Customer Service Focus
Dealing with difficult customers
Remembering the Golden Rule helps CSRs be more effective
By Ruth E. Phillips, CISR, AAI, CPSR, CPIW, DAE
I am not proud to say that my health insurance company probably hates me—more specifically, the poor customer service representative who happened to answer the phone when I called with a problem. She probably wishes she was on break at that time. Why? Because I was one of those “difficult” customers. One of those customers we have all had and wished we didn’t have to deal with. The kind that sometimes we just want to put on hold, or allow to hear us bang our phones against the desk because we just can’t deal with their complaints.
I personally thought I wasn’t the problem. After all, I was the customer and we all know that the customer is always right. The question itself was easy: “Why wasn’t I getting my Explanation of Benefit (EOB) Forms?” But one hour later, it had turned into a horrible phone call that has now become the topic of this article. How does a CSR handle a difficult customer?
Listen. The first step in dealing with any customer is to listen. Find out what the problem is. This can be harder with a customer who may be upset. In my case, after several phone calls to my health insurance company, I still wasn’t receiving my EOBs. In my mind, I couldn’t understand how hard it could be to mail me a piece of paper. I was angry and upset. The CSR wasn’t listening to me and I had to keep repeating myself over and over.
Empathize. Next, empathize with your customers. This was my third phone call to the company. My third! In my mind, I had every right to be upset! Be sure to empathize with their situation but avoid blame. Often customers get upset because they have to pay a late fee on a policy. Then they call and complain about the late fee. It would seem easy to indicate that if they had paid their bill on time, then they wouldn’t have had to pay the late fee. Instead, we should remind them of their due date and when their payment was received and maybe offer them another payment option such as automatic funds transfer or the payment-in-full option so they won’t have to worry about late fees again.
Remain calm. Possibly the most important step in dealing with a difficult customer is to keep calm. L.L. Bean said, “Nobody ever won an argument with a customer.” As a CSR, if you can’t keep calm, then your customer won’t. If you speak with a soothing tone, then your customer will respond to your voice. My manager once told me never to argue with a crazy person because someone watching won’t be able to tell the sane one from the crazy one. Keeping your cool is a vital skill in the insurance world.
No matter how upset a customer is, however, it is not okay to let a customer abuse you. Your office should have a policy in place to handle irate customers, and everyone should know at what point it is appropriate to draw the line. Everyone who deals with customers should be made aware of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behavior.
Be knowledgeable about your field. Whatever you tell your difficult customers, make sure it is the truth. Be honest. If you don’t know if a claim is covered or when the claims adjuster will return a phone call, be honest. Don’t give out information unless you know it is true. Refer claims questions to the adjusters. In my case, I was repeatedly told that my forms were mailed to my correct address, and the CSR assured me that she had verified my correct address.
Respect the customer. Even our best customers can have bad days. I am a professional in the insurance industry, and I was being extremely difficult on the phone! Even though the situation can be difficult, the person is not. Always keep that in mind.
Let the customer vent. Sometimes you just have to let a customer vent. Whether they just got hit by an uninsured driver, or their homeowners company had yet another rate increase, customers may just want to express their feelings.
Identify the problem. I thought my problem was obvious, I wasn’t getting my mail. The CSR on the phone couldn’t comprehend that even though she claimed she was mailing me my forms, I wasn’t getting them. She didn’t believe that I wasn’t getting them. At one point she didn’t even believe that I knew my own address.
Get a fresh perspective. Finally, the CSR transferred me to her supervisor. Sometimes you just can’t help difficult customers. You have done everything in your power and you just can’t make them happy. So you take a time out and bring in someone else who can ask some different questions, someone who isn’t as jaded in the current situation.
Focus on solutions. The supervisor went through all the steps and then she focused on solutions. She said, “Let me verify your mailing address.” If my life was a cartoon, this is where the light bulbs would be going off around someone’s head! Somehow my insurance company had mixed up my mailing address and my physical address. They had me living in a P.O. box! No wonder I wasn’t getting any mail! The solution in this case was easy to fix—a correction to the mailing address. Many solutions can be harder to reach. Sometimes there can be more than one solution to a problem. If that is the case, then you can offer the customer a choice.
Resolve the problem. The supervisor corrected and verified both my mailing and physical addresses as well as all of my other personal information, and then she went a step further by requesting that copies of all my past EOBs be sent to me.
Document. Always document any complaint and how the matter was resolved. Two weeks after the phone call, the supervisor personally called me to make sure I received my EOBs and noted that in my file. Not only did she personally follow up with me, but at the same time she documented her file.
I try to remember when I am on the phone with a company with which I’m having a problem that I have a problem with the company, not with the CSR who answered the phone. Sometimes that is hard to do. Just remember that your difficult customers have that same problem, too. To them you are the company and they need someone to place the blame on. Remember to smile and to treat them with the same respect with which you would want to be treated.
The author
Ruth Phillips, CISR, AAI, CPSR, CPIW, DAE, is a licensed property and casualty agent and customer service representative for Morrell Agency, Inc., in Magnolia, Mississippi. She has received several industry awards including the 2004 National CSR of the Year Award from The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research and the 2006 PIA National Customer Service Representative of the Year. For more information on the CISR program, call (800) 633-2165 or go to www.TheNationalAlliance.com.