Mastering the Irate Caller

The notion that call centers are stressful environments is nothing new. The never-ending influx of irate customers combined with a break-neck pace is enough to wear down the strongest among us. In his book, Mastering the Irate Caller, Joshua Martin presents a proven formula for how to turn the angriest customer around, and most importantly, how to stay sane on the job. After unexpectedly landing a job at a call center, Joshua quickly discovered that he had something that almost every one of his colleagues lacked: the natural ability to de-escalate conflict. But being good at a job doesn't mean a job is good for you. In Joshua's case, all the angry insults that customers berated him with started to impact his mental health. First, he would replay difficult conversations in his head, long after he had clocked out of work. Then, he became so emotionally exhausted that he began having meltdowns in his car. His colleagues were no different. He saw coworkers having anxiety attacks, quitting on the spot after a call went bad, and even drinking on the job. Joshua knew he would either need a new career or a new perspective. After months of research, he developed a formula to calm down the angriest caller while staying calm and centered. At first, Joshua applied his formula to his own calls only. As he moved into management positions, he began training his staff to de-escalate conflict using the same tools. The results were transformative. This book is the product of his research-a culmination of tips, strategies, and almost two decades of experience in the call center field. It requires a paradigm shift-from being the victim of angry, threatening callers, to gaining the necessary tools and insights to stay calm and centered amidst chaos without taking others' actions personally. Joshua includes valuable information about the way our bodies respond to stress, how we communicate with one another, and what we need to do to be the best versions of ourselves. His step-by-step instructions and practical exercises help readers learn how to shift their mindsets, connect with customers, and leave work at work. Mastering the Irate Caller is a treasure chest of strategies that will help improve employee morale, customer retention, and mental health in the call center field. It is a must-read for agents and leaders alike. Instead of bringing the stress of work home to their families, his readers just might bring home some of his tools instead.