Toxic People: Decontaminate Difficult People At Work: Without Using Weapons Or Duct Tape

Chapter 13. Toxic Customer Service

Have you invested in your Toxic Check Meter? This is a noninvasive test providing immediate results to determine the intensity of your customers' anger. It lets you assess how ticked off they really are. It does not, however, determine the cause of a toxic customer's anger, as this varies by a subject's individual rage. Dream on—of course there is no such equipment. Wouldn't it be great if you could actually have tools that would determine exactly the kind of situation you faced? Actually, you do have equipment and it's built into your talents, skills, and behavior.

Government statistics tell us that one upset client can influence up to 67 others, whereas one great client will influence only three. Consumers relive and relay their experiences to others for 22 1/2 years! If you are a business owner or have a job, this should be very scary to you.

Want to have some fun? Type "Customer service sucks" into your web browser search engine. At last count, there were 2,410,000 web sites, postings, and blogs outlining specific company names and problems. Is your company part of that list? Whether you are the leader of the company, on the maintenance team, or anything in between, you should be concerned. The minute a company heads downhill with poor customer service results, your job is in jeopardy.

Every employee, manager, and supervisor—everyone—has a responsibility to provide exceptional client care. The problem? You have to be "on" all the time for two ...