Despite the perceptions of the public, working in government and public sector can be difficult and stressful. Most government employees are willing and able to the best job possible, but are restricted in what they can do for government "customers" by regulations and laws.

Government staff often deal with difficult, frustrated, angry and even hostile people, some of whom are at their wit's end.

This book was written for government staff, to teach them how to deal more efficiently, effectively and professionally. Not only can the techniques in this book shorten angry and hostile interchanges, but they can help government employees reduce their stress levels.

Written in plain English, specifically for the public sector, it provides very practical, hands-on instruction on what to say, how to say it and how to behave with angry members of the public.

Where do these techniques come from? From research, psychology, lingustics, but perhaps more importantly from over 5,000 government staff who have shared how TH

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Product Description

Customer service is tough enough in the best of times, it becomes even more challenging and difficult if you have to deal with angry, upset, frightened or abusive customers. If you deal with difficult or angry customers, no doubt you understand the stress and frustration YOU feel as an employee, not to mention the sheer amount of time these customers consume.

Now you can learn to deal with hostile customers more professionally, and reduce the amount of stress and time associated with difficult customer service situations. The Defusing Hostile Customers Workbook will teach you how to deal with tough situations.

We'll tell you what techniques you can use to get ranting customers to stop ranting, and start listening. We'll teach you to use very specific techniques to both calm people down, and shorten difficult interactions. We'll even help you have more confidence in tough situations, and provide workplace violence related safety tips.

The Book

This workbooks weighs in at over 200 pages, and doesn't just tell you what to do, but provides exercises you can do to practice customer defusing skills. The answers to the exercises (and detailed explanations) are provided at the back of the book. It's like a seminar in a book, but you don't have to do role-playing to practice.

The workbook was originally designed for those working in government, public sector and publically funded organizations, including educational institutions (e.g. schools, school boards). Don't be fooled though. The skills and techniques inside apply to virtually any type of job that involves interacting with customers or clients.

Here's just a few of the things included:

. Nature of Hostile Behaviour

. How Hostile Situations Escalate

. Principles of Defusing

. Art of Self-Control

. Starting Off Successfully

. Using Co-operative Language

. Verbal Self-Defense Techniques

. Acknowledgement Tactics

. Countering Non-Verbal Intimidation

. Referral Techniques

. Telephone Hostility

. Limit Setting

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1919314 in Books
• Published on: 1995-10-01
• Binding: Plastic Comb
• 226 pages

About the Author
Robert Bacal has trained thousands of people to defuse hostile customers, over the last twelve years. In fact this book is based on his seminar, and contains techniques drawn from psycholinguistics, psychology, and perhaps more importantly from the thousands of customer service staff that have attended his seminars. He is also the author of Perfect Phrases For Customer Service, published by McGraw-Hill.

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Customer Reviews

Satisfied Customer Here
I just wanted to tell everyone that I am very satisfied with this book and the delivery of it was ahead of schedule. There is a ton of very informative and useful information in this book. A MUST READ! for anyone who is a government employee or call centre rep who deal with people on a daily basis. I am about to work for a call centre and I find this book easy to understand and easy to learn. I am one very satisfied customer indeed. thank you.

The BEST customer service resource ever written!
Robert Bacal has filled a niche that has been empty for too long - customer service literature that focuses on the public sector. Most customer service material is geared toward the private sector - retail, manufacturing, etc. Advice on such topics as winning customer loyalty, pricing, word-of-mouth advertising, etc. doesn't always apply to the world of the government agency, the university, or the Motor Vehicles Department. In many public sector jobs, telling people "no" and telling them what they "must" do is a regular part of the job - and this leads to a natural increase in hostility from patrons. I have researched countless customer service books, programs and resources to use here at our public institution. Not only is Robert Bacal's material one of the only sources geared specifically to the public sector, it is also one of the best sources on handling upset, angry, or hostile customers that I've ever seen - for any type of workplace! Beginning with a four-part model (or process) for defusing hostile customers, he then goes into countless specific tips and techniques that are as practical as they are effective. He goes so far beyond the trite techniques found in other customer service materials to cover topics such as: · how to tell someone "no" in a way that doesn't elicit hostility · handling non-verbal intimidation · verbal self-defense · a step-by-step process for "solving" customer problems · dealing with threats · and much more! Examples of dialogue and written exercises in each section help readers apply the material. We have tried these techniques here at work and the results have been outstanding. I highly recommend this book for anyone who encounters customers, clients, patients, students, or members of the public - whether you work in the public or the private sector. This is the best source on handling customers you can find!