10 Tactics to Drive Up Customer Cooperation

Customer cooperation can make or break an interaction! After all, when customers are willing and able to work with an agent, conversations flow more easily. When they’re not, even the simplest tasks can become unnecessarily difficult.

That’s why we asked our consultants panel to share their best advice on techniques agents can try to help boost cooperation, so they can ultimately work in partnership with customers, reducing friction and enabling all-round better conversations.

1. Guide the Conversation Towards an Adult-to-Adult State

Encouraging customer cooperation sometimes means we need to align and adjust. Eric Berne’s Parent–Adult–Child (Transactional Analysis) model is a favourite of mine for this and a powerful way to understand how both our frontline advisors and customers show up in conversation.

Depending on the circumstances, customers may enter an interaction in a ‘Parent’ state, being critical or perhaps demanding, or they might enter a ‘Child’ state, demonstrating defensive or frustrated behaviours. Our frontline can then all too easily slip into these states under stress or pressure. I know I’ve been there before!

The goal is to guide the conversation towards Adult-to-Adult states, where calm, rational, and solution-focused behaviours shine. Setting the tone early means our frontline are modelling this ‘Adult’ state from the very start.

A steady voice, respectful responses, and non-judgemental listening can help to reduce defensiveness and signal that the customer is being treated as a partner, not an enemy.

When our frontline can notice shifts in these ‘states’ during interactions, both their own and the customer’s, they can adjust their approach, steering the dialogue back to Adult-to-Adult – transforming tense conversations into constructive partnerships.

Contributed by: Emily Simmons, Head of Learner Engagement at Boost

2. Slow the First Moments of the Conversation by Using the Customer’s Name and Reflecting What You’ve Heard

Most customers don’t start a call wanting to be difficult. They start it carrying previous frustrations, urgency and uncertainty. Cooperation is most easily shaped in the first moments of a customer conversation.

If that emotional context isn’t acknowledged early, defensiveness can easily fill the gap. Strong advisors set the tone by slowing the moment slightly before moving into solution mode – even if they’ve “heard it all before”. 

Simple behaviours matter: using the customer’s name, reflecting what they’ve heard, and naming the impact of the issue rather than jumping straight to process.

When people feel heard and understood, their nervous system settles and they’re far more able to partner with you. That’s when productive problem-solving becomes possible.

Contributed by: Helen Beaumont Manahan, Director of Client Success & CX, National Support Network

3. Take Ownership to Help Customers Relax Into the Conversation

Customer cooperation is closely tied to how empowered your agents feel. When agents have the freedom to take ownership and dig for meaningful solutions, customers pick up on it immediately.

Empowered agents sound confident, curious, and genuinely committed, which helps customers relax, trust, and get more involved in the conversation.

An empowered agent can add to the script rather than sticking strictly to it, doesn’t rush through a call or default to an escalation.

They know they won’t be penalized for taking the time needed to understand the customer’s situation, explore the organization for answers, or tailor a solution.

That freedom helps them communicate more clearly and calmly, setting a tone that naturally lowers defensiveness.

Contributed by: Jim Davies, Analyst and Executive Partner at Actionary

For advice on how call centre advisors can take control of customer contacts and provide outstanding customer service, read our article: Training Your Team to Take Ownership

4. Explain Why Security Checks Are Necessary to Help Customers Feel Respected – Rather Than Interrogated

When security questions are asked too quickly, abruptly, or in a detached tone, customers – particularly those who are already stressed or vulnerable – can feel mistrusted, rushed, or as though they are an inconvenience.

This can immediately put them on the defensive, making the rest of the interaction harder for both the customer and the team member.

It’s important to treat the security process as the first opportunity to build rapport. Explaining briefly why the checks are necessary helps customers feel respected rather than interrogated. Using a calm, conversational tone and pacing questions appropriately signals patience and professionalism.

Contributed by: Helen Pettifer, Director of Helen Pettifer Training Ltd and a specialist in the fair treatment of vulnerable customers

5. Remove the Invisible Barriers to Cooperation

Encouraging customer cooperation isn’t about control or compliance, it’s about shaping the conditions in which cooperation becomes the natural response.

Through a CX-ISM lens, this means recognizing that behaviour is a consequence of perception, emotion, and meaning, not just process efficiency.

For example, barriers to cooperation are often invisible but powerful: unclear processes, repeated requests for information, unexplained policies, or rushed interactions that ignore emotional context.

Removing friction means reducing cognitive effort, explaining constraints with empathy, and setting clear expectations about next steps. When customers feel informed, respected, and emotionally validated, resistance fades.

