De-Escalation Training for Customer Service Professionals

Customer service agents have one of the most stressful jobs out there. Handling customer complaints for several hours every day can lead to fatigue, frustration, and burn out. This is especially true when dealing with emotionally escalated customers.

At Defuse De-Escalation Training, we provide practical training on de-escalation techniques for every member of your customer service team.

Defuse De-Escalation Training offers de-escalation training for customer service, both in a group setting and one-on-one, in person or online. Customer service representatives can learn the best de-escalation techniques for dealing with angry customers.

By using effective de-escalation techniques with a dissatisfied customer, customer support agents can improve customer retention and turn a challenging customer interaction into a positive experience.

Why Customer Service Agents Need Exceptional De-Escalation Skills

Every customer service agent runs into difficult customers sometimes. You find customers who have already made up their minds that they are mad, no matter how polite, patient, and helpful you are. In situations like these, even the most patient, skilled, and motivated customer support agent can end up feeling frustrated and demoralized.

Customer service representatives need effective de-escalation techniques to help them help customers troubleshoot challenging issues.

Defuse De-Escalation Training has recently expanded its services to include de-escalation training specific to professionals in the customer service field. We help customer service representatives respond effectively to customer concerns and prevent calls from frustrated customers from escalating into formal customer complaints that can get employees of your company into trouble.

Our de-escalation certification for customer service can teach customer support agents to maintain respectful troubleshooting conversations with an angry customer so that the problem does not get worse.

How Customer Service Representatives Can Use Conflict Resolution Skills to Improve Customer Satisfaction

In most tense interactions between customers and customer service personnel, the angry customer knows that the customer support agent is not the true target of his or her anger.

When you apply the lessons of de-escalation training for customer service, you can use de-escalation techniques by refocusing the attention of angry customers on the problem and not on you.

Even if you think you know what the customer is going to say, you should listen all the way to the customer’s complaint. The best way to de-escalate the situation is when customer service professionals treat each customer like a human being, even when you have had ten other dissatisfied customers call you about the same problem that day.

De-escalation for Customer Service Is Not The Same As Conflict Management

De escalation training for customer service is not generic conflict management training. It deals with the different customer concerns and customer requests that you commonly face as a customer service representative. The goal is to de-escalate each phone call from a frustrated customer before it costs your company to lose customers or, worse, to need to downsize its workforce.

This is a very different focus from dealing with an annoying coworker who works with you on the marketing team or in the same doctor’s office. Defuse tailors its de-escalation training to each industry, and customer service personnel will learn to de-escalate the situations that they encounter in their day-to-day duties.

How Customer Service Agents Can De-escalate Common High Conflict Situations

The most effective method of de-escalation is not always the fastest one. When a customer begins to complain about the problem he or she is encountering with your company, your first goal is to listen actively.

You will learn in verbal de-escalation training that, to work toward a solution, you should avoid putting customers on the defensive. Let customers express their frustration and explain the relevant details of the problem before you assume that you know how to solve it.

With de-escalation training, you will learn to show unhappy customers that you are listening to their concerns. Do not try to begin the de-escalation process until upset customers have had a chance to tell you why they are upset, even if your professional expertise already enables you to guess correctly.

What De-escalation Looks Like for Customer Service Professionals

The process of conflict de-escalation is, at its root, the same regardless of the parties involved. Most customer support staff do not learn very much about conflict management psychology in their job training.

Defuse will teach you creative strategies for de-escalation until you are an expert at the de-escalation process and can set an example in your workplace of how to remain calm and ensure that customers feel heard.

One practical de escalation technique to make the customer feel that you are listening is to practice responding as if there is a seven-second delay on your headset. When you think for even a few seconds before you blurt out the first thing that comes into your mind, you consider the customer’s concern for at least those few seconds instead of trying to solve the customer’s problem on autopilot.

Not only does this assuage the concerns of upset clients and keep customers happy, but it is also great for your business revenue.

Why De-escalation Is Essential in The Customer Relations Field

De-escalation training is important in many industries, but it especially makes a difference in the field of customer relations. Effective de-escalation is your most important job duty.

De-escalation training should be routine for newly hired customer service personnel, but most agents just start answering calls without knowing much about conflict management techniques for customer service. Not only do they not know how to employ de-escalation techniques, but they also do not expect how stressful it is to have to take the blame for everything that went wrong with the customer’s interactions.

In other words, employing de-escalation techniques is not just about making the customer feel appreciated; it is also about making your own work less stressful.

Finding the Best De-Escalation Technique for Customer Complaints

You encounter concerned customers every day, but the customers have not dealt with these problems as often as you do. You should stay calm and be patient. It will not make customers calm down quickly if you tell them that the problem is of their own making, even when it is.

In such instances, you should effectively communicate what the customer should do to solve the problem and what you should do to solve it. Customers will feel that you have considered their concerns carefully, and therefore they will stay calm.

De-Escalation Techniques for Customer Helpline Personnel

When you take a conflict management training course with Defuse De-Escalation Training, you can learn the best techniques for customer service personnel to use when handling phone calls from customers experiencing issues with your company’s products or services.

Some of the best de-escalation techniques for customer helpline agents are quite simple, but implementing them takes practice. By practicing customer de-escalation, your support staff can become more confident in their interactions with grumpy customers in person and online.

De Escalating Conflict by Being Your Charming Self

For example, sometimes using active listening techniques is not enough, especially if the customer seems to want to rant on endlessly about the problem. In such situations, the best tool for de-escalating may be relatable stories, true or otherwise, from your personal life.

If you are a natural storyteller, this could be the key to improving customer experience. You may be able to prevent intense conflicts if you defuse the situation with an entertaining anecdote. An ounce of charm is worth a pound of active listening.

Providing Support at In-Person Customer Service Jobs

Sometimes customers try to use intimidating body language, even as you actively listen and make your best effort at de-escalating the situation. If you are finding it difficult to stay confident, ask a coworker to help you solve the customer’s problem.

Make it sound like you are referring the customer to someone who has more authority than you do and can be more helpful. Your best defense against a customer who wants to speak to the manager is to refer him or her to the manager on your own.

De Escalating Conflict on the Phone

Sometimes having to call a helpline in another time zone makes customers irrationally angry. If that is the case, then you have your work cut out for you when it comes to convincing the customer that you can help.

Meanwhile, the customer de-escalation tactics you can use are quite similar to the ones you use when resolving customers’ problems in person.

High Employee Turnover? De-escalation Training Might Be A Solution

Having to deal with a different customer’s crisis every time the phone rings is very stressful. It is no wonder that so many call center agents suffer from burnout. If your call center is suffering from high employee turnover, it could be that your employees need more support in learning to deal with challenging complaints from customers.

Defuse De-Escalation Training Can Help

The first step to helping your company’s customer support staff improve their workplace morale while better serving the needs of customers is to provide training on conflict psychology, conflict management, and de-escalation.

You don’t need a generic conflict management course. Instead, you need something specific to the problems that employees face in customer service jobs. Your employees will learn conflict resolution skills specific to their jobs and begin to apply these strategies as soon as they return to the workplace.

Even your highest performing employees can benefit from conflict resolution training, because it will make their jobs less stressful.

A Peaceful Work Environment Begins With Defuse De-Escalation Training

Defuse De-Escalation Training will help bring confidence and calm to your workplace. We offer training courses specific to many different industries. Contact Defuse De-Escalation Training today to restore peace to your workplace so that your employees can enjoy greater achievement and feel less stressed at work.