People who deal with the public, and specifically customer service agents, often have to contend with a great deal of stress. Some customers can be demanding, and at times, downright rude and threatening. Customer service representative are supposed to be helpful and polite, no matter what.  However, being human, customer service agents can break under pressure.

This week, the big story was of a JetBlue flight attendant who had enough of a rude passenger who would not follow instructions and with whom he had an altercation. The flight attendant literally escaped the situation by jumping down the emergency chute and running away. He was later arrested.

The flight attendant has become a hero of sorts for downtrodden, stressed customer service agents everywhere.  On social media networks he is being hailed as finally standing up to rude customers everywhere. But, is this really the best way to handle customer stress?

Customer service does involve stress. And some customers are especially demanding and rude. To deal with high-pressure situations better, customer service representative must be trained. There are ways of dealing with situations while not taking anything personally. There are also ways of de-escalating conflict. And further, there are ways that people can reduce the effects of stress on their bodies (meditation, deep breathing, exercise, and so forth).

Knowing that customer service can be stressful is the first step. Taking steps to prepare staff for the stresses is second. Always aim to de-escalate situations, and look for peaceful resolutions.  If a customer service representative explodes under pressure, probably he or she is not well suited (or well trained) for a public-facing job.