Now, obviously, I use common sense. I am not getting down on my hands and knees and scrubbing the floors or picking up bits of really dirty things. I am talking about just making the place look better with a few seconds' work. It's the same at home or in the office. Pick up after yourself, and if you have time, pick up after others, too.
It's the same with people. When you smile at someone, you are making someone feel better with just a few seconds' work—a few facial muscles and a thought inside your head that says, "I am going to brighten someone's day today. I am going to be the first one to smile." Or how about at home? If you are married or have a partner, what about making them a cup of coffee or preparing their toothbrush in the morning by putting a spot of toothpaste on it so they know you are thinking about them?
I believe that everything, and I do mean everything, in your life begins with a thought. Every action, process, project, or conversation begins with a thought: "I am going to make this the best I can." This, to me, is what being a professional customer service provider is all about. Making the world a better place. Making people feel better about themselves. And if someone complains about something, you have the thought, "I am going to help solve this situation for the best result for all."
If you get an angry customer, you have the thought, "Their anger has nothing to do with me, my product, or my service. This person is angry, and I just happen to have fallen into their 'anger beam,' so I am going to do the best that I can to help them resolve their problem so that they feel better."
Don't take things personally. Angry customers are just angry. Let them vent. Let them get it all out. It has nothing to do with you. Listen for the parts of their anger that you can help them resolve, and sift the rest of it out. If they call you a name, don't take it personally.
Yes, some customer service providers may say, "I am not going to listen to bad words or take abuse from a customer." While this is true, and I am not advocating that you become an "abuse hotline," what I am saying is that you don't have to take it personally or make a big thing out of it. Some people swear and curse…you don't have to take it on board. You don't have to take it personally. You don't have to let it rattle around your brain and get all upset. Just let it go, and then help them resolve their problem.
So many customer service training programs are about how to do this and how to do that, and really, most of it comes down to the Golden Rule: How would I like to be treated in this situation? If I have a product or service that is defective and I've talked to three people about it and haven't gotten any resolution, how would I like to be treated? Or if I have had a really upsetting day or something is going terribly wrong in my life that is making me angry and swearing at people, how would I like to be treated?
Of course, you could say, "I never swear, and I don't expect other people to swear at me." If so, maybe customer service is not the right profession for you. Let's be honest, here. Customer service professionals deal with many different kinds of people from many different cultures with many different kinds of upbringing. Customers can be sweet, and they can be horrendous.
When you use the Golden Rule, however, you don't even need training to understand how you handle a situation. You treat the customer like a human being—and like you would want to be treated. You use kindness, empathy, listening skills, and appreciation. Yes, that's right, appreciation—because without all of these different customers with their different sets of problems, you would not have a job, and the hard-to-handle customers are just as much customers as the easy-to-handle ones are.
To summarize being the best customer service professional, here are the key steps:
- Your customer is anyone who isn't you—create a service mind.
- Pick up—leave a place better than you found it.
- Smile—make people feel better just by being alive.
- Help resolve situations for the best result for all.
- Don't take things personally; allow angry customers to vent.
- Use the Golden Rule and treat people how you would like to be treated.
- Use kindness, empathy, listening skills, and appreciation.
Jeff Gee, president and CEO of MJ Learning, is recognized as an outstanding speaker, motivator, instructor, and consultant. He challenges his audiences to go for it 100%, and when they do, everything changes in both their personal and professional lives.
Jeff has spent the last 20 years helping corporations reach and sustain excellence. A member of the National Speakers Association, a consultant, and an author, he has developed processes for how to communicate, manage, and operate in the business world.
Jeff's forte is human behavior, as he has extensively studied neurolinguistic programming, industrial psychology, and the use of power and influence. His clients include Allstate, Computer Associates, McDonald's, MB Financial, Motorola, and Pepsi.
Visit www.winnersattitude.com to listen to Jeff's online radio show on Friday mornings at 10:00, CST. He can be reached at jeff@mjlearning.com.
Jeff has authored and co-authored the following books:
- OPEN-Question Selling (McGraw-Hill)
- The Winner's Attitude: Change How You Deal with Difficult People and Get the Best Out of Any Situation (McGraw-Hill)
- Super Service: Seven Keys to Delivering Great Customer Service (McGraw-Hill)
- The Customer Service Training Tool Kit (McGraw-Hill)
- Pillars of Success, with co-authors Alexander Haig Jr. and Pat Summitt (Insight Publishers)
- Mission Possible, with co-authors Steven Covey and Brian Tracy (Insight Publishers)
- Nuts & Bolts with Denis Waitley (Insight Publishers)
- Investing Time for Your Life (McNeil & Johnson)
