Customer Service – From The Other Side
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I’ve written a few times about how companies can and should do customer service better. Now I think it’s time to look at it from the other perspective: How the customer is at least partly responsible for how they are treated. How might your attitude as a customer towards those who are serving affect their attitude towards you?
A few months ago, I was reading a blog post which I believe was written by either Chris Brogan or Seth Godin* and offered the advice to be extra nice to those who serve you when you are a customer. The encouragement was to smile, call the person by name if you know it or can read their name tag, say “please” and “thank you” and make a joke if you can. The idea behind this advice was to help make their day a little better and encourage better service for you and those who follow you. It seemed a great idea so I decided to try it.
I’ve made it a challenge to myself to try to make every server I come in contact with to smile. I may not succeed in this goal, but I can see as I use each person’s name and act politely towards them their demeanor and stance changes. I note the people visibly relax. It’s an amazing transformation.
Here are some examples:
Example 1: A couple weeks before Christmas I needed some coffee. Since my wife and I planned to do our regular grocery shopping within a day or two, I headed over to a “Dollar Store” down from the restaurant where we were lunching to buy enough to tide me over. When it was my turn to pay, I took out my dollar bill and, just as a joke, swiped it in the card reader a few times.
The young lady behind the register looked at me like I was a nut and said, “Sir, you can’t swipe a dollar bill. It doesn’t work that way”
“Oh,” I replied, “I never pay with cash any more so I forgot.”
After I paid she bagged my stuff and I grabbed the bag and headed out the door. “Sir,” she called after me, “don’t you want your receipt?”
“Does it work in the swiper?” I asked.
“No.”
“Then I hardly think I want it then.” I smiled at her and at this point she finally got that I was joking and laughed out loud.
Success.
I also succeeded in embarrassing my 13-year-old son to the point where he opted to wait for me outside.
Bonus! (He knows I’m kidding.)
Example 2: A friend and I went into a local chain “casual dining” restaurant for lunch. Our server was obviously new and was a little flustered as she went through the motions of getting our drinks and food orders. I made note of her name and each time she came by I would ask for something small and make a big deal to my friend how she was “going to hook us up.” I made sure to call her by name as I did this.
By the time lunch was over she had relaxed and was serving all the tables around us like an old pro.
Examples 3, 4 & 5: The other day I found myself at the local Veterans Administration hospital for my annual physical. In my opinion workers in VS hospitals are among the most over-worked and under-appreciated workers out there. They put in long hours and deal with a clientele who have an entitlement mentality to the point where they are often rude and sometimes abusive to the people who are trying their best to help them. This often reflects how the caregivers treat them back. I’m not saying that veterans are not entitled to the care – they most certainly are. However, that entitlement does not mean they have the right to run roughshod over those who provide care for them. I also know the VA system has its problems, but overall I’ve never had bad care at any VA facility I’ve visited.
My VA routine starts before 6:00 AM when I arrive at the hospital to get in line to get lab work done. That’s very early for me to be someplace, and I’m sure the folks who work that area of the hospital find it pretty early, too. Most everyone’s tired and cranky, and the person who dispenses labels and number tickets often takes it with both barrels as the first person most of us come in contact with.
When I arrived at the window for my turn I could see she was in a sour mood already. I smiled and gave her as cheerful a “good morning” as I could muster on no coffee. When my name appeared on the screen after I swiped by ID Card I said, “Oh, look. You were expecting me.” Now, we both knew that my name appeared on her screen because the computer hooked to the card scanner did a database query, but the result was great nonetheless. I could see her visibly relax, she smiled and wished me a good day. The next person in line got an enthusiastic good morning, too.
Pass it on!
Next came the person who took my blood for the lab work. He was already in good spirits and we bantered back and forth about this and that while he did his business. I wonder, though, how many people came in there with a sour attitude and took him for granted. By being polite, I may have extended his already good mood.
After I visited with my doctor, it was back to the lab for some more blood work. Back in the line, only this time to find there was a problem with the computer hooked to the card scanner. When I finally got up to the window, there was the man who drew my blood earlier. He was still in a pretty good mood despite the problems he was experiencing and having to deal with the impatient people. That man is a rare gem in customer service: the person who seems unflappable.
To round out my appointments for the day, I had to get some inserts for my shoes. Funny, that while I was sitting there waiting and reading my copy of Trust Agents (note: Amazon Affiliate Link) one of the men waiting for his turn was talking about this very topic with the others sitting around us. He exhorted the people to be polite to the VA personnel because they work hard and try hard to give veterans good care.
The worker who called this man’s name sounded as if he’d rather be anywhere than where he was. Such lack of enthusiasm is noted most often at times such as one’s own execution. The man got up, asked the worker his name, greeted him again, by name and asked how he was doing. As they walked down the hall, you could hear the lightness in the worker’s voice as they conversed.
What a change.
I’m not a student of psychology, but I can certainly observe changes in a person’s attitude easily enough. The changes in just these examples should be enough to convince you to try to be extra nice to those you come in contact with on purpose. I can’t believe the difference in the quality of service I get, almost across the board, as I work on being more pleasant.
This is not to say you being nice will work every time. I think, just as in any relationship, customer service is a two-way street. I think these examples show there needs to be effort by both parties if excellent service is to be had.
This is also not to say that it is less incumbent upon the server to provide good service. They are certainly primarily responsible for their service. But, if you as a customer can help the process along, why not do it?
The Golden Rule applies here as it does everywhere else: Treat others as you would like to be treated.
* I checked their blogs and couldn’t find this particular piece. It may have even been written by someone else. Please feel free to link to the proper post in the comments if you know it.
