Work in customer service and been threatened?

Hey lulu, we meet again. In my short stint with a customer care organization, I realized that there are different people who call up and you have to be prepared for their gifts... the rebukes, the abusive language also are a part of these gifts. This situation arises when you are unable to re-solve the problem of the caller. There was a time period when the callers (mostly Americans) used too much of abusive language. Now the problem is that in India people have a habit of taking things too seriously and this is where things go wrong. The use of those 4-letter words are a common thing in the west and also in Australia. So you shouldn't get a high on these. The call centers should train you on how to handle such calls so that neither the business is lost nor are you put into more stress. You also have to take care in handling such customers. Be more open to things like these as Customers can be of any type and from anywhere... you have to learn not only their ACCENT but also their way of talking and living.

I have a son who is working in a call center. And nuisance and angry calls worry me as I know he has a short temper. Or perhaps working there tamed him since he lasted long. But I still wonder how he and others cope. Must be terrible.

Hi, I was working in a call centre before and everyday I was handling different kind of customer.Be it a nasty customer, nice customer and very friendly customer.but I never encountered a customer who is threatening me. That is very dangerous and it is best to report the case to the higher management for them to do the investigation. The caller may not be a customer to your organization and he/she may just call in for fun and making nonsense. So next time when you encounter such case, just pass the phone to your team manager and highlight to him instantly.

I've been working in the call center industry for almost 5 years now. I've lost count of the number of irate agents I've spoken too. When I was just starting, getting shout at and cursed at, affected me a lot. It affects my performance. But I've learned to not take it personally and just do my job well. You can't please everybody. Certainly not angry customers who want more than the company can give. Just remember, that when they become personal and profane, you can always give a warning.

It keeps happening in the call center industry. Especially if you are from India. They might abuse you, but we need to understand that it is nothing personal against us. Hence let them speak out then try to explain things. But if the abuse does not stop you can always disconnect the call. That is the usual procedure. You need not listen to any abuse.

I did not do customer service but I did work at a telemarketing center. I was threatened numerous times including once by a man who said that he was a lawyer and that he was tape recording the call. He said that he would sue the company and me because he got called 12 times in one day. I called a manager over and he talked to the man and finally ended up getting hung up on. We highlighted his number as a do not call so the next time it was called the telephone sales representative did not say anything just hung up. I also had a man threaten to call me while I was eating supper as if I knew when he was eating his lol. Telemarketing can be crazy at times.

lulu1220, i have relatives who also had to deal with rude customers. no, there's no need being threatened when customers are trying to solve their issues. some police officers think their above the law. still, i can certainly understand customers getting mad at bad service though as i've experienced it but i would never threaten harm. i've also heard of collection services threatening harm to people that owed money. happy mylotting

Hi, lulu1220. This has never happened to me before. I think that this police officer really was not a police officer. What police officer do you know that curses a customer service rep out? And then threatens their life?? This was very mean. I would not blame you. I would have asked my manager to take the call too. I hope that his voice was recorded as he was saying all of these mean and nasty things. If he was a police officer, then he could have been fired and possibly placed into jail for threatening you!

I have worked in customer service, and computer help desk in my early years of employment, and I was a long distance operator. I can say that none of my customers cursed me,but there were a few who had a rude tone while discussing their problems. First of all, most customer service training will tell you not to tolerate cursing, or inappropriate speech, and we could hang up. On the other hand, rude customers, we were to transfer to supervisors. Maybe it is the stress of today that set people. I always had a tone of cheerfulness, and assured the customer that their problems would be solved. Someone told me the other da,y that they were quiting their job with a cable company, because they were getting cursed out everyday.

In the contact center industry, this happens every single day. Just make sure that you work starts and ends by the time you log in and log off from your phone, everything that happens within that time should be left there. You should create a different persona when you're at work so that your personal life won't get affected.