Dug up memories

While looking for a folder where I could save a commendation file to, I chanced upon an article drafted by yours truly three years ago for a customer service week activity. The theme was "What to you is excellent customer service?". Haha, reading it now makes me smile. It may have been a product of a kiss ass culture but some parts of it actually ring true. 'Nuff said. Read on.

In customer service, every company stands by an unwritten rule, a mantra unfortunately clichéd not by overuse but by non-practice- Satisfaction Guaranteed.
The dictionary defines satisfaction in a variety of ways- contentment; gratification; payment of what is due; or meeting what is expected. Customer service is supposed to be all this and more.
Everybody has been through good and bad customer service and no matter how simple or complicated the problem may have been, one thing remains constant and that is the fact that only a hair’s breadth sets the former apart from the latter. One wrong word, one wrong action and every good deed is wasted on an overly sensitive customer.
Clients can be pompous, that’s a fact. Their overbearing attitude sometimes come from the fact that they are afraid and confused, and them putting the blame on another person or venting out their frustrations on to somebody else often drives one to the conclusion that the client has a personal vendetta against the company or against the rep, a conclusion that ultimately becomes the cause of a loss.
As Nancy Friedman pointed out, it is important to empathize with the caller. Putting one’s self in the client’s shoes would go a long way to helping one see his concerns and addressing the issue more effectively. It is imperative that one is on the same boat with the caller to be able to come up with the best course of action.
Taking ownership of the situation is a subtle yet efficient way to broadcast the message that one is able to resolve the matter at hand in the shortest time possible. Callers want somebody to lift the burden from their shoulders, someone who will take responsibility, someone they know they can depend on.
It is true that there are different kinds of customers and there are different kinds of personalities who pick up the phone and dial the service line. The representative then has to have the capacity to be a chameleon, a shape shifter in every instance. One has to know when to be firm and distant, witty and chatty, or sympathetic and meek. This helps the caller know that the representative cares, that they are important in the company they are with. If customer service is the game, adaptability is to be the CSP’s name.
Service should be accompanied not just by enthusiasm but also with joy. Joy comes willingly from the heart, and a heart that is willing to serve is a person who is capable of anything at anytime.
For each call that a representative receives, one has to be able to size up the situation and give fair judgment that will be beneficial to both the organization and the company. One has to be able to stand up for the organization’s standards and defend his way through all the bashings that the client sometimes is capable of delivering. He or she has to be able to withstand the throes of depressing, and sometimes upsetting situations without having his feathers ruffled.
Achieving excellent customer service is one bumpy ride on a rickety car along a very rocky road. There is no way around it, no short cuts, no easy ways out. There is no denying the fact that the way can be really tricky sometimes, but hey, as drivers of this ride called customer service, our goal should be to take the passengers, our clients, across with as much comfort as we can afford them. We have jobs because our customers need us.
We serve. We deliver. Satisfaction, assured; excellence, guaranteed.

admin's note: these are jj's opinions - hers and hers alone. capeesh?