It’s their call on phone rage

Mar 18 2008 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

A TEES VALLEY-based company is leading the way in tackling phone rage.

THE Student Loans Company (SLC), which opens a hi-tech office and call centre at Darlington’s Lingfield Point later this month, has introduced a new training course for call centre operators, which it claims has boosted morale, seen fewer calls passed to team leaders, and the number of customer service complaints drop by 10%.

Its innovative psychological approach to handling difficult calls is now being looked at by major organisations, including London’s Metropolitan Police, the Scottish Government, NHS and local councils.

SLC trainer Alexis Farndell, who developed the course, said: “We have taken recognised techniques and added another layer - the ‘why?’ We changed the mindset of the operator from victim to controller, got them to recognise the signs of anger and accept that it was not their fault.”

She said that encouraging a “no blame” approach allowed people to think about their own behaviour and apply their own boundaries.

“We are talking about emotional intelligence and that depends on many things - our upbringing, and our cultural and religious backgrounds. We are all different and find different things offensive.

“Our people will end a call if they feel they have to. Some companies might put the blame on the operator. If our people hang up, it is because they are in charge.”

She said swearing in itself was not a “rage call”. Many companies had an “end call” policy if a caller started abusing staff, but there were many more subtle ways of bullying.

The SLC training showed staff how to recognise the signs of aggression and to distinguish between that and anger.

Ms Farndell said: “The vast majority of our customers act very reasonably. But at times, people have a right to be angry - we might have made a mistake.

“This training helps our staff deal with the small proportion of calls that are difficult to handle - when a caller becomes aggressive and makes a personal attack on the operator. That is when anger, which may be perfectly acceptable, becomes rage and is unacceptable.”

SLC chief executive Ralph Seymour-Jackson said it was an “unexpected bonus” that its training had been recognised and is appreciated by other organisations.