Something I've learned working here is how much that the way you say things affects people. A couple of days ago someone called in and spoke to one of my coworkers and they got in a fight over the phone. I heard my coworkers side, and even though she does not try to do this, she has a tone that can make people mad. The customer argued that she kept cutting him off and would'nt let him talk, she countered that she had to look up his info and before she could help him find what he needed.

I had a customer that used to call in frequently and he had a really bad tone. I have never encountered such a condescending tone with any of my customers. I'm not sure if he meant it or not, but after I would get off the phone I wanted to hunt him down and smack him around at the very least. MOst of this time this guy would not say anything rude, it just seemed that even when he said "Thank you", it sounded like he meant something mean.

One of the other coworkers I work with normally doesnt have a tone, but when she cant hear people she talks louder and she sounds very irritable, many times she ends up having to turn the calls over to a supervisor because she and the supervisor just cant communicate without yelling.

I never realized how much communication occurs through the tone and timbre of your voice.