Everytime I am in a store these days, I seem to ask the same question. Is it the employees who don't seem to care or is it the management who just isn't able to enforce decent service? Maybe, it is even the company who is more worried about profits, that they do not encourage decent management, therefore, decent employees who provide customer service that is acceptable.
I remember when the area that you sought out help was called the Courtesy Desk. This was where you were able to ask for assistance if you needed it, complain if you felt like it, or give praise when you felt it was due. You took care of your returns here (and people didn't look at you like you were insane for returning something), you also were able to get items gift wrapped in many stores. Now it is called Customer Service.
Isn't it funny how just changing the name makes it seem worse? Not that it is worse, except we have come to view customer service as lines longer than need be, full of complains, and people viewing us as thieves or demons when we use the Customer Service Desk. We don't even view the words Customer Service as we should. Customer Service can mean getting hung up on, put on eternal hold, speaking with someone you can't understand, and worse yet someone who is reading a script when you have a problem because they also have no idea how to fix things. Those words can cause some people to start having palpitations, extreme sweats, and dizzy spells these days. (I know, I am one of them!)
I remember when the area that you sought out help was called the Courtesy Desk. This was where you were able to ask for assistance if you needed it, complain if you felt like it, or give praise when you felt it was due. You took care of your returns here (and people didn't look at you like you were insane for returning something), you also were able to get items gift wrapped in many stores. Now it is called Customer Service.
Isn't it funny how just changing the name makes it seem worse? Not that it is worse, except we have come to view customer service as lines longer than need be, full of complains, and people viewing us as thieves or demons when we use the Customer Service Desk. We don't even view the words Customer Service as we should. Customer Service can mean getting hung up on, put on eternal hold, speaking with someone you can't understand, and worse yet someone who is reading a script when you have a problem because they also have no idea how to fix things. Those words can cause some people to start having palpitations, extreme sweats, and dizzy spells these days. (I know, I am one of them!)
I am of the opinion that as a society, we allow this to happen. We have raised or children to care more about what they want, instead of encouraging them to care about others. We have been discouraged from complaining, and requiring better quality and better service. We are in such a hurry, as a society, that we do not take the time to realize what we desire, could be accomplished by a little giving.
Giving may be done in many different versions. Giving a manager a piece of our minds telling them that they have faulty employees or faulty systems. Giving a letter to the company telling them how we have been wronged. Giving the finger when we are frustrated and perturbed. Yet, have we considered the aspect of giving praise?
We all enjoy praise and the best way to get good service is by giving an employee encouragement for a job well done! We are all aware that when we have experienced something we dislike we complain. Whether it be via the manager, a phone call, or a letter. How many of us stop to give praise? By giving praise, you start a process.
Do you think the employee will remember you out of the 20 other customers who had a problem today? Probably not. By giving praise you stand out and the employee remembers you. The next time you appear, they will be calmer and more willing to go out of their way to help you because you are a much more pleasant person to deal with than the next angry customer. Also, try smiling! A smile has been proven to relax people. It will relax you as well as the people around you.
If we changed out outlook and tried to be friendlier and smiled more, would it make a difference? There is a part of me that says yes and a part of me that says no. How many of us would it take to change the way things are? I believe I have proven that by being polite and keeping my temper under control, I tend to receive more, than when I loose my temper.
I have changed the way I speak to my kids and hope to change the way they speak to each other and other. I try very hard to give them praise where it is do and make sure that they give praise to each other instead of speaking so mean when they are mad. Don't get me wrong. It is difficult to keep things cheery and happy when everything around you seems to be battleing against you.
I have quit shopping with certain companies or certain locations and taking my business to companies who provide service that I feel is acceptable. By doing this, we can shift the profits of one company to another, and by doing so show people that we expect courtesy. I realize that there are very few companies who actually provide acceptable levels of service, by using the companies who provide service at a level above the current average, sooner or later someone will get the idea that we desire a better level.
There are several commercials out there that have the message of doing something nice and how it is passed on or "paid forward". These commercials make me feel good, because it is nice to know that I am not the only one who thinks this way. The theory is that if you do a good deed and someone sees you doing it, it will encourage that person or someone else to do a good dead in turn. This logic should be applied and when you see a good samaratin, you should in turn perform your good deed.
Who knows, the next good deed you perform could be the one changing customer back to courtesy and making the world a better place for everyone!
Giving may be done in many different versions. Giving a manager a piece of our minds telling them that they have faulty employees or faulty systems. Giving a letter to the company telling them how we have been wronged. Giving the finger when we are frustrated and perturbed. Yet, have we considered the aspect of giving praise?
We all enjoy praise and the best way to get good service is by giving an employee encouragement for a job well done! We are all aware that when we have experienced something we dislike we complain. Whether it be via the manager, a phone call, or a letter. How many of us stop to give praise? By giving praise, you start a process.
Do you think the employee will remember you out of the 20 other customers who had a problem today? Probably not. By giving praise you stand out and the employee remembers you. The next time you appear, they will be calmer and more willing to go out of their way to help you because you are a much more pleasant person to deal with than the next angry customer. Also, try smiling! A smile has been proven to relax people. It will relax you as well as the people around you.
If we changed out outlook and tried to be friendlier and smiled more, would it make a difference? There is a part of me that says yes and a part of me that says no. How many of us would it take to change the way things are? I believe I have proven that by being polite and keeping my temper under control, I tend to receive more, than when I loose my temper.
I have changed the way I speak to my kids and hope to change the way they speak to each other and other. I try very hard to give them praise where it is do and make sure that they give praise to each other instead of speaking so mean when they are mad. Don't get me wrong. It is difficult to keep things cheery and happy when everything around you seems to be battleing against you.
I have quit shopping with certain companies or certain locations and taking my business to companies who provide service that I feel is acceptable. By doing this, we can shift the profits of one company to another, and by doing so show people that we expect courtesy. I realize that there are very few companies who actually provide acceptable levels of service, by using the companies who provide service at a level above the current average, sooner or later someone will get the idea that we desire a better level.
There are several commercials out there that have the message of doing something nice and how it is passed on or "paid forward". These commercials make me feel good, because it is nice to know that I am not the only one who thinks this way. The theory is that if you do a good deed and someone sees you doing it, it will encourage that person or someone else to do a good dead in turn. This logic should be applied and when you see a good samaratin, you should in turn perform your good deed.
Who knows, the next good deed you perform could be the one changing customer back to courtesy and making the world a better place for everyone!
