Poor Service, Or Just Having Another Bad Day?

I attended a business roundtable last night called by our local officials to explore ways to make our city more business friendly.  There were suggestions on lowering taxes, sprucing up the downtown area and improving transportation.  One suggestion (plea?) kept coming up as we all gave our suggestions around the table.  Improve the City’s customer service.

Many people started their comments by saying, “…I know this is a simple thing…”   The thing is, if it was on so many minds, it must not be so simple.  Customer service is all about attitude and respect for the customer.  There are some simple things that make customer service friendly, such as a smile, eye contact, a warm greeting and a fond farewell.  You can force a smile, stare at a customer and say the right words, but if the attitude is wrong, it doesn’t work.  How can you put forth the right attitude to make customer service authentic?

1.      Another bad day.  Everyone has bad days.  When you get a flat tire on the way to work or had another argument with your spouse about finances at breakfast, it’s hard to shut off those emotions.  Here’s where you need to separate your home life and work life, as if you were Dorothy, opening the door of her Kansas house post-tornado and finding out she landed in the Land of Oz.  For the next eight hours or so, you’ve landed in another world with different expectations.  You have to mentally close the door on home and open up the work day.  Besides, customers don’t care if you’ve had a bad day.  They are only concerned about their present condition and how you can make it better.

2.      Indifference.  Some people take a job in customer service because they think it’s easy to answer the phone, check out merchandise or handle returns.  They soon find out working the cash register is only part of the job.  Dealing with customers is the most important part.  How customers are treated at the point of sale or service makes an impression.  If a salesperson is only interested in the next sale and not the customer, it shows. 

3.      Lack of accountability.  One person last night mentioned that in his business there is a screen at the checkout counter for customers to instantly rate their customer service.  WOW!  Talk about speedy feedback!  Some others liked that idea.  That takes accountability to a whole new level.  If you were going to be instantly evaluated in front of a store full of customers, you would do your best just to avoid the embarrassment of a low rating.

4.      Lack of training.  Just because someone has a lot of prior customer service experience doesn’t mean they don’t need some training into your company’s culture, philosophy and customer service process.  Service consistency makes an impression when everyone has the same attitude and level of care for the customer.

5.      No smiles.  One businessman said his solution to the customer service dilemma was to hire personality.  Skills training is easy, but you can’t train someone to be friendly and caring.  They use customized assessments to measure friendliness, personality and service attitude, and it’s paying off.

Customers have choices.  They can shop for groceries, clothing or auto parts at a lot of stores and online, but all things being equal, most will choose the place with the best service and friendly faces.  A little “hello” and “thanks for shopping with us” with a smile goes a long way to getting customers in the door and eager to return.