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Are You Anti-Customer?
Fighting the daily currents of customer wants and needs can be
demanding and stressful. Stress, as we all know, adversely
affects our mental and physical well-being. It can make us
defensive, temperamental and otherwise gloomy. Unfortunately
though, stress is often the nature of the job for Call Center
customer service representatives and dealing with this pressure
often includes negative, unprofessional, and anti-customer
behaviors.
Anti-customer behaviors include:
* Mocking customers
* Criticizing customer expectations
* Being self-oriented
Regular, honest self assessment and assessment of those around
you is a great place to start in identifying these behaviors,
why they exist and methods to change them. Be honest with your
self analysis, and open to change. You can make your office a
brighter place by working on turning around any anti-customer
habits.
Mocking Customers
Sure, the lady in Sheboygan with 100 cats meowing in the
background and a propensity to say "a-hoy-hoy" at the end of
every sentence is worth a little snicker after ending the call.
The urge to make fun of customers happens when we encounter
people who seem to fall short of our personal expectations. We
often criticize them because of their personality, manners,
intelligence, dialect, or other inferences made during our call.
Mocking customers and being the comedian also wins points with
colleagues and eases our stress when a customer is particularly
difficult to please.
However, this behavior does nothing for personal improvement,
career development, moral fortitude, efficiency, or, the
customer. Additionally, we must be careful not to make mockery a
habit. Regular mocking goes against being of service to others.
Humility and respect for those who are different or seemingly
less fortunate are essential values for customer service
success. If you don't feel that these standards suit your
personality, at least, fake them in the office to maintain an
environment of professionalism until you make them a part of
your person. If these traits seem impossible to adopt full-time,
perhaps customer service is not the right field for you.
Whichever the case, minimize your tendencies to make jokes at
the customer's expense and do not encourage that behavior in
others.
Criticizing Customer Expectations
If you expect customers to behave properly, treat you with
respect, not use profanity and accept all of the company's
standards, then you have it all backwards. Since we too are
customers, we can identify with the fact that people want to be
listened to, understood, empathized with, accommodated, and to
be treated with respect. Other than that, customers generally
want a good product, and they want it now. Of course, "now"
isn't always possible and a great customer service
representative can oftentimes make that seem okay.
Example: Customer: "I need this tomorrow." Representative: "Bob,
I really, really wish I could get this to you by tomorrow. I
understand how you must be anxious to get your hands on this new
technology. But rest assured you should get your package by
Tuesday. If it doesn't come by then, you give us a call, okay?"
Saying "I'm sorry, that can't happen" flatly is almost as cold
and
ineffective as saying "No way." Empathize with the
customer's desires and show that their wants matter to you a
great deal. Offer a solution that let's them know that you are
doing as much as you can to meet their needs. They still may
blow up at you, but you must accept that as part of the customer
service territory.
When addressing other undesirable customer traits such as them
being disrespectful or using profanity, you must be able to
handle it properly, politely, and effectively. If a customer
wants to curse, then they should be able to curse. Some licks
you must take because customers who call the Call Center are
generally disgruntled about a poor product or service or a
billing error. Companies' rules may vary on situations like
this, but it is important to familiarize yourself with those
rules as you are learning your job. Ideally, the customer should
be able to "misbehave" a little because you are trying to
understand their grievances.
Being Self-Oriented
All anti-customer behaviors stem from self-orientation, which is
putting yourself first, instead of the customers. By doing so,
you impact the company in a negative way and may jeopardize our
job. It may be difficult NOT to share a story about an unusual
customer or challenging call. Sometimes, this helps get you
through the day. But be mindful that these behaviors can spin
out of control and into becoming habits. The next time a
customer pushes your buttons or presents problems that you have
difficulty handling, try not to badmouth them afterwards or on
your break. You probably will find that you get over it more
easily and will forget about it when you take your next call.
Symptoms of self-orientation in a call center may include:
* A lack of adherence to schedules
* Poorly timed vacations and other absences
* Regular objections to standards, practices, and goals based on
personal inconvenience
* Lack of responsiveness to either customers, representatives,
or other internal customers
Try to serve as an example for others and take measures to
ensure you are not contributing to an anti-customer culture.
Your actions reflect the company and affect those around you as
well as the company's success. You can thrive on your new-found
humility and on the pride that comes from being outstanding.
Help create an atmosphere which has zero tolerance for any kind
of mistreatment of customers.
Being a customer service representative in a Call Center places
us on the other side of the counter, but our minds should always
be where the customer stands. We must always put ourselves in
their shoes and practice being understanding, patient,
respectful, and forgiving. Remember, you can learn how to become
a great customer service representative, but customers never
learn how to be great customers. Become and remain pro-customer
for the betterment of your company, daily work environment, and
for your general well-being. Good luck -- you can do it!
About the author:
Diana Liffick is a contributing writer for Interactive Quality
Solutions. She is a call center manager and has experience in
training. If you are interested in reading more of Diana's
articles please visit http://www.callcentercafe.com and
http://www.righttolead.com.
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