1. The guy who says your paper doesn’t have anything in it. Don’t get defensive. Use the opportunity. Ask the person what he would like to see in the newspaper. The person might have some useful insight. There are two kinds of people who call with complaints about nothing being in the paper: 1) The person who just hates the paper, and maybe, just maybe has some grudge for something the newspaper reported years ago. 2) The person who wants to offer constructive criticism because he/she likes their newspaper and wants it to be even better.

2. The Screamer. The person who won’t let you get a word in edgewise, and just shouts expletives and rants. It’s one of the most difficult calls to handle. Tell the person that you’d like an opportunity to respond. If the person ignores you and the swearing and shouting continues, tell the person that you cannot continue to listen to his call if the behaviour continues. If the person continues to ignore you, tell the caller that unfortunately you will have to hang up. Always hang up politely, by saying something such as “thank you for your call and I hope you have a nice day. Goodbye.”

– Gregg McLachlan