Frustration!

In Tech Support, your job is to talk to people about things they usually don't know too much about.  If you're hovering around Level 4 competency (as most of us are somewhere about the third quarter of a shift) you may find yourself getting really tired of explaining basic concepts to someone who, bless their heart, just is not Getting It.

This is called Frustration, and it can be your friend or your enemy.  When Frustration is your enemy, you find yourself talking faster, talking louder, and repeating the same things over and over again in an increasingly futile attempt to Get The Point Across.  Your customer will pick up on it, and (usually) interpret it as hostility, and respond in kind. Eventually one of you will likely give up (and possibly lose a customer, or wind up with a demand to speak to a Supervisor).

You can, believe it or not, make Frustration your friend.  You have to be able to recognize when you're getting frustrated (which can take some effort on its own), but when you find yourself getting to that point, take it as a sign that you need to take your conversation in a different direction.   Can you phrase what you're trying to say to the customer in another way? Try asking what the customer sees on the screen, slow down, and your customer will be able to come "back from the brink" and work with you to solve the issue you're working on.

Search Amazon.com Books for frustration