|
|
|
|
Dealing with Difficult People
"Difficult" behavior is often positive behavior taken to extremes. Stress, in particular, can push us into these unhealthy extremes. For example, a candid talker-personality might become so brutally honest that he or she hurts others' feelings. View the chart below to see examples of healthy behaviors taken to unhealthy extremes.
|
Behaviors |
|
Unhealthy |
Healthy |
|
Healthy |
Unhealty |
|
Obsessed with details |
Detail Oriented |
Focus |
Big-picture focus |
Sloppy |
|
Over emotional |
Warm |
Emotion |
Cool |
Cold |
|
Nasty tempered |
Passionate |
Temperament |
Eager to Please |
Over sensitive |
|
Lazy |
Manages time carefully |
Time
Management
|
Proactive |
Workaholic |
|
Intrusive |
Friendly |
Relationship with Others |
Professional |
Impersonal |
|
Paralyzed |
Careful |
Judgement |
Open-minded |
Rushes to Judgement |
|
Argumentative |
Critical Thinker |
Thinking |
Other-focused |
Gullible |
|
Self centered |
Self Confident |
Relationship to self |
Bold |
Martyr |
How to Deal with an Angry Person
Climbing the Anger Mountain - When people are really upset we say in customer-service-talk that they need to “climb the mountain of anger.” The size of the mountain is dependent on the person and how much stress they are under. Sometimes the mountain is small and quickly handled. Other times it can take a while for the angry person to “summit” or reach the peak of their emotional journey.
Here are the Steps to Climbing the Mountain of Anger
-
Start – The angry person states the problem. In this step, the angry person starts talking. As the customer service representative, it’s our job to sit back and listen, or, at most, ask a few questions to gain the nature of the issue.
-
Listen – Let the person fully vent about what they feel the problem is. It is very important to not interrupt the angry person at this step. Don’t stop the person and assume you know what the full problem is, and try and move the person to an early resolution. By stopping the climber, the angry person will either start over again with their problem speech or become quiet. Either way, the customer will not believe you have their best interest at heart, and you will end up paying more, in either time or money, to make the customer happy.
-
Question – When the person is done complaining, or starts to repeat themselves, ask a question to clarify the situation. Wait for the person to stop, or watch to see when their bunched shoulders start to relax. Don’t assume that they are done stating their issue. Ask questions about the main points to flush out any further complaints and confirm your understanding of the situation.
-
Fully State – This is when the person has fully vented their issue AND you’ve followed up with questions to confirm your understanding of events and your customer’s feelings about the situation.
-
Resolution – Now, and only now, it’s your time to speak and propose a solution. If the mountain was climbed successfully, then this step will be quick and your customer will be more likely to take a lower cost solution. Remember, customers just want to be heard and understood. If they feel your company understands them, they will believe that your solution is in their best interest.
Page 123 |
Additional Resources
|
|
|
|
