Customer Service 101

Customer Service 101:

Now we've all heard the story of someone waiting in line to make a purchase and then out of nowhere some chaos.  Your friend tells you about what they saw at the mall or fast food joint or what have you and it's a complete and utter horror story.  The cashier was yelling at the customer the customer was yelling the manager the manager called the customer an idiot or something along those lines, its chaos and unbelievable, for the most part, unless you've been there.  If you're like me you probably have worked or are working in the Customer Service industry whether it involves food, clothes, tires, or what have you.  It's a tricky business as you may very well know but I've decided to start this blog on customer service because I feel I have some knowledge to lend some people out there and if not that I just enjoy writing.

More often then not if your job has probably told you to smile, smile for the customers, vendors, and VP's coming to visit your location.  Smiling is the number one thing people will see.  Now I know what you are probably thinking, "Is it really necessary sometimes I just don't feel like it" to be honest...no it's not necessary, but it is recommended not for the customers but for you.  Smiling I know is difficult to do sometimes when you are having a bad day or just don't feel like it, but it's good for you.  It puts you in a good mood when you're not.  Also people that smile are more likely to get one back and who doesn't smile back when smiled to?  When smiling be sincere think of a funny joke or a funny face you saw while web surfing and just smile at the thought of that to get you started. 

Smiling is big...real big but being sincere in your smile is just as important.  Now I'm not saying you have to smile at what you are doing because I know that can sometimes be a real pain but smiling at something and making your smile sincere is key.  Most people can tell the difference between a real smile and a not so sincere smile, it's in the eyes and only a sincere smile doesn't look goofy when you are smiling.

Well now that we have the smiling piece taken care of the second thing that I always consider in customer service is making a connection with every customer.  Now you're probably reading and thinking 'I see hundreds of customers on a daily basis how is that possible?' In all honesty it's not as difficult as it sounds.  Now when I say make a 'connection' I don't mean remember everything about them just strike a small conversation, a few words of exchange, or a small joke, depending on what level of customer service you are in.  Make the customer feel like a person and not a customer, and when you do try not to make it sound like its what you have to say, for example. "HI! how are you?" is so rehearsed add some personality to it add something extra with your sincere smile something like "Hey there, how are you doing this fine morning?"  its these small subtleties that make great customer experiences, which in the end make your job a lot more enjoyable and less frustrating.

Now those are two of the key concepts I like to think of as essentials to have in this day and age for you to have a less stressful job and two to make your customers come back to see you.  With that being said with this blog I'm not an expert in any of these subjects nor do I have a degree in anything to validate these as 'scientific' or anything of that nature I'm just I guy who loves doing what he does and likes to write it down for you guys to read and rate.  If you have any question in regards to things of this nature comment below and I will do my best to respond and thanks for reading.