|
©Holly
Stiel 2000
When it comes down to it, service is a feeling -- how someone
feels about doing business with you.
British Airways devoted an entire ad campaign to this premise.
A full-page ad in The New York Times listed quotes from satisfied
customers, and, at the bottom in italics, was the statement:
"It's the way we make you feel that makes us the world's
favorite airline."
It stands to reason, then, that paying attention to the feelings
involved in providing a good service experience -- the customers'
feelings and yours -- makes a great deal of sense.
Many companies put people out on the floor or the phone and
tell them to smile and "be nice" to the customers.
But, they don't acknowledge that smiling and being nice may
not be the natural reaction to a nasty customer.
Anyone who took a Psychology 101 course knows that the natural
human reaction to confrontation is fight or flight. In a customer
service situation, neither of those is an option. Therefore,
people must learn to "flow" when fleeing and fighting
aren't likely choices.
Service is produced and created by people, and people are filled
with emotions. It is not just the customer who wants to feel
good in a service interaction -- you do, too. But, the reality
is that there is no sign above the entrance telling customers
how to behave. And sometimes, they behave badly. So, the responsibility
for appropriate behavior falls on the service provider.
"The customer hurt my feelings" really means "I
let that customer hurt my feelings." It can be difficult
to separate the impersonal from the personal, but being able
to know the difference and balance the two is what separates
great service from average
service.
Most people truly want to feel good and help other people, but
somewhere along the way they lose that innate desire and begin
to "survive" their jobs. Perhaps it happens because
customers treat them rudely or management takes them for granted.
Whatever the reasons, the sad truth is that we have lost the
value of the human connection. To get that service feeling back,
you need to realize that, even if you are dealing with a customer
for just a few minutes, you are establishing a relationship.
Providing good service and experiencing the joy that is the
reward of that service takes patience and perseverance. It is
easy to find fault and complain, but good service never judges.
|