The delivery of customer service is heavily influenced by our overall mind-set, the decisions made at that moment, and the actions we choose to take.
Each day employees face hurdles and/or roadblocks that have the potential to negatively impact customer service. These can be workplace challenges or personal issues an employee may face outside the office. Examples include inadequate training, individual workload, office politics, health concerns, lack of sleep, poor diet and nutrition, relationship or family issues, etc.
While the Company can do its part to address or even remove many of these impediments, it is the employees’ responsibility to remain positive and professional in all customer interactions so that they are able provide exceptional service to everyone. That means you need to understand and recognize potential obstacles so that you can be prepared to address them when they arise.
Let’s consider an example of how a hurdle and/or a roadblock have the potential to derail customer service.
A manager was running late for work and traffic was heavy. She was in the turn lane trapped behind a very “cautious,” i.e., slow, driver and the light had just turned yellow. In her harried rush, she jerked the car out of the turn lane, hit the gas, and flew around the other driver. For good measure, she made a point of letting the other driver know how irritated she was by offering a universally recognized unkind gesture. It was in that moment that she caught a glimpse of the other driver’s face. It was her boss’ boss – the CEO. After realizing what she’d done, she asked herself, “Why today of all days?” You see, she was going to be in a meeting with the CEO later that afternoon. She was mortified.
For the remainder of the morning and up until the afternoon meeting, she was anxious and upset about what she’d done. Her inner turmoil spilled over into the office affecting the interactions with her team and several external clients.
As it turned out, the CEO didn’t see her one-finger salute and the meeting went well. She was relieved…until…her boss called her into her office. She had witnessed some of the office interactions earlier in the day and even received a call from an upset client. It was then that she fully understood how she had allowed her frustrations, reactions, and subsequent responses to adversely affect both her internal and external customers.
What can adversely impact your interactions with customers?
Think about your recent interactions with your customers. What could you have done to make those interactions more positive? Here are some tips:
- Be aware of obstacles and barriers that could negatively impact customer interactions
- Know your role in helping to remove or minimize these obstacles and barriers
- Understand that every interaction is unique and impacts the customer’s attitude towards the Company and its employees
- Focus on meeting and exceeding the needs of ALL Remember the takeaway from the first tenet: EVERYONE is a customer.
The key takeaway for Tenet 2 is that your mind-set, choices, and actions have the potential to impact the Company, its customers, and you as an employee.
Over the next week, be conscious of how your mind-set, the decisions you make, and the actions you take affect the service you deliver to your customers.
Next week we’ll look at The 3rd Tenet of Better Engaged Employees – Provide Solutions and Show that You Care
What obstacles, hurdles, challenges, roadblocks, etc., were you able to identify? How will you address each of them in your future interactions with your customers?
P.S. First time here? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement site. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! I hope you’ll explore the rest of the site. Let me know what employee engagement topics interest you.
Other recent Agent in Engagement articles by Gregory F Simpson:
- Employee Engagement Briefing for Week of October 20 – 24, 2014
- The 1st Tenet of Better Engaged Employees – Customers Make the Rules
- Archetypes of The Hero’s Journey and The Employee Engagement Journey
- The Hero’s Journey and the Employee Engagement Journey
- What Crayons Can Teach Us About Employee Engagement
- Employee Engagement and Opportunity Cost
- Now / Later / Soon: The Semblance of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music to Employee Engagement
Let’s Engage!
I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.
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Learn more about me at www.gregoryfsimpson.com.
