I've been sick since the week before Thanksgiving with various symptoms. I work in a call center from home. For the past two weeks, my voice is semi-hoarse, weak, and very low.
I've gotten the most customer complaints I've ever gotten in the past two weeks than I have at the 9 years and 2 months I've worked here. Most of the customer complaints I receive are directly about the issue, but lately people have been stating that I sounded rude. My manager and I have listened to all of the calls and determined that I cannot adjust my tone properly because of my congestion, so as a result I sound rude.
My manager began comparing the customer compliments with the customer complaints and determined that I've been using positive language in every circumstance, however she wants me to explore other ways to use positive language. I've already made personal goals into positive language by doing things like (1) changing sorry statements to thank you statements when necessary, (2) began to remove stop words; (3) show gratitude and empathy for the issue. However, I really feel that because I cannot properly adjust my tone, that I may come off as insincere. Does anyone have any tips for adjusting their positive language without affecting their tone?