The Information

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The Information Referral Caller ArchetypesBy
Barbara Buchleitner, CIRS-A Christopher Moore,
CIRS-A
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Image taken from The Flame Warriors by Mike
Reed http//redwing.hutman.net/mreed/ Chicken
Little Chicken Little is the caller who calls in
crisis mode because of something they may have
seen on the news, or heard from friends. The
threat is largely due to hysteria, but the actual
threat to the client may be minimal. Examples of
Chicken Little calls include H1N1 callers, Bed
Bugs, Health Care Reform, Snow Storms, etc.
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Image taken from The Flame Warriors by Mike
Reed http//redwing.hutman.net/mreed/ Yeah,
But. The Yeah, But is the caller that calls
with a problem for you to solve, but shoots down
every solution the I R Professional says,
usually responding with Yeah, but. and then
giving reasons why that solution cant possibly
work for them. They enjoy testing your knowledge
and either already know the solution to their
issue or know there is no solution.
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Image taken from The Flame Warriors by Mike
Reed http//redwing.hutman.net/mreed/ Mass
Confusion Mass Confusion is the caller that never
clarifies exactly why theyre calling. Chances
of them following up on any referrals (or even
fully receiving referrals) are minimal. They can
range from largely silent to perseverant in
speech. Often, this type of caller may have a
mental illness or age-related illness that limits
their organizational skills. The fact that they
were able to call you is actually a major victory
for them.
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Image taken from The Flame Warriors by Mike
Reed http//redwing.hutman.net/mreed/ The
Victim The Victim is a caller who is especially
needy and sees themselves as the chronic target
of everything. They are especially prone to
dependency and either through simple lack of
knowledge or the desire to have things done for
them, they will be especially difficult to
empower. This caller may not be able to stop
crying long enough to tell you their needs. It
is important to assess whether the victimhood is
acute or chronic, and to not dismiss what may be
legitimate bad circumstances.
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Image taken from The Flame Warriors by Mike
Reed http//redwing.hutman.net/mreed/ Self-Absorb
ed This caller is the extremely self-centered
cousin to Yeah, but. They are the callers
whose worldview doesnt allow them to consider
that there may be others with problems that may
be worse than their own and they insist on help
right away. Their demands may be unreasonable,
and you can bet that youre not their first call.
They will test your patience with their rudeness
and haughtiness.
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Image taken from The Flame Warriors by Mike
Reed http//redwing.hutman.net/mreed/ Blowhard Th
is caller knows everyone that is anyone in your
locality and if you dont help him, heads will
roll, especially yours!!!
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Image taken from The Flame Warriors by Mike
Reed http//redwing.hutman.net/mreed/ Filibuster
As an IA specialist, calls should be kept as
brief as possible so we can help the next caller.
Every once in a while there is a caller that
wants to tell you his life story along with the
stories of his spouse and children. They WILL get
out whatever they have to say, whether you need
to hear it or not!
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Image taken from The Flame Warriors by Mike
Reed http//redwing.hutman.net/mreed/ Mr.
MoneyBags Mr. Moneybags is a caller that needs
services but is over scale for financial help.
When informed that he will need to pay for the
service, the response is I have paid taxes all
my life so why shouldnt I have that service
free? Im not paying for it! Or, I guess you
want me to die!
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Image taken from The Flame Warriors by Mike
Reed http//redwing.hutman.net/mreed/ Hard
head A genealogical cousin of the Yeah-but, this
caller has difficulty understanding how the
options that you are presenting are going to help
his situation. No matter how you rephrase
options, he doesnt seem to grasp the usefulness.
For example, a caller is having problems with
the high cost of prescriptions and likes to go to
his local pharmacy. You explain that many times
ordering thru the mail with a 90 day supply is
cheaper. The caller admits that his physician
has told him that but we still wants to support
his local pharmacy and wants another way to get
his meds subsidized. When you explain that there
are no other options using his insurance plan, he
hangs up saying, youre no help at all!
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Image taken from The Flame Warriors by Mike
Reed http//redwing.hutman.net/mreed/ The
Cry-Baby The Cry-Baby is the more malevolent
cousin of The Victim. Like The Victim, they may
use tears, but they are far more manipulative.
Over their lifetime, they have perfected learned
helplessness and are generally capable of doing
many things independently. However, they prefer
that someone else do it for them. Of all the
archetypes, they may well be the most challenging
for empowerment.
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The Hostage Taker The picture above is you. The
Hostage Taker is the caller, who has something to
say and refuses to let you go until they say what
they have to say. Theyre not calling for a
particular solution, because they usually already
know the answer. They just have to blow off some
steam, and unfortunately, youre their next
victim.
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To Summarize

• Accept that you may not be able to help every
  client, and thats okay.
• Dont be afraid to utilize different strategies.
  Theres no universal empowerment tool
• DONT WORK HARDER THAN YOUR CLIENT!