Values in Competition

When you are at work do you put yourself first? Perhaps you think that work owes you something, that you are entitled to recognition and appreciation for doing your best. Certainly all of us look for good feedback, but if all we are doing is looking out for ourselves, we are missing the point of providing service.

Providing service is something to be achieved. That's right it is an achievement. In order to provide good customer service you need to be ready to speak the right words at the right time. You need to be thinking of the other person. You are present to help facilitate an experience of concern. You are present at work to be helpful.

If you are going to be good at service you need to put your values to work. You need to make visible your high regard and appreciation that your client seeks to do business with you. After all, your client has chosen to do business with you and can choose to go elsewhere.

Therefore, it is up to you to make a difference and give your client a reason to come back and continue to do business. So if you are working you can't afford to put yourself first. Your client deserves your attention. Acknowledge your client, let him know what you will do for him. Tell him how long it will take. Explain the process. Finally don't forget to say thank you!

Make a Difference

Do you want to make your job meaningful?

Consider for a moment that your involvement in customer service demonstrates your high regard for humanity. In today's society, proper regard for the dignity of humanity needs a re-birth.

You can, as the Christopher's Movement suggest, instead of cursing the darkness; light a candle with your dedication to your customer.

Give it a try!

Make your next encounter with a customer a friendly extension of your personality. The more you exercise kindness, the better you will be regarded.

After all it is better than complaining. When you are whining and complaining you don't leave much room for a positive attitude. Give the nasty disposition a heave-ho and give high regard to the person who helps fund your hourly wage.

You too will feel better. You have learned a secret of success. Be alive and consider the well being of others and a new world will come alive in you.

Customer Service Secret

Do you play card games?

Typically a good card player has a strategy or approach to playing the game. After all, the purpose of the game is to come out a winner. The card player realizes that you can shape the odds of winning by playing the game wisely.

In Customer Service you too want to play to win!

If you are a winner you too want to play the trump card. A trump card is a surprise play that "trumps" or beats the other cards played. In business the trump card is "Customer Service."

Wise business leaders realize that all their investments in equipment, in partnerships, in distribution channels; all can fall apart when your employee fails to pay attention to the customer or worse, does not provide service.

Basically business is the consistent building of trust. Some think that trust is reliability. Reliability is different from trust. When you are reliable you can disappoint and perhaps your customer will not leave. But if your customer loses trust you lose the account. In my industry my sales staff love to appear when the potential customer is having a "bad day" receiving service from the competition. It is the moment when the customer is most likely to change providers.

Don't forget that you are the agent of your employer and your trump card is "Service"!

Government workers and customer service

Are there differences between the public and government job sectors? Yes, there is a big difference. On the tongue of government workers we constantly hear that working for the government sector is 'public service'. We hear that they are making a sacrifice. We hear that they could make more money in the 'private sector'. If indeed they are 'servants' would you not expect that customer service would be bright and visible at governmental entities?

You would think that a visit to a governmental service would be a happy customer focused event. In most cases your visit to the county or to your local city office involves waiting and when you do get to the desk the clerk is ready to give you an instruction about what you need to access their service. I am reminded of the Wizard of the Emerald City instructing 'Judy Garland' to go get the broom stick of the wicked witch in order to access governmental service.

The tax payer as the provider of the taxes that pay the wages of government servants is a forgotten person. Instead of being treated with appreciation and the source of gainful employment you are a number in a line.

It is interesting to note the above average membership of government employees in unions. It turns out that the union collects the dues and then bankrolls the campaign coffers of the politicians. It appears to be a vicious circle that encourages politicians to favor union causes, such as generous pension programs. In Illinois the bloated budgets of the state fails to meet the pension obligations and the unions call out for an increase in taxes. Again the tax payer is expected to pay the tab.

It appears that there is no respect for the tax payer as a customer and no respect for the tax payer as the source of livelihood for government workers.

Grumpy or Friendly ? Decide at the door.

Forty percent of the nation's workers respond that they are not happy at their present jobs. Twenty percent want to change jobs as soon as possible. Sounds like there is a high level of discontent among the work force as the second decade of the millenium dawns.

Whether you are content or not your customers want you to be friendly, not grumpy.

It is important to realize that you own your attitude. Sure you have lots of problems, but if you are a professional you learn to check your problems at the work place door and dedicate yourself to your duties while you are at work. This is especially true if you are a leader. Employees want to have a level of trust that they can count on you to be the same every day. If they must guess if you are running hot or cold you will not have the level of trust you need to keep open the doors of communication.

If you are an employee it is often tempting to "dump" or tell your problems to your customer.
Remember, they are not your arm chair psychiatrist. They want friendly service, not your litany of grief.

Choose to be friendly and focused on service. See those pillars in the picture? Stand tall and resolute on being a solid professional who puts the customer first.

If you stand on your customer service principles you will be admired.

Professional Understanding, A Layman's definition

Today's employee who is looking for a job knows what a good job means; a flow of income, benefits, a regular schedule, and an organized approach to providing a service. The reason for a layoff is typically that an organization is not reaping more revenues than expenses for its efforts.

So if you are working during these tough times you want to increase the value you provide to your company. If you are not working you want to be ready to present yourself during the interview as a person who communicates that you are ready to achieve the goals and objectives of the company.

This starts with a "Professional Understanding" of how important you are to the company. You would not be hired if there were not a role to be fulfilled on behalf of the company. If you want to be a success you will want to identify with the achievement of the objectives of your company. This means that you understand that you contribute more when you represent the needs of the company to yourself and to your work companions. The reason you are there is to meet the needs of the organization. Too often employees merely enter a company and look for what the company can do for me. Indeed the company does do a lot for you, but the "professional understanding" is that your relationship to the company is an exchange. You have a contribution to make. Your presence at work is to be the addition of value to the company.

You accept dollars in exchange for contributing to the organized company effort to increase revenues and decrease costs by performing your job with "professional understanding". Your role is not to merely perform an activity. Your role is to understand how your work group fits into the 'big picture' that delivers or meets the needs of your clients. Your clients are attracted to inter-act with the company and you are part of that relationship. It is important to consider that for many employees the clients are actually their fellow departments.

Avoid the big mistake. The mistake is to place the needs of your person or your department before the needs of your clients. You want to deliver service. What you do shapes the culture of your company.