Tag Archives: pain

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workplace headache

Workplace Headache and Other Ailments

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Do you have a workplace headache? Is there something or someone gnawing at you?

We’ve heard somebody say it, “I have a migraine.” Migraines are no joke and could be a serious condition.

Metaphorically, are there some pains around your workplace?

Beyond Control

Any time we have people working together we’re going to have different personalities, different values, ideas, and beliefs. There will always be different ways to approach problems and different moods depending on what is happening in our lives.

In addition to the interpersonal circumstances we’ll also probably have work we like to do, and work we despise doing.

We know there will be good days and bad days.

Can you control your situation? In some cases, probably, yes. In other cases, probably not so much.

We can’t do much about the traffic jam, the road construction, or a traffic accident.

Pouring rain, bright sunshine, high temperatures or freezing cold. No wind, light wind, or whipping wind, nothing we can really do.

The personalities of our valued customers or coworkers, they are beyond our control.

Workplace Headache

If we choose to allow it, we have a lot of workplace ailments. Personalities, values, and attitudes, not much we can do unless it is our job to help others with their behaviors.

We can choose to not let a traffic jam, bad weather, or different personalities ruin our chance at productivity.

There is a job to do, either way. What happens next is based on our own decisions.

We can choose to acknowledge our headaches, or move forward perhaps forgetting that we have them.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.


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customer service pain points Appreciative Strategies

What Are Your Customer Service Pain Points?

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Everybody quickly recognizes that customer service should be a happy experience, or at a stretch minimizing a not so great experience to be better. When was the last time you really considered customer service pain points?

There is often chatter about touch points, but pain points perhaps not so much. One of my favorite provocative questions is, “What are you doing that punishes your customers?” Sometimes people feel shocked about that question, but it is an important one.

Customer Service Pain Points

Like touch points, pain points might be assessed everywhere. Here are a few examples:

  • What or how convenient is parking
  • Where are the restrooms
  • What should people do while they wait
  • How long do they wait
  • Are there stairs, or an elevator
  • How many clicks to make a purchase
  • How available is a human
  • How responsive to email
  • How is the experience too fast, or too slow
  • Is the product intuitive? For whom?

Certainly, this list could get long quickly. Most businesses follow an established pattern. Waiting rooms get chairs, sometimes a television or closed circuit advertising, perhaps fresh water or a coffee pot. The bus should arrive on time. Pizza delivery should be hot, and shipping for my on-line purchase fast.

Assessment and Brainstorming

What does your business do? How do you assess pain points? Have you done it lately or are you merely copying what the shop across the street is doing?

Have you considered internal customer service? How responsive are you to email? Are you available or often too busy? Are projects completed on time? Does everyone do their part? Are people waiting for other people? What do they do while they wait?

How should internal service be measured or evaluated? Compared with what?

Just Enough or More?

Many businesses and organizations are on cruise control. They are doing what they need to do to get by. Spending just enough on advertising may not help growth. Shipping just fast enough to avoid complaints won’t set you apart. Providing services or comfort comparable to the competition won’t make you memorable.

When you do everything just as good as the next person, internal or external, the best you can hope for is to be number two. Cruise control may be similar to coasting. We all know you only coast one way—downhill.

Reducing or eliminating customer service pain points will make your touch points more memorable. What is the customer’s pain?

-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.

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