An excellent stage play is well written and the actors identify with the role they are assigned.
Customer service is similar. If you are an employee you need to know your role. When you identify with your role you become a master of the role.
Many employees mistakenly fail to play the role. Rather than fulfilling the duty of customer service you hear the refrain "That's not me." or you will hear, "I have to be authentic to myself."
Actually that employee is not being authentic to the basic agreement between employee and the employer. At work the employee agrees to supply a service, and in exchange the employer agrees to offer payment.
The employee accepts that payment and in the cylce of life provides for the well being of self and the well being of the family. In other words if you provide a service you can provide for others. When you do this good things happen. You buy a car. You educate a child.
In the stage play, the actor performs what is written in the script. The role is enhanced by the investment of the actor in the part. Customer service is the same. The interaction between the customer and the employee is typically scripted. The wise employee realizes that investment in customer service; and the use of words that are effective, produces an outcome known as customer satisfaction.
When you achieve customer satisfaction, via your personal investment in your role; as a by-product , you achieve personal satisfaction because you are an achiever! Know your role and don't be afraid to perform it!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Not the Ordinary Rules
Employees active in a culture of service quickly learn that they must learn rules that are distinct from their ordinary rules of human interaction.
When you are in a work setting, the rules are different. You are in a different context from the social context outside of work. The wise employee reflects on the importance of "expectations" of the customer and the importance of "context".
The rules of a culture of service demand that the employee understand that the rules are different when you provide service. If the customer is demanding and disrespectful you, the employee, are not permitted to "cue" on the wrongfulness of the act and return the same behavior you witness. You might do that if you are not at work. When at work you must seek an avenue that will permit you to "manage" the episode.
Consider for a moment if health care workers, who deal with sick individuals all through their shift of work, treated the sick as if all was ordinary. The reality is that the sick are not at their best and tend to display moments of distress. If the health care worker decides to treat the sick person just as she is treated by the sick she errors profoundly. The context requires a distinct approach.
The patient expects service and kindness. The patient may not realize that her display of "personality" is a tad sullen. If the health care worker echoes that back in his behavior he is not meeting the expectations of service. Thus, despite the lack of the ordinary feedback mechanism, the health care worker must decide to maintain a positive approach and exercise courtesy and respect.
Perhaps the most blatant difference in rules is the way the genders must treat one another at work. Employees are surprised to learn that the joking and the repartee that playfully occurs between the genders outside of work is not acceptable. The signals about "attractions", that are repeatedly aired on television, are out of bounds. The rules that govern what is and what is not "harassment" are more strict at work and are demanding of "professional" distance. The societal comfort that accepts overt displays of attraction is strictly governed by governmental mandates at work. The "expectation" is different and behaviors of employees must conform.
The rules are different at work than the ordinary every day rules. Be courageous and respond to poor manners with a positive attitude. Manage the experience. Display the needed courtesy and demonstrate respect for the customer beyond what is required. This is your opportunity to build a culture of service.
When you are in a work setting, the rules are different. You are in a different context from the social context outside of work. The wise employee reflects on the importance of "expectations" of the customer and the importance of "context".
The rules of a culture of service demand that the employee understand that the rules are different when you provide service. If the customer is demanding and disrespectful you, the employee, are not permitted to "cue" on the wrongfulness of the act and return the same behavior you witness. You might do that if you are not at work. When at work you must seek an avenue that will permit you to "manage" the episode.
Consider for a moment if health care workers, who deal with sick individuals all through their shift of work, treated the sick as if all was ordinary. The reality is that the sick are not at their best and tend to display moments of distress. If the health care worker decides to treat the sick person just as she is treated by the sick she errors profoundly. The context requires a distinct approach.
The patient expects service and kindness. The patient may not realize that her display of "personality" is a tad sullen. If the health care worker echoes that back in his behavior he is not meeting the expectations of service. Thus, despite the lack of the ordinary feedback mechanism, the health care worker must decide to maintain a positive approach and exercise courtesy and respect.
Perhaps the most blatant difference in rules is the way the genders must treat one another at work. Employees are surprised to learn that the joking and the repartee that playfully occurs between the genders outside of work is not acceptable. The signals about "attractions", that are repeatedly aired on television, are out of bounds. The rules that govern what is and what is not "harassment" are more strict at work and are demanding of "professional" distance. The societal comfort that accepts overt displays of attraction is strictly governed by governmental mandates at work. The "expectation" is different and behaviors of employees must conform.
The rules are different at work than the ordinary every day rules. Be courageous and respond to poor manners with a positive attitude. Manage the experience. Display the needed courtesy and demonstrate respect for the customer beyond what is required. This is your opportunity to build a culture of service.
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