I'm pretty sure that customer service standards have hit an all-time low. At the risk of sounding 75 years old, there was a time when people took pride in a job well done. There was a satisfaction in making someone's time with you special. To be fair, that unspecified time I've mentioned focused on creating a clientele base and keeping it. Each customer that you interacted with was a potential lifetime client -- a relationship was expected and encouraged. In an age of instant gratification and isolation, the idea of clients is relegated primarily to professions that directly impact the human body: doctors, hairdressers, dentists, and beauticians (read bikini waxers). Unless we are personally at risk for dying or looking stupid, Americans have made it clear to service workers that they don't want to be talked to any more than possible, and if they are not processed quickly, it is the worker's fault that the customer has decided to ask for their help. Deplorably, some service workers see this as an excuse to do the bare minimum.
Service work is not for everyone. Some people are not people-people. Some people are not people in general, behaving more like animals in their reclusiveness. These non-people people -- are you tired of that word yet? People people people people people people. People. By now you're probably reading people as either pee-Opal, or peepul. People. Sorry. These non-people persons, however good-intentioned, inevitably find their way into the customer service field. Some are great and take this in stride. This person is the waiter that did everything right, but you just somehow still didn't like them for some reason; the realtor that didn't sell you the personal parts of the home, just the cold hard facts; the tech support person who solved your problem, but ultimately made you feel stupid by the end without being mean; the department store associate who helped you find the outfit, but seems slightly insulted that you want to get it price checked before purchasing. These people mean well. They are probably down on their luck and have decided that the service industry is the easiest field to get in to with immediate monetary reward while searching for something else. They're getting by. What I find these people don't understand is that truly good customer service is the key to their success, insulting as that may seem to some of them. And you can't blame them; they see this as a rut in their life, that extra job that helps pay the bills. No one is supposed to be happy in a service job, because everyone hates their job, and that's that. These people are annoyed by the chipper colleague that seems to always get recognition, or the person that's always asked for when a customer calls, no matter how qualified you assure them you are.
It is these peepul I would like to address today. I'm not addressing the bad apples, like the teen that's had 7 jobs this year and seems to always be smoking weed in the bathroom when the lunch rush happens. Some people will never get it. I speak to the down-on-their-luck people, for whom customer service is just another chore. While this may just be a stepping stone in your life, take this opportunity to hone your skills and make the most of this opportunity. The majority of middle-class America is stuck in a cubicle with little personal interaction and a desire to finish the day's work and get out early. They are salaried, and though they may be making a comfortable living, they see little upward mobility, and work becomes stale. Customer service skills are not just for the MacDonalds workers: they can help you move up the corporate ladder. "Whaaaa...?" you say with disbelief. But it's true! If you treat your superiors as clients, you are more likely to be that go-to-guy or get-it-done-gal. You are more likely to be trusted with bigger projects, and singled out for bonuses. You are more likely to be the front runner in the race for promotion. "But how?!" Let's look at at an example.
Since I work at a computing HelpDesk, I'll phrase this as a customer interaction I had recently (and by recently I mean made up just now). Mr. Peeps has a dilemma. He saw this shiny new car and he wants to know if he should buy it because it seems like it might interface with his Apple MacStarBuckRoomba and they kinda seem like they have the same color paint. Now, this is not something you normally deal with. You have many customers calling in with legitimate my-laptop-is-on-fire-oh-Christ-help-me problems. But Mr. Peeps calls in a lot and by now you two loosely know each other's name (you know his name, he sort of gets close to yours). You could a) remind him of the scope of your job and politely request he talk to the dealership about interfacing capabilities and color swatches, b) decide it's quitten' time and not-so-politely tell hm to go suck an egg, or c) take five minutes to do a simple google search for customer reviews and minimum specifications to give him some good ideas and ammo when he goes to talk to the dealer, for which you've given him the number. WHY?!?! Why would you do that for Mr. Peeps, who calls you for every tiny little thing? Can't he find this information himself? It's a google search for crying out loud! Well, the fact is, Mr. Peeps can't, or he wouldn't have called you. Yes, that's a lie, he can type and he knows what a google is, but the fact is that he didn't trust himself to find the information he was after: he asked you. This is a Trust Relationship -- a client potential -- that he's offered, and it is in your best interest to accept.
Now let's pretend that Mr. Peeps is your boss, asking the same sort of thing that is loosely related to but mostly out of your job description. You can suggest he talk to someone else, flat out refuse, or take this as an opportunity for a five minute break and do a little digging. The crowd I'm addressing would see this as an annoyance and a waste of their time. The true customer service rep would see this as an opportunity to create a relationship built on trust, and an opportunity to become a valuable resource to someone who can make or break their career.
That's the long and...long of it at this point. Every minute spent in the customer service field is an opportunity to hone people-skills that may not come naturally and practice building trusting relationships with the people on whom you depend for your livelihood. I understand, especially with the job market in its current state, why the service industry seems like something to endure until times get better. I also know that if a person is truely bent on bettering their situation, there is no excuse not to learn everything they can from their co-workers and customers.
Also at the end of the day, you may be less inclined to be a dick to the person at Starbucks when your coffee isn't exactly 127.902837 degrees.
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