Turn Job Loss Into Customer Service

In the business world of today cost cutting is the mantra. Managers across America are told to trim and trim again. Unfortunately human lives may be directly affected by a lay off.

If you have ever been laid off you know the hurt that comes with that decision. It is one of the high stress periods of life. If you are between jobs, and that is the best way to describe what is your circumstance is after a lay off, be encouraged.

Rather than dwelling on the negatives that come from being the victim of a downsizing, recognize that being the victim does not lead to positive outcomes. Think positive. Think "I will be a success."

Rather than dwelling on feeling ashamed because you suffer the loss of identity that comes from not having a job, grieve, and move on. While you think that it is a shame to tell people that you are looking for a job, that is precisely the proper thing to do. You are the customer and you need to promote customer service. The customer needs a job.

Be good to yourself. Take time to exercise. Direct yourself towards others.

To find a job is a job in itself. You need to maintain the discipline that came with reporting to your job. Get up every day. Keep a schedule. Make a plan. Work the plan.

Part of your plan is to network. If you are interested in a particular company you will want to network to get close to someone who knows the company. These people are out there and you can find them. Use 'Linked In' to find that person who knows the people in the company where you want to work. Use your customer service skills to positively state your skills and aptitudes. Know your own story. Practice telling it so that you have five impressive sentences in a row that accurately describe you. Emphasize and build on the positive. Work to put yourself in the presence of someone who is with the company and to whom you can impress with your self description. Remember, you are only between jobs.

The Inconsolable Customer

Today's blog is for the boss, but employees are welcome to read along. Part of being an employee is understanding that you work for the goals and objectives of your company and that you have a boss. Well, my dear bosses, you too have a responsibility in the area of customer service to your employees.

It may be a little known fact, but up to 2% of your customers may have unrealistic expectations of your company and despite the best customer recovery measures of your representatives these customers are inconsolable. How do you assist your employees to deal with the inconsolable? The key to this dilemma is knowing your own limits, because what is happening is a test of the limits of your company.

If you are in business for yourself, you certainly realize that there is only so much that you can do and when you reach that point; you have exhausted your resources. When you work for a larger organization it is a tad more difficult to know when you have run out of resources.

The first confidence you must extend your employees is the opportunity to delegate to a higher level in the organization without fear of retribution, the unreasonable and inconsolable customer.

Give your employees key words to use such as: "Mr. Customer, I have intervened in the following ways for you and lament that my efforts are insufficient. Our company believes in excellent customer service and I have not found that satisfaction for you. When this happens we are instructed to move your concern to a higher level in the organization. I will connect you with my manager."

Note: Often times the demeanor of the inconsolable customer changes when a person of higher authority is made available. There is a certain satisfaction obtained in being able to be attended to by management. This may be a sign of the dysfunction of the inconsolable customer, but it may make the needed difference to move the customer to a higher level of satisfaction.

If, at the managerial level, the customer is indeed inconsolable, consider then the example of the Santa Claus from Macy's Department Store from the "Miracle on 34th Street". "I am sorry that we don't have the toy you seek to purchase, you can find it at Gimbels."

This is the ultimate stand, for in effect you are indicating that it is not within your ability to provide the needed service and you, in the interests of your customer, provide a referral to the competition. The beauty of this approach is that the customer may realize that limits do exist. The period of time spent with your employees and then with management is an investment that they may not drop and decide instead that enough is enough. They decide to remain as customers. In effect, with this method, you are not firing your customer. You leave the customer the option to seek service elsewhere without telling him to leave. What you also learn is where, after seeking to please, you rest. The other 98% of your customers are awaiting your service.

Meet the customer's need and your need too!

Certainly in today's environment of financial concerns it is important to stay employed and continue a crucial income stream. In other words you need the money. It is time to reflect and think about the "value added" item that you bring to your employer. Certainly you are not bringing money to your employer. You bring your talent and your aptitude and your willingness to serve others. Your employer depends on you to build relationships to build customer loyalty so that as a result of your actions there is revenue to share with you as a pay check.

Consider how you can improve the quality of the service you provide to that important element, the customer, who purchases your service or product and keeps you employed. You can start with your "positive attitude". It is what differentiates you from the average employee.

When you pay attention to customer needs, before your own personal needs, you demonstrate an attitude that displays an employee who understands the goals and objectives of your employer. When you understand the cycle of exchanging service for dollars you perform your duties with pride.

Customers need service. You would not work if you did not have a need to work, so seek to fulfill the needs of your customer. Ask yourself, what does my customer need? Then seek to do first what the customer needs and you will make a connection. When you do this you will receive customer appreciation.

Remember to appreciate your employer and work on fulfilling your individual employee responsibility by praising the customer for making the good choice of choosing your employer. Remember your employer needs you. You too need your employer. Thank your boss for your paycheck.

Simple Secret of Customer Recovery

What is the proper response to the customer that vocalizes disgust with your service?

Life has many crucial moments and what you have in your favor is that you control yourself. While you may judge that the customer is out of line or inappropriate your task is to find something to build on. The secret that you need to understand is that if you respond in kind with a negative response the negativity will increase.

To handle this situation you need to create for yourself an image that is positive. Think to yourself, what can I use as a base to build upon to transform the situation? In effect you are placing a foundation that will serve as the basis for your solution. This is called Solution Based Thinking.

Typically it is good to express empathy with the customer so as to display your acknowledgment that the concern of the customer is shared by you. Immediately proceed to options that are available to you to ameliorate what is perceived as lacking by the customer.

Think of you as the person who is intervening on behalf of the customer and state "I can do this for you."

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.