I wish people would refrain from using customer service as a verbal punching bag.

I've been in your position and for the life of me I'd never go back. That kind of work is REAL work and it's HARD work.

I hope you have a support system in place to keep your mental health on the level. If it helps, let their anger and verbal abuse just flow through you, bc it's not at YOU, the person. You don't deserve this and you should get compensated WAY more than you are.

I have no useful advice, but I hope tomorrow is a better day!

Most workplaces where you answer the phone have policies that let you warn the customer that they are being abusive, and you can hang up if they continue to be abusive, especially if they are swearing at you. If your workplace does not have such a policy, or will side with the customer instead of you for hanging up when a customer is being abusive, why are you even working there?

I work in customer services and I know how you feel!

The company I work for is very customer focussed and is going through a lot of changes at the moment. Sometimes people just want to vent their annoyance/anger at the first person they see (it's mostly face to face interactions). I've been here for 14 years and have learned to try and not take these things personally although some times you can't help it!

I've suffered mentally and have been to see someone about it (although not for this specific reason it probably didn't help it) if you feel depressed at all I suggest trying to find a professional to talk to. It feels weird at first but helps SO much, I can't recommend it enough!

Anyway I hope my advice wasn't too overbearing, just wanted to say that there are more of us out here who understand how you feel :)

An advice about customer service

Quit

Very sorry to hear that. The worst part is, most people don't realize that treating customer representatives well tends to get you the best results. I get that sometimes people are frustrated and may have an issue controlling it. But I think far too many people never even try to relax and treat the person on the other side as a human-being who likely had nothing to do with the initial issue they encountered.

Sorry again, but thank you very much for a generous giveaway.

One thing I don't really understand is why take it so close and personal? I mean, if those people are just plain and simply being assholes, why should it be so bothering to you? You can't help them stop being assholes, so why are you caring so much about what they are jerking around? Try to not let them get on your nerves, try to relax and take it easy. Well, I know it might not be easy, but just try :) all the best!

I get it, working at customer service myself, some people just freaking bastards who love to show their anger on a phone line. They will never show up in a office with that kind of language but customer line is gift for them. Key to cope with that is knowing well what within your reach to help and what not. And if matter is out of your hands just ignore bollocks customer screaming and go by the book in a polite way. Some people got genuinely bad situation and you will see that you just need to be compassionate to them for turning things around. But some are just love to treat people like shit and customer lines ideal for them and its absolutely not worth it to wind up about stupid things they saying. Anyway, here is my two cents on a matter, hope you will get lots of good calls and none of bad ones)

I am friends with most people at the front desk of our company and the stories are sometimes disturbing. My personal highlights so far:
a) 80 year old person calling you to have a thirty minute talk about nothing in particular, but there is nobody else alive that could have a conversation with them.
b) Person giving an order in and then calls at least once per hour with rising levels of infuriation about why no one has magically teleported to their front door yet, to fix the problem.
c) People insulting us, why we wouldn't accept them as customers, despite their past of unpaid bills.
d) People not talking our language (or any language at all) and make up for it by becoming even angrier and louder.

I could continue this list forever, but in my opinion it is clear, that people people are losing the ability of communication in a civil way and the internet and messengers etc. are to blame for it. I have asked people before, if they would talk to people face to face like that and most of them are too cowardish to follow through. Another factor is what I call the "Amazon-effect". A lot of people just can't wait for anything anymore. It seems if people can have goods ordered with same day delivery, they suddenly start applying this logic to every part of their life and think everyone of their needs should be fulfilled ASAP. We are a craft business and certain aspects of our work just need preparation and we are already hopelessly overloaded with work.....

There should be company policy to handle these kind of verbal abuses. 1. Warn people to behave and 2. Hang up if they don't. Besides that just remember that it's not personal and you've probably helped a lot of grateful others with their issues too that day...

I worked as a service rep for about 2 months straight out of school and I still have bad dreams about it years later. It's a nightmare job.
It's impossible to let it slide off you even though you are not the one they're yelling at, you're just an avatar. It's a paycheck but sometimes it's hard not to wonder if it's worth your well-being.
Have a hug. I hope your week picks up.

Well, it's certainly not a job I would like to do, and it's good for you that you can do it. Sounds like just a bad day, so hopefully future days will be better. Assuming you've worked there for a while and this is the first time you've had such a day, hopefully this means that it's a rare occurrence.

You seem to be a nice person, and that's the kind of people I would like to have in CS, so hopefully you'll be able to weather this and continue to work. It's kind of sad that nice people who are sensitive to others' needs are the best to do customer facing jobs, but on the other hand they're also the ones who are most negatively affected by them.

