Happy Customer Service, Are You Sure?
It is easy to stumble upon some interesting things when working with many different business sectors and people. Sometimes exactly what is believed to make them unique is really just a different flavor of the same thing. Does your brand or organization deliver happy customer service?
Same Thing Different Flavor
What is the different flavor? Every business feels they are unique, and in many ways, they are, but many are doing something very similar to their competition and they don’t even realize it.
One thing that I find with nearly every business is that they believe they are doing OK with customer service. Many believe that customer service is a department, and that the employees in that group have it all covered.
It makes me wonder, is sales a department? What about shipping and receiving, and let’s not forget accounting. The single biggest problem with most organizations is that when they grow big enough to have departments everything changes.
Sales may be a piece of the organization, just like shipping, accounting, or information technology. There may also be a help desk, technical support, manufacturing, assembly, quality control, and human resources. They are all departments.
Here is the most fundamental challenge that all of these departments face, they forget that they are all in it together. Internally there is often tension, political currents, and game playing. They try to put on the face of happy customer service, but are they successful?
No Words Just Expressions
Here is a different question, have you ever walked into a room or had someone approach you and the first thing that they say is, “What’s wrong?” No words were spoken yet, these are the first? Do you think about why? Perhaps it is because they read something on your face, an expression or a look.
There may be times that we are purposely trying to send a signal about our mood, but often we are not consciously aware. We are getting through our day. We might be thinking, worrying, or feeling stressed.
Why is there a different feeling on Monday or Friday? Why is there energy in the room, or none? Everyone is reading everyone else’s face. It is what we do. Consciously or subconsciously, we are assessing our environment. We are hard wired to do this.
Happy Customer Service
Just like we may often take for granted the expression on our face, organizations often do the same. More importantly, everyone looking on is trying to read your face. Watching and looking, they are perhaps wondering, is that organization happy. They may not talk about it or discuss but they are reading it.
You are all in it together. It is not about a department. It is about your culture.
What messages are your customers reading? What is written on your face?
Happy customer service? (…or sales, shipping, receiving, technical support, manufacturing, QC, or HR…)
– DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
