De-escalating Customers

Quick points for de-escalating

*User power words and be confident in what you're saying
*Rephrase the issue so they know you understand what they're saying
*Us empathy instead of sympathy
*Get a second voice to reiteate what you've communicated
*Be reasonably transparent
*Be thoughtful and provide full picutre responses

• The escaltion path for Banno Implementation team starts with your direct team leader. Then if needed, your team lead will engage Sheena Deutsch, and together they will determine who else needs to be pulled in. Never hesitate to raise the flag for help. Be proactive in asking for help and raise the flag to your team lead but don’t be afraid to have hard conversations. Bad news does not get better with time. It is always better to be reasonably transparent with customers up front. If you think something you need to communicate will be hard to deliver, ask for help. We’re here to help with delivery of difficult conversations
• When you sense a customer is getting heated, pick up the phone and call the customer. This is the quickest way to calm them down and help them feel heard and prevent further frustration due to miscommunication that can happen via written communication
• Stay calm and never take it personally! Even if you really screwed something up, own up to it and have it be a lesson leard.
• When you call the customer, listen. Let them get it all out. Take notes on each item they’re upset about so that when they’re done, you can go back and hit on each of their items.
• Be thoughtful in how you respond and if the situation is really bad and you don’t know what to say, let the customer know you hear them and it sounds like another call with management needs to be set up. Wrap the call up quickly and raise the flag for help.
If a call is really going south, you can always ping a team lead to see if they're available to quickly hop on the phone with you.
• If you don’t know what to say, generally you can always apologize that you do not have the answer but reassure them you understand how important the thing is and that you will ensure we get them answers.
• Create a cheat sheet of helpful hints or things to say so you can pull that up when you know you’re going to have a difficult call. This can help in case you’re someone who starts to panic or “blank” in stressful situations.

**_NOTE:_** There is a difference between a frustrated/grumpy customer and an abusive one. You should never have to manage an abusive customers. If you're dealing with an abusive customer or if you're not sure if they're being absuive, engage your team lead immediately.