Think of this story as fiction.

Responding to customers who request to keep talking unilaterally?
Privately, switch the phone to the speaker and set it aside.
Because the company's policy was only "Don't call my boss".

As telephone support to solve the problem, can you tell us your situation?

"Shut up! Give an apology and compensation!"

Excuse me, but I can not cope.
There is a problem with the telephone correspondence from other customers, so I can not spend more time just for you.
We hope that you will be able to call again if necessary after the customer has reconfirmed the situation.
So, goodbye.

If it's a very bad phone, let's say it was disconnected by phone line.
In the meantime, talk to your colleagues around you and reply to the phone as needed. (It will probably be judged that there is no need for action.)

The ideal is to avoid the job of customer service.
Why not read the manual! You will want to say that.
On an old Japanese site, there is a "home page that summarizes the strange people that the customer support people encountered", when there was no "Confidentiality Agreement".
Absolute Support Center Apocalypse.
Unfortunately there is only Japanese.
I hope you find information that can share the same trouble with your work. :(

I hear ya, Girlie; customer service - over the phone, via e-mail, and in meatspace - has been part of every job I've had for the last 20 years, whether I was working stock, working a cash register (or that infernal lottery machine), making deliveries, or talking angry patients/loved ones/long-term healthcare workers down off the ledge, and I could tell some stories...

Anyway, there's a lot of good advice, here; I currently work for a subdivision of Big Pharma that deals with long-term care facilities (e.g. nursing homes), and there is some real sticker shock with that, so we can get a lot of angry callers wondering why their bill is so high. As was said, the best thing is to try to see things from their perspective, even if they're mistreating you. Most people aren't bad people; they're just caught up in their own world and their own struggles, and if you can get them to take that step back and realize that you're just a person who's really trying to help them, I find that most people, no matter how enraged, will calm down and listen. I try to speak softly, and I won't lie to you: many people find my voice to be soothing, and that gets me out of a lot of hot water. It's also helpful to be as knowledgeable about the world that you inhabit in your job as possible; I've been all over pharmacy, so I can give people lots of advice, which not only makes them grateful for said advice, but makes them feel like they're in the hands of someone who can take good care of them.

On the other side of the coin, do realize that some people will decide that you're wrong before they even pick up the phone, and nothing you ever say or do will convince them otherwise. I know well enough that it's not as easy as hearing me say this and just flicking a switch in your brain, but just imagine those like you're playing co-op, and you're in Stage 11 in Battletoads for the NES: due to a programming glitch (in the caller's stupid brain), you cannot win, and if you couldn't ever win, then you didn't really fail. They're still stressful, sure, but that tends to help in the sense that they don't haunt you quite so much. When it's because of a stupid corporate decision, be careful, of course, but if you choose your words very carefully, you can play it in a way where you're agreeing with them without really agreeing with them.

I know how it can be, and some days, it sucks; I won't lie to you. Knowing what the field brings, when I speak to someone who really went above and beyond to help me out, I ask to speak to his/her superior to let him/her know what a great employee they have, and sometimes, acts like this are contagious. If you ever need to talk, feel free to hit me up; I'm here for you, if you need me. 💙

Oh, and thanks for Moonlighter, of course!

I worked in CRM (sort of) for a couple of months for a summer job. I even had someone who tried to punch me.
I've been called b**** a lot.
I guess some people are just awful.

• sends hugs and support*

Don't let it depress you too much.

I'm sorry that happened. Most of the time, it's not because the people hate you or that they're just assholes. They've most likely had something that truly got to them and they're venting to you. Try and disconnect yourself from it emotionally since it won't help them with it anyways.

Sometimes we need the lows so we can rise once again :)

Hope you're doing better now.

I'm so sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience ._.

Admittedly, I had times when I was not the nicest person while dealing with customer support u.u One time, I purchased something online and although they took my money, they did not deliver and I was- I have anxieties and they get worse when I don't know what's happening, so I was panicking a bit. Doesn't make it any easier for the person dealing with me, I know, and I felt sorry for her, but I was not really myself. So in the end, I honestly apologized for my impatient behaviour and thanked her for her help and her patience, wished her a great day and that the next person she has to deal with is less annoying.
Btw. I never insult the other person, no matter how agitated I might be.

Usually, right at the beginning, I explain when I'm upset / insecure about a situation / a bit scared and that I know that the person is not to blame and just tries to help me. So hopefully, they don't take it personal when I'm stressed and might not find the nicest words.

