Middle Managers Make or Break Customer Service

It is easy to supply training to line employees. You may be suffering from customer service 'impasse', that is you have done the training and you don't see consistent results.
If this is the case you need to go back and work again with the most important group of individuals in your company. They are the middle managers.

Middle managers are caught in the middle, between the line employee and upper management. When a middle manager believes in customer service you have a winner. However, most often middle managers yield what I call the 'Presidential Veto'. In effect they are the President of their specific areas and when they don't own customer service, all your training is for naught.

A good way to become an owner is to become a teacher. When you have to teach, you really do learn the subject matter. Until you become a teacher you can be a passive learner, providing assent but doing nothing with your new found knowledge.

After middle management becomes active in teaching it then needs to be active in executing.
This is where most programs fall on their face. After an exciting training program the desired behavior is not displayed beyond an initial period of enthusiasm. The middle manager needs to manage the post training situation. The first step is to model the desired behavior. The next step is to "script" the words that work and ask the employee to display the words that they use. Then an active period of reward and recognition and reinforcement of employee behaviors starts. This action is commonly known as taking ownership. Owners know that just one activity does not bring success. Multiple repetitions and multiple approaches are required to make customer service a reality. Owners are hands on and involved. Owners are able to state the reason why the company believes in customer service. The owner connects the employee to the purpose of customer service.

The employee needs to know from the middle manager that she is making a difference. Then the employee begins to realize that customer service is meant to elicit a response from the customer.
When the customer connects good feelings with your company personnel you are a winner in customer service. Work with middle managers and let them act like an owner!

Is the Customer a Sounding Board?

In an effort to stay fit I splurged on a membership in a local fitness center. It turns out that the fee covers locker room services where there is a shower with more water pressure than what I have at home. I consider this to be a luxury and after a nice work out look forward to the opportunity to clean up prior to returning home.
On three separate occasions I was dismayed to find that the soap dispenser was empty. Knowing that most businesses do not hear about what is out of order because most people do not tell the manager but do tell their friends, I decided to inform management.
First it was a chore to find the manager. I went to the front desk and was informed that indeed there was a manager and that she would be summoned. The manager did not appear. A shift supervisor did come to the desk.
I informed the supervisor that the soap dispensers were not filled. He informed me that he was short of staff.
While I found that interesting I thought that it was a lame excuse. I asked the supervisor if he felt better now that he had told me his difficulties. I had come to the desk seeking a remedy, not seeking to be his unpaid counselor.
The supervisor had lost his bearings. His role is to care for the customer, not to make the customer the recipient of his problems in management. When you are on the job, don't forget your reason for being there; service. Thank your customer for informing you about the quality of your service. Take action to participate in customer recovery. Your customer is your partner, not your counselor.

You are always new and improved !

Part of being ready to serve the customer is taking care of yourself. Many people involved in the social service sector or the customer service sector are constantly giving and forgetting about themselves. While deep satisfaction comes from achieving high levels of service, a constant pouring out can lead to "burnout".

In new employee orientation I always invite employees to display "Commitment". My caveat is that if you are dedicated and committed to going the extra mile you must also display compassion for self and care for your personal needs. You need to seek balance.

In today's world of advertising we are all bombarded with messages saying "New and improved". Stop and consider that you are what is new and improved. After all you are quite different from the person you were a year ago. Think about all that you have learned and the decisions that you have made that have impacted your life. Even though you are going back to the same job, your experience is now a new experience. It is new because you are new. You are ready to make a difference.

When you are about to open the door at work to start a new day, stop and consider for just a moment the following sentence. "I am here today and I will find a way to do good for others."
When you do this you are starting the day with a good attitude and you are refreshing your human spirit.