Customer service solution: Make it an act - Business Weekly ...

By Dr. Santo D. Marabella

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There?s a crime of epic proportions being committed in our country. It affects our children, our communities, our jobs and most of all it threatens everything we believe in ? revealing a new level of atrocity in man?s inhumanity to man?and woman.

The crime: crappy customer service.

The victim: everyone who seeks support, assistance, guidance, clarification and just a friendly ear or a warm smile or a thoughtful remark from companies, businesses and stores in the U.S.

Think I?m exaggerating? Take a look at some of these submitted by our readers.

A pregnant customer, with a 3 year old in tow, shops for vacuum cleaners, which are displayed on an inaccessible shelf. A worker called to help gets a call on his phone about refrigerators and abandons her, without a word. Big help!

The regulatory compliance department of a mortgage-service firm was having difficulty keeping up with the Do Not Call database, and accidentally and repeatedly called a mortgage customer to cross-sell products. That customer happened to be an attorney who threatened the company with a class-action lawsuit. The mortgage company improved its data management, but not before paying off the customer?s mortgage.

A woman had a death in her family and needed to fly home quickly. She had a free ticket on a no-frills airline. She was told there were no free seats available on the flight; however, she could purchase a seat for $900 on that flight. She questioned why if there was a seat available, she couldn?t use her free ticket in this emergency. Their response: ?We don?t have any bereavement policies because we are a low-cost airline.? Her wallet $900 lighter, she was back East grieving more than her family loss.

Ever want to rewrite the ?script? on scenes such as these?

The good news is: Good service does sometimes happen. The call center rep really gets your frustration in receiving the wrong online order for the second time because the rep understand being disappointed.

The wait staff notices you didn?t finish much of your meal and asks if everything is okay.

The store clerk believes you when you explain that the flat screen TV was cracked when you took it out of the box and that you didn?t drop it.

The auto mechanic just won?t give up trying to find where that ?squealing? noise is coming from under your hood because he is committed to solving problems.

So it is possible to rewrite that bad script. You can do it by adapting theater for customer-service training. As a community theater director and playwright, I believe every customer-service job has a character, much like a character in a play. If each customer service employee understands and plays their job character like the consummate actor, they will be more aware of what is really required to do their job.

In other words, I believe that great customer service is all an act! Not in a fake way. When an actor plays a role in which they have no direct experience, they draw on their personal experience to give their character life. The best actors are authentic, present, trusting and disciplined, attributes applicable to understanding the job character of all types of customer service professionals.

We have job descriptions and job specifications. I say we also need a job character profile ? a ?script? for the job character. This profile describes the goals, context, communication and behaviors of the job character, and provides guidance about how to ?act? in the customer-service position.

Character goal ? helping the customer succeed and get what?s needed. Every character in a play has a goal for his ?journey,? and the character?s context, communication and behavior must advance that goal. The customer?s goal is a beacon that guides the customer service employee.

Character context ? how this character fits into the organization as a provider of customer service. If customer service is an afterthought in the organization, the customer service employee would serve only to fix problems, not anticipate them. But, if managing and growing customer relationships are important, the service professional will do whatever possible to help the customer succeed.

Character communication. The choice of words, expression of emotions, body language and use of silence must be carefully considered in the communication between service provider and customer.

Character behavior. Following through; being patient; offering options, suggestions and alternatives; paying attention; and really caring about the customer are tools the character uses.

Job character profiles can help individuals in customer positions know not just how and what to do in their jobs, but how and who to be in their jobs, which can lead to better overall ?performances.? And, it is certainly about time for this ?act? to earn better reviews, wouldn?t you agree?

Santo D. Marabella is a professor of management at Moravian College and president of Marabella & Associates, a management-consulting practice for nonprofits and businesses. He also serves as chairman of the Greater Reading Film Commission.

Source: http://businessweekly.readingeagle.com/?p=5562&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=customer-service-solution-make-it-an-act

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