In support we often write to confused and frustrated people. After all, they likely got in touch with us because they’re confused and frustrated with our products. That’s okay, we’re expert communicators. We can help them get set up.
One thing we can do as part of that is not presume a customer is “abusive” or “rude” or “unreasonable” at the first mention of profanity and frustration. We want to resist our first impulse, which can often be to admonish the customer on their tone. This will more often than not aggravate their frustration.
Instead, when confronted with a profanity-laden message, our first instinct should be to give the customer the benefit of the doubt.
We must treat their frustration as a signal that we should invest more in our understanding of their situation. We need to pause, step back, and focus on the issue at hand. That means fully understanding the history of their interactions with us and their issues with our product.
It also means keeping the conversation focused on resolving their issue. We can recognize their emotion without condemning it nor playing into it. Every person we interact with is, well, a person. We all have moments when our frustration gets the better of us and we’re harsher than we mean to be with a company.
I believe our role in support is to help people be successful. And to see every conversation as an opportunity to change someone’s impression about our business and our product. Even the angry, profane, and ALL CAPS people deserve our help. After all, it’s typically our product or our missteps which have pushed them to frustration. That’s alright, our world-class communication can turn things around.