I’m sure you know how stressful the life of a customer rep can be. Every day they are bombarded with questions, complaints, and rarely praises. So, what can you do to help them keep their sanity?

Today, I received my dose of Service Starters from the Customer Service Group, and they have an interesting one: reduce stress through poetry.

The email shares that a poet and reader of their frontline training newsletter “The Customer Communicator,” says that poetry is a great stress reliever. So every day, he passes short poems around the office to help brighten his coworkers’ day.

It works! Those who receive the poems tape them to their computers, and they pause to smile after reading the poem. That makes all the difference!

Isn’t it interesting to know that there are poets or readers among your customer service reps? I’m sure there are. At Customer Service Group, one reader shared this poem, which was written for a coworker.

Day after day, you get the calls,
Enter the orders, smooth the squalls.
Customers are sure to phone you first,
Sometimes with news that is the worst.

Through it all you keep on smilin’,
Even tho’ the work keeps on pilin’.
In our books you are the best;
If we could, we’d give you rest.

But since the phones will not stop ringin’
We hope these mums will start you singin’.
If not, then maybe it’s time to try,
From Marie’s, a blackberry pie!

As a reader of poetry myself (and sometimes dabble in poetry), I know this is a good outlet for all happy or frustrating experiences. What’s important is that your reps learn how to reduce stress. The result: higher job satisfaction, healthier employees, and happier customers.

What are your de-stressing activities?

*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com