1. Diagnosis

Agent has difficulty handling customers with high negative emotion such as angry or upset customers.

2. Behaviour Observations

What you might see or hear that points to this pattern.

• The agent becomes cold and distant when there is a display of negative emotion from the customer.
• The agent stops asking questions when there is negative emotion shown on the call.
• The agent believes that it is reasonable to explain a poor call away because the customer was angry/upset.

3. Session Objective

The objective is to help agents handle their personal reaction to a customer with negative emotions and to stay in control of the call.

4. Session Tactics

How to prepare for and structure the 45-minute call review.

Step 1: Get the agent to identify their physiological response to anger. Play a call where the customer gets angry — discuss what you both feel in your body. Are you flushed? Have your shoulders tightened? Focus on the physical response, not thoughts. Step 2: Help the agent separate themselves from the target of the anger. The customer is angry at the situation or the company — the agent is the person who happens to be there. How can the agent hold that distinction during a live call? Step 3: Discuss how to accept that someone is angry, empathise with their position BUT not take on the role of being the object of anger. Step 4: Discuss closing down the call — but this is the easy way out.

5. GROW Experiments

Experiments the coachee might choose to try. These are offers, not prescriptions — the coachee selects what feels right for them.

Behaviour Tags