We have all encountered stress on the workplace and we all know there is nothing more counterproductive than it. Especially if you are a help desk professional and most of your time you communicate with clients and customers. Most of the times the stress can be created by frustrated customers or even from completing repetitive requests, also known as falling into a routine. Luckily, there are some tips on how to manage the stress and how not to be counterproductive, so let me share them with you:
1. Try to laugh more – well, not when speaking directly with a client, but try to keep entertaining objects or stress relief toys nearby. After a call from a frustrated customer, entertain yourself a little bit with a funny article or something else that can make you laugh. Don’t let the stress created by a single client ruin your whole day and reflect on the next customers in the line. A good idea is to keep a laugh diary, where you can put every funny call or a funny incident from a movie, maybe. Decompress with the diary after a stressful situation.
2. The frustrated client is just a client with a problem – try to remember, that the customer who tries so hard to ruin your day is not a bad person, he or she is actually a very nice person with a problem that needs to be solved by you. Keep your cool and be cooperative and you will find a more mellow person working with you to solve their own problems. Customers can’t stay angry forever, so be nice and find solutions quickly.
3. Don’t take it personally – the frustration of a customer has nothing to do with you, remember that. But it has everything to do with their current problem that needs to be solved. They might attack you personally in their anger, because most of them don’t realize the impact they can have on your workflow and stress levels, and because, like most people, when we are angry we tend to not think rationally.
4. Be in control – try to take control of the situation. Don’t let the communication with the angry customer get emotional. Keep your cool and start asking helpful questions so you can find a solution faster. The faster you start to develop a solution, the faster your client will cool down.
Also, remember to stay healthy and eat healthy – it can help a ton against high stress levels.