Recently, I had to practice what I teach. 

My team enrolled a repeat client into our online De-escalation Academy, which we do every day for customers around the globe. But something went wrong. Instead of getting our standard welcome email with login details, each of the 51 employees was bom...

Our brains tend to constrict when faced with demanding, difficult or desperate customers, and we have fewer options available. When faced with conflict, our brains go into flight, fight, or freeze mode. 

I'm sure you've heard of the flight, flight, freeze response. Here's how the flight/fight/fr...

Expert Tips for Effectively Handling Live Chats and Bringing Them to a Close, Even When You Can't Provide the Desired Solution

If you could always give customers what they want, your job would be easy. But, sometimes, there is no solution or no solution at the moment. So, how do you move your conve...

I just wrapped up filming two exciting courses at the LinkedIn Learning headquarters, and I couldn't wait to share the behind-the-scenes scoop with you all! 💫

First off, a huge shoutout to the incredibly talented makeup artist Tania Russell for working her magic and making me camera-ready! Seriousl...

Building rapport and demonstrating empathy are fundamental skills that set exceptional customer service representatives apart. Let me help you rock the customer experience by giving your employees the exact skillset they need to make personal, emotional connections with customers.

When you focus on...

The short answer is no. You should not fear AI will take your contact center job.

I like to think of AI to Contact Center jobs as the GPS is to driving.

A GPS can navigate your journey, telling you when to expect a toll, re-routing when there's construction or a traffic jam, and telling y...

Customer service representatives often encounter challenging and confrontational customer behaviors. Among these, baiting behaviors stand out as particularly challenging. In these situations, customers try to provoke, frustrate, or elicit negative reactions from you. If you want to avoid getting suc...

"It's not what you say. It's how you say it."

You've probably heard this before. It's from the Mehrabian study, which says

• 7% of meaning in the words that are spoken.
• 38% of the meaning is through the person's vocal tone.
• 55% of meaning is in facial expression.

Well, I'm contradicting...

Ending a live chat with a customer, especially when you can't fulfill their request, requires tact, empathy, and clear communication. Here's a structured approach to handle such situations:

Express Empathy

Start by expressing understanding and empathy towards their situation. This helps in maki...

This image is from my LinkedIn Learning course, Creating Positive Conversations with Challenging Customers. 

Use partnership language with customers from Creating Positive Conversations with Challenging Customers by Myra Golden

Handling difficult customers is an inevitable part of the ...

Angry, desperate, and afraid customers are stuck in the right emotional brain. In the right brain, people are in their feelings, filtering everything through their emotions. When customers are angry, they can't access their logical left brain to calm down and listen to you. They simply don't have th...

The Problem

Telling a person to calm down never works. If your partner told you to calm down, would you? Exactly. That doesn't work with your customers, either.

To tell someone to calm down is to invite conflict. It's like you're pushing your customer into a corner or a seat. As humans, it is o...