Stop Being so Nice
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Customer service tips when
people are stressed
By
Jeff Mowatt
Let’s
admit it - when it comes to dealing with customers who are stressed,
some jobs
are easier than others. A masseuse working in a resort spa will have
more
pleasant customers than a lost luggage agent at a busy
airport. If your customers are
sitting in a chair at
your hair salon, they’re likely to be more relaxed than if they were
sitting in
an examination chair in a dental office.
That’s why so
many customer service training programs fall short of desired
results. Over the last decade
there’s been a dearth of
frontline training that focuses on enhancing customer
experience. The premise is that we are now in the
experience economy. Supposedly,
our goal as service providers is
to be friendly and upbeat. That way, we’ll apparently make it more than
just selling
a cup of coffee; now it’s an experience. Unfortunately,
for many
organizations this
strategy backfires.
What if your
customers are doing business with you more out of
necessity than desire?
What
if your customers are tired, rushed, or angry? When that’s the case,
employee
perkiness is likely to be perceived as annoying.
That’s why, when I speak at conferences and do training programs for
teams, I
encourage employees to go beyond friendliness to create
trust. Especially with customers
who are tired,
rushed or upset.
Little Miss Personality
Picture this… a
receptionist at a walk-in medical clinic greets new arrivals with a
friendly,
upbeat, “Hi, how are you today?”
Obviously, people enter a clinic because something is
wrong. That
question forces the incoming patient to
reply in one of three ways: Option A) The patient essentially lies, and
responds with, “Fine.” In which case the customer gets the impression
that the
receptionist must be blissfully ignorant of why people visit a clinic.
Option
B) The patient responds tersely, “Not good!” Here, the receptionist
begins to
think she should look for a job where there aren’t so many cranky
people.
Finally, Option C) The new arrival explains at length their medical
history and
everything they’ve tried to alleviate their suffering.
That means the patient has to repeat their
story to the next health care provider - and the next.
Not much fun for the patient who was simply
answering a direct question.
“Employee
perkiness is sometimes perceived as annoying.”
Better strategy
- the receptionist’s face shows genuine concern and compassion as the
patient
approaches. She makes direct eye contact and gently says, “Good
afternoon.”
Then she raises her eyebrows waiting for the patient to volunteer what
brought
them in. Result? Less time, the
receptionist feels better
about her job and the customer gets the impression the receptionist is
tuned-in
to patient needs. Quite
an improvement
when the employee focuses more on building trust than being perky.
What’s
up, Dude?
Imagine this
time a young software specialist at a phone-in help-desk receives calls
from
customers with computer problems.
Attempting to be friendly and disarming, he addresses male
customers at
various points of the conversation as ‘buddy, ‘bro’, or ‘dude’.
The
problem with these overly familiar
terms is the customer who phones-in with a computer problem likely
isn’t happy
about the software or the company that services it.
He’s frustrated. He does not want to be buds
with the people who have anything
to with the darn computer. He’s
feels
like the systems rep is too casual and wonders if they are actually
trained.
The frustrated customer is now becoming annoyed.
Better Approach
- the help desk employee considers his role as being a Trusted
Advisor. He isn’t the customer’s pal.
Nor is he a mere minion in a huge faceless bureaucracy. Nor is
he the customer’s door mat. This
time
the computer specialist introduces himself at the beginning if the call
with
his first and last name. This implies that he considers himself to be a
grown-up
professional, and he’s fine with being held accountable. He doesn’t use
overly
familiar terms (buddy etc), nor does he use terms that are too formal;
like sir or m’ame. He
simply uses
customers’ names when addressing them.
With this approach, the customer feels like he’s getting
personalized
service from an accountable professional. The customer gets respect and
gives
it in return. He
feels better about the
company as a whole. And in turn the help desk rep deals with more civil
customers who genuinely appreciate his expertise. Everyone wins.
The
Bottom Line
Exceptional
customer service is not always
about being friendly. It is always about creating
trust. The good
news is by adjusting a few words and phrases, you can generate
significant
improvements in customer loyalty.
It
isn’t complicated. That’s why I call this approach, Influence
with Ease.
About the Author
This article
is based on the bestselling book,
Influence with Ease®
by
customer service strategist and certified professional speaker Jeff
Mowatt. To
obtain your own copy of his book or to inquire about engaging Jeff for
your
team, visit www.jeffmowatt.com
or call toll
free 1-800-JMowatt (566-9288).
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2012-02-07 14:40:20 in Marketing Articles
