When a customer is agitated or hostile and you’re on the receiving end, it’s hard not to take it personally and react with the same level of hostility.
In the April issue of Customer Communicator, the training and motivation newsletter for frontline reps, author Rich Gallagher suggests trying what he calls the Uncle Bob technique.
Bob was one of Gallagher’s most difficult customers. But instead of seeing the loud demanding man on the phone, Gallagher would imagine Bob at his very best moment — perhaps sitting by a fireplace, telling a funny story, surrounded by caring family. It turns out Bob is a real charmer and beloved family man, says Gallagher.
How can this help?
Gallagher explains that “according to many experts in the field of human behavior, our subconscious mind cannot differentiate between imagined experience and real experience.” When you take that positive mental image and act on it, with your own positive manner it can turn that customer around.
Inspiring tips like this appear regularly in Customer Communicator newsletter.