I hardly call support and prefer to write them, so my messages usually look like this:
I say hello, try to explain my problem, I thank them for their time and effort.
If needed, I provide additional information and I try to be as calm and helpful as possible.
In the end, I thank them, no matter if my problem could be solved or not.

I think, as long as I'm not panicking, I'm not the worst customer and I hope my behaviour is normal, that others treat the people who try to help them with respect and are grateful. I certainly am!
And being nice and helpful usually leads to getting help and isn't that the reason people usually contact support?

I hope that you feel better soon and that the next customers you're dealing with are nice and don't blame you for things you have nothing to do with.

Sure, these days there are many companies who's customer support has gone to crap to put it simply.
But yelling at and insulting them won't help, and will actually make things worse.
If you believe that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, to some extent that's true, but if it goes too far or happens too much, it gets replaced.
I've actually been called into a supervisors office to witness the results of a call where the caller was very abusive. He got fired. Yes, the customer got fired ! He was refunded for the companies software he was registered as owning, and given legal paperwork that said he had to uninstall all of our companies software, and never buy any of it again.

For that matter, the people in customer service and tech support both want to help you. If you're nice, they want to help you even more than usual. Of course, they all have limits to what they can do. Also, wanting to talk to a supervisor or manager often will get you nothing except labeled as a nuisance caller if it isn't justified, so don't pop of with the "I want to talk to your supervisor" without damn good reason. If it's a tech support issue, neither customer service nor a manager can help you fix it. Customer service can't because they aren't technicians, and managers/supervisors can't because they are busy supervising the techs instead of working on their tech skills and don't have much of an idea of what the current problems and fixes are.

On top of that, if there is someone in the company responsible for whatever your problem is, you aren't talking to them and will probably never be able to, EVER! However, there is a bright side, tech support is there to help with technical issues, and customer support is there to take care of the other stuff, and both groups want to help. It's not just their job, they actually like helping people! Except the assholes and jerks, especially the ones that yell at them or insult them.

Also, don't threaten them, unless you want to have a 4 on 1 with the cops or fbi. Don't threaten legal action either, unless you want to be funneled permanently to the legal department until all the legal issues with you are straightened out, as far as the company is concerned, assuming that you are still considered a customer that is.

Those people on the other end of the phone are still people, helpful people, and deserve to be treated as such!

Hope you are feeling a bit better now

When I worked at a 2nd hand store, I had customers literally yelling in my face because they refused to pay the price and only wanted to pay less, happened way to often.

I work at McDonalds now, I even had a customer, when he hurt me talking about not liking kids, that I should just hang myself
I had customers that got angry because he talked in English to me and I didn't realize ('een quarterpounder menu' and 'a quarterpounder menu' sounds really the same in both languages) and he actually went all crazy to me.
I had customers going crazy because they made a wrong order and so, received the wrong food, etc.

Many times I got panic attacks and cried because of that, it sucks!
Long story short, customer service can be so so horrible while it's not even your own fault and people should really realize there is a normal person on the other side that usually just tries to help.

I know that my advice might be seen as trivial, but try to do something regular to divide work from your personal life.
For me that is workout. After my shifts i go to my fc, do my workout and get my head 'clean'. After that my day can start and i will not think too much about workrelated stuff.
Also.. just tell the customer to calm down or you will end the call. Does not matter what the common policy is, if you feel presure you wont serve the customer satisfyingly.. so theres no point to just be their punchingbag except for your personal frustration.
Sorry for those clear words - heads up, you can cope with that! :)

Many wishes to you 🙏🙏
Stay sure of your qualities.

I'm going to start badly, but the problem is you. No, the problem is not how you dealt with the customer or how you reacted to the situation and it's not your fault the customer is rude or angry.

The point is, you will always find rude, unpolite, aggressive people, specially in a job like yours. Expect to be attacked, expect to be treated badly, expect them to think you are an idiot because you are underpaid and your job is only to follow a piece of paper with unhelpful procedures. Does this make you angry? Of course it does! But you have to expect this is coming for you.

You're probably an anxious person who suffers from panic attacks, you're probably sweet and you're trying your hardest at your work to be polite and to help people... but for them it is not enough! Whatever can you do?!?!

This is where I tell you the problem is yours. You can't do anything. You can only keep trying your hardest. Did you feel that you did something wrong? No! Then stop being angry and frustrated, you did what you had to do. Have confidence in yourself, have pride in what you do, as long as you have a clear conscience keep your head high, don't feel guilty for something that is not your fault or you can't control.

People are mean. Go find someone to give you a hug and a pat on the head. Move on from this. Don't be so hard on yourself.