This week I’ve come down with a pretty bad head cold. Sneezing, coughing, stuffy head… I’ve become a Nyquil commercial. The last thing I really want to be doing is writing, simply because it’s pretty hard to concentrate when my head is all clogged up. But I don’t want to leave Monday’s blog empty, especially after a long weekend. So here I am, plugging away after downing some Thera-flu to get the creative juices temporarily flowing.
I thought that this might actually make a good topic for the day; not letting your personal life get in the way of providing good customer service. While being sick is a little different, it brings to mind that we all have a bad day from time to time – usually because something is going on in our personal life that causes stress.
I’ve been on the receiving end of what must have been pretty horrible days from some customer service representatives. And let me tell you, understanding they had a bad day did not at all convince me that I should be sympathetic to the fact that they acted disinterested, unhelpful, or were downright rude to me.
I don’t care what is going on in your personal life, if you can’t leave it at home when you start your day, you’re doing yourself and your customers a disservice. Your demeanor, or that of your employees, is a direct reflection of not only your customer service, but your entire store. If a customer walks away feeling they were treated poorly by an employee who decided to take their foul mood out on them, you can sure as heck can bet they’re not going to be coming back for more.
When I worked in customer service, I constantly had stress going on, both at work and at home. I’ve had major break-ups to deal with, death, accidents, heated arguments, and financial worries. You name it, I probably dealt with it. But not one customer would have ever known anything was wrong when speaking with me on the phone because I never – I repeat NEVER – let my personal baggage enter into the conversation. People used to be amazed how I could switch so easily to my “pleasant” voice, even if I’d just finished venting a thousand expletives over whatever crisis was on hand at the moment.
Some people are naturally adept at doing this. But it’s actually really not that difficult. It’s simply a matter of choosing to be pleasant. And really it shouldn’t even have to be a choice; it should be something you simply DO. If you decide that you just don’t give a darn and every customer is going to know you’re having a bad day, week, or month, then you probably don’t need to be in the customer service business in the first place.
So next time you’re having a bad day, try finding a way to get rid of some of that pent up stress before you start dealing with people for the day. Vent to someone you trust. Write a quick letter to yourself about what’s bothering you. Go outside to your car and scream for a minute with all the windows rolled up. (Although you might want to make sure no one else is around to see you!). Go someplace quiet for a 5 minute meditation. Whatever it takes to help you get through the rest of the day.
And when you face that next customer or speak to them on the phone, let them think you’re actually having the BEST day of your life. Who knows – maybe by the end of it you’ll even begin to think that yourself!
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