Oh the complaints are mounting - both from the service providers and the customers. I'm hearing customers screaming for higher quality service in an effort to feel like they are getting value for their money. I'm hearing providers plunging into the depths of frustration regarding how the customers are more demanding than ever.
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What to do?
We have a dilemma.
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We are potentially in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression...at least since 1982, which feels like a really long time ago. In any case, a struggle is a struggle is a struggle. In an attempt to stay afloat or ride out this riptide, some organizations are laying off. The end result: lower morale, higher stress, heavier workloads, guilt...the makings of a poor quality of work life situation. And then on the other hand, customers need to stretch their dollars as faaaaaar as they can, because they have less of them...dollars, that is. If Mr. Customer is pulling out that dollar to spend at your place of business and is greeted with an apathetic or worse yet, angry, Rep, you are finally likely to hear about it. Or worse, he will take his business elsewhere. It is likely that the modifying and accepting customer behaviors of the former economy are officially a thing of the past. No more BS any way any how. No longer are customers going to 'put up' with any semblance of poor service. The times they are a changin'. Perhaps we needed this crappy economic wake-up call to teach us how to be at our best in the good, the bad and the ugly times. Now, are you prepared to transcend?
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Yes, you, Ms. and Mr. Customer AND Ms. and Mr. Customer Rep. For it will take all of us to join together. Yes, customers have the right to expect exceptional service and quality products for their money. AND the Customer Reps have the right to be treated with respect. AND the Customer Reps have the responsibility to be respectful and overcome the maladaptive and inappropriate reactions of their customers. AND customers have the responsibility to communicate appropriately their wants and needs. We share the responsibility over and over and over again.
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I have the belief that the mature and evolved adult takes the responsibility in every situation to communicate appropriately. Can you do this? Even when ya don't feel like it?
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So, for those organizations that are struggling with a situation of poor service providers, it is of the greatest importance for you to take heed. This is the time to straighten it out JUST SO you can make it through these next several tough months. The good news. It's possible.
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People often ask me, "Kenda, how do you teach Customer Service? After all, Reps are either good or bad at it. Smile training does not work."
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I agree that smile training does not work. Frankly, in retrospect, I don't even know what smile training is. I disagree that Reps are either good or poor at providing service. Everyone can excel at their trade if given effective tools. So, no, I don't teach people how to smile. Instead, I take my background in Cognitive Psychology and help folks work from the inside out. No, not therapy. That's different. I take an Emotionally Intelligent and Communication-based approach to training. The two biggest tools I provide are:
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1) Courageous Conversations through the act of diplomatic speech
2) Dynamic Listening by withholding impulses to react and through five important techniques.
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Stay tuned for more. I'm getting requests for help. In the next several postings, I can provide some examples.
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For now. Let's all take a collective breath. Know you are not alone. At the very least, the one thing you can change is your attitude. And...there is some comfort knowing we're all in this together, no?
Happiness is not a destination it is a journey
- Aristotle
Trust the process,
Kenda
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