The prizes go to those who meet emergencies successfully. And the way to meet emergencies is to do each daily task the best we can. William Feather, 1889 – 1981
How do you handle a moment of anger? Almost all of us would probably take back moments of conversation and actions in our past when they were dealt with in anger. And so when the moment of anger is directed at you, how do you handle it? Believe it or not it’s a chance to shine: even if the only one who will see that brilliant light is yourself. I have always admired the airline employees who are on the front line when flights are cancelled – especially when it’s not weather related. These men and women have to deal with multiple waves of anger with many people who just cannot escape from their trap of anger.
So back to that moment when the conversation is unpleasant, even if it’s not you who created the situation, you are bearing the hit. How do you deal? You may already know many of the tools of the trade. Just to reiterate, here are some on my list:
Let the person talk (or vent) and let them finish. Remind yourself to breathe and for me, the most difficult reminder – Don’t Take it Personally! After you have allowed them to vent
Transfer them to another person to work with them in which case they will need to re-state the problem. This second venting almost always is less heated and a solution can be found – or
Tell them you need a little more time to problem solve and you will call them back in a specified time period. It’s important to call them back within that promised call-back time, but again, having already vented once, they will be in a better place to work with you – or
Re-state the issue to the person asking them to verify and clarify what you have just heard. You allow them a chance to slow their anger while showing that you are listening.
And to me – it’s all about listening. By listening to their issue, you show you care and you show you are prepared to take action which could resolve their issue. We all have experienced a customer service issue in which they didn’t care about my complaint, didn’t take time to listen, didn’t do anything that showed they cared. Yuck.
It’s rarely a great moment when we deal with someone in anger. But we have all been there on the other side. Remember it’s a great time to review that Stimulous > Response rejoinder. The more time we give ourselves to respond to a situation, the better we can provide a response that we’re proud of. It’s not unheard of that the anger will turn into appreciation – and that is a reward.
We have such terrific relationships with our clients and customers that we rarely deal with anger, but I would be remiss if I said it never happened. We should listen, we should resolve the issue to the best we can with a goal that you feel we did “the right thing.”
Payroll is our service – and true service is what we provide.
I am,
Bryan Dear
www.payrolldept.biz
