Customer Service Is an Opportunity
One of the hardest things about providing good customer service is dealing with difficult people – the irate, the whiny, the just plain obnoxious. The way you treat these people is definitely the “rubber meets the road” part of the customer service interaction.
Grinning and bearing it isn’t good enough. Your grin is likely to turn into a grimace and your customer service turn into an unsatisfactory experience for both of you.
The trick to providing good customer service to all customers is going in with the right attitude. Rose Sani-Gaiya says it best, I think, in her comment on How to Deal With Difficult People:
“When you realize the business you are in is a customer service oriented business, you learn to appreciate the difficult situations. The customer is a person, customer service is about people, and people have different personalities and experiences which result in different reactions. If your customer service orientation is good and you can appreciate the chance you have to make a difference in this customer’s situation and affecting their personality positively, your perception of ‘difficult’ will change. Appreciate your situation.”
So the person in front of you is not just another problem in an already busy day. He or she is an opportunity to make a difference to someone. That’s the kind of customer service attitude that will help you smile and really mean it – and send them away thinking good thoughts about your business and wanting to spread the word.
Have Your Say
- What Are Your Tips for Dealing With Difficult People?
- What Are Your Tips for Better Customer Service?
- What’s Been Your Worst Customer Service Experience?
Read More About Good Customer Service
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