Where is the Love?

As a customer service professional I am sensitive to the type of service I receive when I am out shopping, eating, buying my groceries, calling my cell phone company and other activities. One thing I have noticed, as I am sure quite a few of you have, is that service seems to be on a steady decline.

And I am not even talking about your over-the-top, do-anything-to-please-the-customer type service. I am talking about your basic, run-of-the-mill service. The Hello (said with a smile), saying please and thank you. The things I call the basics.  So the question I ask today is: Where is the Love?

Seventy percent of jobs in the United States are considered “Service Providing” jobs. Yet, basic customer service skills are lacking. Why is that?

Well, for starters, most people don’t believe that they work  in the service industry. Sorry to rain on your parade, but if you deal with people as a primary (and even secondary) function of your job, YOU ARE IN CUSTOMER SERVICE! No if, ands or buts about it.

I hear people say all the time, “I am not a people person”. Well, guess what, you better get that line out of your vocabulary. Again, seventy percent of jobs in the United States are service providing jobs. That means that any job you get will more than likely deal with people. And this number is rising each year.

I realize that a lot of people are in the jobs they are in because they need something so that they can pay their bills, So this means that there are a lot of people who are working in a job that they really don’t  like. But as a customer, I shouldn’t have that taken out on me.

I have always had the position that no matter what job I do, I do it with courtesy and professionalism. I smile. I greet my customers. I say please and thank you. The basics.  

Well, now I hear you say, “But the customers are just so rude. Why should I be nice to them when they aren’t nice to me?” Yes, the customers can be rude. But you know why they are? It’s because they have received crappy service so many times in the past, that they come to you in a defensive mode – bracing themselves for another dose of crappy service.

And why should you be nice to them? Because IT’S YOUR JOB! If you don’t like it all that much, find another one. It’s as easy as that. But with 7 out of 10 jobs being service related, good luck with finding a job that doesn’t require you be nice to people.

So here are some tips on how to provide the basics of customer service. A little goes a long way.

1.      Smile. When you look pleasant, people act pleasantly towards you.

2.      Greet your customer. Say Hello before you ask how you can help them.

3.      Speak in complete sentences. When giving a total for a transaction, don’t say. “$10.50”. Instead say, “Your total will be $10.50.”

4.      Use your manners. Please can make such a big impact when requesting something from your customer. I can’t tell you how many times I hear, “Next window”.  A nicer way, “Please pull up to the next window”

5.      Always thank your customer. People don’t have to come to your business. If customers don’t frequent your store, restaurant, call center, day care, or wherever you work, then your employer loses money which means they may not be able to pay you. NO customers = NO job. 

My next post will address the customer. Because as much as we want to blame the employee, some of the blame is on you, too.