Any tips on how to relax and gain more confidence in a customer service job?

[Riesstiu IV]

Excellent work Riesstiu IV.

Last Christmas I had job as a sales assistant...over CHRISTMAS. I'm a very shy and hate social contact sort of person, so I can understand where you're coming from. And to be fair, it's only answering a phone

In the end practice did make perfect, I learned to have fun and get on very well with the other staff members and remember that if I failed, it would teach me for next time.

Or it was the customers fault. Customer's always right my arse.

It's probably true that answering phones is a lot easier then being a telemarketer or dealing with customers directly, but it is a step.

Thank goodness I didn't have to work for a hotel front desk within the company. They usually get all the flak for other people's mistakes, but they do get to goof around when there are no guests. Unfortunately, my job actually forces me to work 8 hours a day.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

It's probably true that answering phones is a lot easier then being a telemarketer or dealing with customers directly, but it is a step.

Thank goodness I didn't have to work for a hotel front desk within the company. They usually get all the flak for other people's mistakes, but they do get to goof around when there are no guests. Unfortunately, my job actually forces me to work 8 hours a day.

8 hours a day of practice, and every day you can go home thinking 'that's another day I've survived.' Kinda nasty, but when I did it I always thought "yeah, and if I can do it once, then I can do it again."

Though yeah, we got to goof around a LOT, like playing with the store products (for UK people, I was at the Natural World) which was great fun, and because it was closing down at the same time we had a fair few mini-parties. It sounds like we were slacking, but for me it did a helluva lot for my confidence with job hunting.

 

[Riesstiu IV]

That sounds like fun. They monitor out computer activity and calls like it's 1984. I'm lucky enough to be able to sit next to and talk to a cute girl during breaks and lunch. Otherwise I would have a lot less motivation to get up and go to work.

 

[general_kill]

I'll tell you how I got kick out of a phone assignment:

Last summer, during the campaigning season for the democratic candidacy in the mayor election, I was given the job of conducting a survey. I call listed folks up and ask them a series of questions at their consent.

I got a lot of rejections and rude hang ups but my arragonce got in the way of my job and when the people I called started getting testy, I returned it. I should have realized that I was calling them and I was intruding in their lives.

One guy was trying to intimidate me over the phone, I hate these kinds of people, they try to pull a Jerry Seinfeld move on me (for those of you unfamiliar with this, Jerry Seinfeld had a famous T.V. series years ago where in one sketch, he was called by a telemarketer. He responded wittily by asking for the telemarketer's phone number so he can call the telemarketer back later. When the telemarketer refused, he told the tm that now he knows how it feels and hung up.) I knew what he was trying to do and shot back at his every attempt. My ego got out of control and I went on the attack and made a fool out of him. I didn't realize that the councilman I was working for was standing behind me the whole time and told me to never work on the phone again.

Bottom line, err, be polite.

 

[Desmond Hawkins]

Does anybody have advice for relaxing and speaking with more confidence in such situations?

Valium....

Seriously though, I know how you feel. I hate customer service jobs. I recently got a job as a stock boy, moving heavy stuff all day and I just love it. First time I have never really had to deal much with customers.

 

[Kozmos]

You can always tell people to ef off. That's all the confidence you need.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Any tips on how to relax and gain more confidence in a customer service job?

Talk loud, from the word 'Hello' onwards. It automatically puts the person on the other end at a subtle disadvantage.

 

[covok48]

Go to somethingawful.com and read the following two links:

http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=3853
http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=3885

They've dealt with the worst situations imaginable so it should make you feel better. You you think you've had it rough...