In CX-ISM terms, cooperation isn’t demanded, it’s designed. When experience honours human psychology as much as operational need, customers don’t need persuading to cooperate. They choose to.

Contributed by: Katie Stabler, CULTIVATE Customer Experience by Design and author of CX-Ism: Re-Defining Business Success

6. Stop Labelling Customers as “Difficult”

When customers don’t cooperate, our instinct is often to label them as “difficult”. But in reality, most resistance is the human response to feeling powerless, rushed, or managed by a system that isn’t listening.

Cooperation is best shaped in the opening moments of a conversation. Agents aren’t just there to resolve an issue, they’re there to stabilize a situation first.

That means paying attention to the emotional state they’re stepping into and responding with calm, grounded language.

Simple phrases like “We’ll work through this together”, “I’m not going anywhere”, or “let’s take it step by step” slow the pace and reduce defensiveness more than any policy explanation.

Language can either invite partnership or trigger pushback. A coaching-style approach shifts the dynamic away from “us versus them”.  

Making the customer part of the answer through phrases like “Let’s look at this together” and “Here’s the options available to us” keeps the customer involved without pretending everything is possible.

It’s respectful, honest, and collaborative. After all, most people want to cooperate. They just need to feel heard, capable, and treated like an adult.

Contributed by: Maria McCann, Co-Founder of Neos Wave

7. Always Inform Customers of What You CAN Do for Them – Rather Than What You CAN’T!

Agents should have the ability to quickly decipher which calls can be resolved in less than 2 minutes and which ones may require more time.

Armed with this knowledge, agents can then focus on resolving shorter queries with speed, precision, and accuracy.

For longer calls, agents should focus on using positive communication techniques. This involves informing customers of what they CAN do for them – rather than what they CAN’T do.

Here’s an example of a mini-script agents can utilize: “Even though this may require a callback, I’ll have a look into how I can sort this out for you quickly.” This sounds much more appealing to a customer than: “I don’t think I can resolve this on the call.” 

Coupling quick resolutions with positive communication techniques will result in higher levels of engagement as customers will feel listened to, cared for, and appreciated. 

Contributed by: Rachel Williams, Founder & Training Consultant at The Experience Corporation

For advice on what you can do to make sure customers feel that they are truly valued, read our article: 10 Ways to Make Customers Feel More Valued

8. Be More Specific About What Supporting Documentation Is Required (and Why)

The most effective cooperation starts with emotional defusing. When customers reach out, they’re often frustrated or anxious.

Agents who immediately demonstrate empathy – “I can hear how frustrating this must be” – and genuine curiosity about the specifics create an instant shift from adversarial to collaborative.

Also, if you need documentation, be specific: “A screenshot of the error message would help me see exactly what you’re seeing.” If account details are required, explain: “This helps me pull up your exact configuration so we’re working with the right information.”

Contributed by: Sue Duris, Principal Consultant at M4 Communications, Inc.

9. Use Permission-Based Questions to Reduce Resistance

We get to shape whether the interaction feels adversarial or collaborative with our mindset and our language:

• Framing the conversation as a shared task shifts the dynamic onto the same side of the table (one hack is to vividly imagine sitting or standing alongside the customer rather than opposite them).
• Phrases such as “The best way forward here is…” signal partnership rather than control.
• Permission-based questions also reduce resistance. “Would you be open to trying this option?” creates far more engagement than directive language like “What you need to do is…” or “You’ll have to…”

Contributed by: Helen Beaumont Manahan, Director of Client Success & CX, National Support Network

10. Offer Choice Wherever Possible to Help Address the Power Imbalance

In many sectors, and especially in customer service interactions, a natural power imbalance often exists.

The organization controls the systems, policies, and outcomes, while customers are typically seeking help, clarity, or reassurance – often under stress. This imbalance can leave customers feeling powerless or defensive, which undermines collaboration from the outset.

Team members can reduce this by communicating with transparency and empathy rather than authority.

Also, offering choice wherever possible helps restore a sense of control – with phrases such as, “I have a couple of ways we can approach this – which feels right to you?” and “You’re in control of the pace, just let me know if you need a pause.”

Contributed by: Helen Pettifer, Director of Helen Pettifer Training Ltd and a specialist in the fair treatment of vulnerable customers

What Have You Tried to Boost Customer Cooperation?

Click here to join our NEW Readers Panel to share your experiences and feature in future Call Centre Helper articles.

For more information to improve customer service in your contact centre, read these articles next:

• Smarter Ways to Turn Customer Feedback Into Action
• Everything You Need to Know About Level Zero Support
• 10 Essential Building Blocks for Earning Customer Trust

Author: Megan Jones
Reviewed by: Jo Robinson