Not every angry customer is looking for a fight.

Imagine you were working a regular shift at the call center when a guy calls, raging because he was charged $66 in overdraft fees, even though he had plenty of money in his savings.

How would you handle it? Would you refuse to help him because of his attitude? Or would you meet his anger with kindness and see if anything changes?

In the following story, one call center manager finds herself in this situation and tries the latter.

Here’s what happened.

Came in raging, left with his voice shaking

The day after Christmas was terrible in the call center that I manage. BUT December 27th was actually filled with kind, understanding customers. Here’s what happened with one of them.

I answered with our standard greeting, pulled up the customer’s bank accounts, verified them, and asked how I could help. My caller was agitated. He got $66 in OD fees when he had $20k sitting in savings.

Me: “I apologize, [customer], but we do not offer a savings and checking account to be linked for overdraft protection due to limitations on withdrawals out of the savings. However, I do see you keep a healthy balance in both accounts, and we understand that life sometimes happens, and we overdraft. I’d be happy to refund you $66 as a one-time courtesy. You’ll see the funds back in your account shortly.”

He wanted to make sure it never happened again.

Customer: “Oh. Oh wow, you can do that? (Genuinely) Okay, thanks. That actually helps a lot. Yeah, the holidays got away from me, and I didn’t mean to overdraft.”

Me: “Of course. This time of year is hectic for everyone, so I’m glad I could help.”

Customer: “Hey, do you have a way for me to get alerts so this doesn’t happen again?”

We proceed to set up a variety of alerts through his online banking together and also discuss overdraft loan protection options.

Great things can happen when you’re patient.

Wrapping up the call…

Customer: (voice shaking) “You’ve been incredibly kind. Thank you for all your help. I was really stressed about making this call and so mad about the fees. It’s good to know when I call BANK that there are people like you to help.”

Me: “We are always happy to help our customers. We’re in the business of people, not just money. If you ever have a concern or question, we’d be happy to talk through options and take care of you. Have a great holiday.”

When your customers practice enough patience to find a solution, great interactions like this can happen. I left work feeling amazing on this day.

Aww! What a wholesome interaction.

Let’s see if the folks over at Reddit have ever dealt with anything similar.

This reader is confused about why they can’t link the savings account.

Wow! That poor parent.

Here’s how to make it negative.

According to this comment, reasonable people are rare but do exist.

She handled this well!

It’s always amazing when you can change someone’s entire attitude.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.