Recognizing different kinds of callers and how that can help you

One of the most important skills as a call center agent is to learn how to deal with difficult callers. One way to prepare you to yourself to deal with difficult callers is to learn what types of problem callers you will come in contact with.

1. No work – The first in our list of different kinds of callers I’ve dealt with is commonly found in tech support. This is the caller who does not want to work with you. They do not believe that you can help them and want someone to come to their location or they want a specialized group to deal with their issue instead of you. In most cases it is better to create a ticket instead of trying to troubleshoot the issue because they will refuse do what you ask or say they have already done whatever you are asking.

2. Talker – The next type of caller would be the talker. This kind of person explains their problem over and over. The problem with this caller is that it is hard to get any in depth information from them. They have decided they know what the problem is and want to tell you what it is. They often tell you the same thing even when you ask them different questions.

3. Social – This caller cannot deal with quiet. If you are trying to research there problem so you may not be able to ask them questions or make small. They therefore feel the need to fill the silence for you. They try to ask you questions about how your day is, the weather, sports, or a number of other topics. Sometimes you get the feeling that these people call in because they are lonely. How much of a problem this is depends on your ability to multitask. If you can carry on a conversation while reading or reviewing their bill it will not be a problem however this has always been a problem for me. I’ve always felt like I could fix their problem faster if they would stop talking.

4. Smarter than you – This is another caller who will often refuse to work with you. When you ask them to do something to help troubleshoot the issue they will often say they have already done that. It is helpful to ask them to do it again because sometimes they are lying to you. With this kind of caller it is very important to maintain a confident tone of voice. If they hear weakness they will turn on you and may ask for someone who knows what they are doing.

5. Angry caller – This caller is often angry because they have called in before and their problem was not solved. You will need to just let them rant because sometimes this will help them call down. You should try to be empathic and make statements like I’m sure that is very frustrating for you. One thing you should not do however is admit blame. Just because the caller says it is your fault doesn’t mean that it is.

6. Aggressive caller – This caller is difficult to deal with because it is easy to lose control of the phone call. They will insist that you do what they say. They do not usually yell but there tone of voice is very stern. They are the person who thinks we can resolve their problem if we try harder and they are going to be sure that we do. They often sound like a parent disciplining a child.

7. Abusive caller – This caller is different from the aggressive caller. They will often swear at you, belittle you, and attack you personally instead of complaining about their problem. This caller is the most difficult caller to deal with. It helps if you have a lot of patience and don’t take things personally. Hopefully your center will have a policy where you can send the call to a supervisor or terminate the call but this is not always the case.