Hostility and abuse toward customer service reps on the rise: survey

Cambridge, MA — Nine out of 10 customer service workers recently surveyed say they’ve experienced an increase in customer abuse and hostility over the past 12 months. 

Telecommunications company Ringover asked more than 1,000 customer service representatives a series of questions related to receiving abuse from customers, the reactions and management from their bosses, and how they interact with other customer service workers.

Hostility or abuse includes verbal, physical and job-related threats, along with “general abuse and hostility.” Around 70% of the workers reported that this contributed to a negative effect on their mental health, while nearly 85% said it’s caused them to look for another job.

Approximately 77% of the workers, however, believe their managers or employers are trying to help.

“It is important to remember that customer service agents are just humans on the other end of the call, and it is important to treat them with kindness, especially heading into the busiest period of the year,” Ringover co-founder and CEO Renaud Charvet said in a press release.

“With job cuts meaning fewer customer service agents, this will be putting additional pressure on customer service agents and their mental health. You could impact their mental health negatively, and it is always important to remember that.”