Hearing: one of the 5 senses that most individuals take for granted. But hearing and listening are very separate things. Listening allows you to hear and absorb what the other person is saying – not only the words, but what underlies them. It can also be the key to finding solutions to problems, and that’s important for anyone who works in a call center or complaint department.
I recently had this experience: I answered a support call and heard a voice yelling on the other end. A client was having problems with our product and was frustrated to the point of wanting to cancel his contract. He was definitely in the ‘fix it or else’ zone.
Since he was already angry and had a lot to say, I gave him time to get it all off his chest. I didn’t try to interrupt or attempt to finish his sentences (even though I’d heard some of his issues before), and I didn’t try to duck his questions or comments.
It’s not easy to hear criticism, and it’s harder still not to get defensive when someone is yelling at you. But by giving him time and calmly hearing him out, he eventually came to realize that I wasn’t going to try to challenge him or give him the brush-off. By actually listening to what he had to say, I was able to piece his problems together, analyze the situation and provide solutions.
In the end, he was a happy customer again. He got to say what he had to say with someone actually listening to him, and as a result we got his program up and running better than before. He now knows that he’ll get what he paid for with his service fee, and we get to keep a paying customer.
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