build stronger workplace relationships and boost overall morale.” So leave your desk, the crime scene of the negative phone call, and have a small talk session with a work buddy.

Don’t go whining on about the details of your bad conversation or badmouth the person you were speaking with. If you go into the conversation with the mindset of venting out your frustration, you will only elongate that negative and anxious feeling you are trying to avoid. Just take a mini break and start with asking your coworker how their day is going.

Do Tough Calls Happen Frequently?

If you experience negative calls a few times a week, it may be time to look towards finding a solution. Decide if the calls share one common denominator. Do these phone-fails happen with one individual in particular? Do the negative calls all pertain to a specific subject or department?

Once you start looking into the details with a fine-tooth comb you can find the problem. Solve the problem with a solution that satisfies all parties and watch how the calls turn from negative to positive.

We hope our Call Center Customer Service Tips were helpful!

Bonus Tip: Hire a Live Answering Service

 We end this call center customer service tips article with a suggestion that you spend the $20 a month to outsource your calls to a virtual receptionist. Before handing your phone lines over make sure the service is qualified to handle those calls. A recent blog we posted, How to Choose an Answering Service, supplies you with 10 questions you will need to ask when shopping around.

Give us a call at 1-800-785-6161 and speak with one of our account specialists to discuss how we can help.