CUSTOMER SERVICE CORNER: 5 steps to coping with annoying people

Posted on July 31st, 2009 by Eli Journals

You most certainly don’t have to like everyone. But if you don’t want to be miserable eight hours a day, you have to find a way to deal with both your annoying customers and co-workers. We’ve all had our share of difficult people in the workplace, and chances are you will have to face dealing with them as well. Whether your co-worker is too loud, or a customer won’t stop talking or has an annoying personality, you can still maintain your patience. The next time you’re forced to deal with a difficult person, try practicing these five tips:

1. Examine Yourself. Before you become upset at a co-worker or a customer, see if you can come up with some reasons as to why. If your reasons are internal such as you’re having a bad week, then you may want to rethink your feelings.

2. Talk it out. If you do realize that it is your co-worker or customer and not you, you can first try to talk it out with a trusted friend. Sometimes a listening ear and a chance to get what’s bothering you out of your system is really all you need.

3. Stay calm. Remember that the best time to approach someone is when your emotions aren’t high. This goes for talking about the person as well as talking to the person. Besides, you don’t want to be the one stuck apologizing for getting out of line because you overreacted.

4. Confront him. If after discussing it you feel that the problem still exists, you can confront that person privately. Contrary to popular belief, some people have no clue that what they are doing or saying bothers their co-workers. As for customers, you usually won’t have to deal with the same person for too long, so if it’s a minor annoyance, just chalk it up as a character-building experience. If a customer is getting out of control and starts yelling or swearing at you, call your supervisor over to handle the situation.

5. Minimize contact. If you can’t seem to come to an amicable solution, do your best to avoid that particular co-worker or customer. If you have a regular customer whom you clash personalities with, see if your supervisor can forward his account to a different customer service representative.