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§§ Table of Contents − − − − − − − − −
Ultimate Guide to Difficult
Conversations
1. Introduction 2. When you don’t know the answer 3. When you have to transfer a customer to someone else 4. When a customer requests a feature or product 5. When a customer asks you for a favor that you cannot do 6. When there’s something wrong with the delivered product 7. When you close the conversation 8. When a customer is angry 9. When a customer is unwilling to pay 10. When a crisis occurs 11. When you have a frequently complaining customer 12. When customers complain on social media 13. When you have legal issues 14. When you have to deliver bad news 15. When you have an abusive customer 16. When customers cross boundaries 17. When the customer speaks a different language 18. When a customer asks a vague question 19. When customers ask when something is going to be available 20. When you or your fellow agents made a mistake 21. When a customer wants to speak with a manager 22. When you can’t resolve the issue right away 23. When you need to let a customer know that it was their mistake 24. When a customer reaches you by mistake 25. When a customer asks how your product is different from others 26. When a customer is worried about how secure your service is 27. When a customer says that they forgot their password 28. When you want to point a customer to your documentation 29. When a customer violated your terms of service 30. When a customer is not tech-savvy 31. When a customer is right, but your policy is not 32. When a customer sounds like a bigot 33. You’ve got this!

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16.

When customers cross boundaries

There’s a whole case on how customers will interact more flirtatiously with customer support representatives with a female avatar. Given that, it should come as no surprise that there is no shortage of customers willing and able to cross boundaries when it comes to support team members.

If a customer asks for a date or suggests something inappropriate, you should gently tell them so, and then also notify a manager so that they can keep an eye on the situation. You do not have to be direct or aggressive with the customer, but do let them know that there are penalties for behaving inappropriately. Here’s an example:

Hi there,

Thanks for your response. While I am going to respond to your request, first I wanted to address your comment about [whatever they said that was inappropriate]. This is a professional conversation, and I think it’s important to continue to focus our efforts on getting your issue resolved. In the event that we aren’t able to work together to resolve the issue without further inappropriate comments, I’ll have to have you talk with my manager instead.

With that being said, [insert resolution to their issue here].

I hope that all helps, but please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

This keeps the conversation professional without being too accusatory, and also lets the customer know that there will be escalation if the issue persists.

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15.
When you have
an abusive customer
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17.
When the customer
speaks a different language
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