To think that from one human being to another, there is absolutely no need for abusive & downright rude language.

[jimijack]

I work on the end of the phone in a caring profession.
People who phone up are in pain, are distressed, are frightened and sometimes just want reassurance.

I am always, without exception polite, kind, understanding and actually WANT to help every person that phones.
I go above & beyond without thinking about it, always have through my career.

It never fails to flabbergast me when people ring up with a shit on, wanting to argue, shout and be vile.

It's the hardest thing to not take it to heart and be upset by it.
So, if you work on the front line with the public, how do you brush it off and aibu to think in my head.....fuckoff fuckoff fuckoff over & over while being ranted at?

I try to remember it is not me personally they are having a go it. They are often ringing me at the worst moment of their lives -not always but often and I try to accept they are speaking out of upset, frustration, emotion.

Not easy though.

Sometimes it helps to think why they are like that. It may be pain, frustration etc.
It can help to remind them that you are there to help and not to be spoken to like that, most people then act more reasonably.
Some people are just not very nice.

Isnt it funny how these horrible calls play on our minds more than the many many lovely calls we get.

I have a similar job to you OP and,like you, do my level best to get whatever is needed by the caller sorted out . Thats the point of having the phone line in the first place.

However some people think that it is a direct line to the PM and start to pontificate about how wrong the whole process is. I do remind callers that the line is for specific enquiries and we are unable to help outside of that .I will even look up numbers on Google for them . But no.
They will say 'you' didnt do XYZ (and then say I dont mean 'you') . They talk over me and then complain that I am talking over them if I try to interject. They demand more than can be available to others and then complain they were stopped from getting their rights ( they are always big on rights) . They want a manager to call them back and then stay on the phone as long as possible - going round and round on the same points.

I know some advice is to be understanding - these callers are in pain,in trouble,need help asap. But guess what? Every single call is from someone in pain or in need of help.Not one of the calls I receive is for fun and I really object to someone getting preferential treatment just because they are being an arse.

At the end of the day though I can simply put the phone down and walk away. They are left with their unhappiness and maybe with the problem still unresolved since they wont work with the system in place.

I dont lose sleep over it - although I sometimes I wish I had a VooDoo doll to stick pins in.