This sounds wonderful when you’re the customer. But how does
it feel to be the employee in this kind of situation? We all know of, and
perhaps have sometimes been involved in situations where a customer is so irate
that all logic and courtesy disappears. The front-line employee is usually
expected to diffuse the situation and salvage the customer’s relationship with
the organization. More often than not, this is much easier said than done.
A family member recently joined a very well known organization
that is highly regarded for delivering exceptional customer service and is recognized
as a 100 best company. He previously worked for many years in a series of increasingly
responsible positions for another service-oriented business. However, his new
company is so invested in its employees that it only promotes from within – it’s
impossible to walk in the door as an operational leader. One must start at the
bottom and work up, irrespective of degrees or experience.
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| Employees are key to delivering great customer service |
“It’s actually simple,” he stated. “When I was a leader in
my previous company, it was my job to make sure that my employees felt good
about being at work. That was my most important task, without question. The
same is true in my new job. The environment is great. Managers work alongside
employees. They ask us about ourselves, our families, our lives and they have a
real interest in the answers. When you know you’re cared about on the job, you
feel good about yourself. And when you feel good about yourself, you want to
spread that to others with whom you come in contact.”
The power of the message lies in its simplicity. This very large
company, a household name in many parts of the country, doesn’t invest in
expensive, canned customer service training for its employees. It doesn’t herd
them into classrooms to feed them a formula for managing customer interactions.
Instead, it focuses every leader’s attention on the employees, to make them feel valued, positive and
cared for. The result is a genuine atmosphere of caring and service and the
customers feel it in every interaction.
Want to improve your team’s customer service levels? Try shifting
your focus back to your employees. As the leader, make it your job to
consistently create an environment of caring, where every employee feels good
about him or herself. You’ll soon notice the difference in customer service as
your employees spread the positive spirit that they enjoy.
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