Let's face it, dealing with the public every day can be at times down right difficult, and nobody knows it better than those who work in the customer service industry. Hi! Welcome to my world. Not only do I own a few online businesses where I have to deal with people over the phone and via email regarding orders placed, but I also work a retail job a few days a week for a company that I love, love love! I took this job because I am a people person and as much as I loved working from home with my two lingerie businesses, I surely did miss the interaction with customers. I am a people person for those of you who don't know me, and I am the happiest when I am surrounded by my team at work doing something that I enjoy doing...selling!
With angry customers, and even demanding bosses that show little respect, it can really drag down your self-confidence. No one wants or needs that, and it's very unhealthy. Sometimes the job itself can cause a lack of confidence if the worker feels like he or she should have a better job. Don't feel bad about yourself because you're working in customer service. In tight economic times, many people turn to jobs in the food service and retail industries. I can honestly say that working again after so many years in the business most customers are very cordial, however, there have been stories that I have heard from others about how rude and ruthless customers can be. To these people I ask...have you no conscious? Do you not have any respect for normal honest people living their daily life trying to support themselves and their families? Do you actually think that you are superior to these retail employees and businesses? If so, boy do I feel sorry for you. Come down off your high horse and get a grip before someone smacks you into tomorrow. My advice to those of you who fit this description; have a little respect, it goes a long way!
If you start to believe that you're "better than" the job, you're only setting yourself up to feel down about yourself. Look at your work experience as an adventure, a chance to observe humanity. The saying may be that "the customer is always right," but don't believe in this at the expense of your own pride and self-worth. Customers aren't in the right when they are belligerent and belittling towards customer service representatives. Don't allow them to let you think less of yourself.
While many customer service jobs involve working face to face with customers, others involve taking phone calls. If you're working at a call center, the potential for abuse from customers can be even greater since they're most likely calling you because they have a problem. Don't I know it...I worked for a call center once in a mortgage department and people were down right nasty. If I heard the term "YOU PEOPLE" one more time I was going to throw the headset and the damn phone right out the window. Don't let a caller's attitude towards you affect your own feelings of confidence in yourself in and your abilities. If a customer gets angry, you should also avoid responding in kind. If a customer is upset, you'll only make things worse by becoming mean yourself and you'll only feel bad about the situation later. If you are going to talk negative about a customer, for goodness sakes, make sure that the headset is muted. Take it from me, it's not pretty if what you think you're saying is private turns out to be 'not so private' when you suddenly hear a pause and a scream on the other end followed by the sound of the phone being hung up and silence!
On a similar note, don't take anything too personally. If you're the cashier at grocery store, you're likely to hear complaints about the slow workers at the deli counter, the high price of milk and the number of sale items that weren't on the shelves. If you work for a gas station, you're going to hear people yap about the high cost of gas when the barrel has now dropped below $85.00
If this happens, you should certainly be sympathetic of their plight and refer them to management if necessary, but realize that they're complaining about things that are completely unrelated to your individual job. You can only control how positive the customer's experience is when they're right in front of you. You shouldn't feel bad just because their discontent is being directed at you. Now, if a customer does lodge a complaint against you, then you should listen carefully to the issue. Make the necessary corrections, using the problem to your advantage to improve your work, but don't dwell on it. Everyone makes mistakes and one complaint doesn't mean you're a horrible person.
Treat everyone with respect, and you will get respect in return. If you're in a management position, assert your authority in a way that doesn't demean your workers. If you're the underling, listen to those in management positions, and if you have a problem with them, take it up through appropriate channels. Picking a fight with those in authority only leads to bad feelings and an unpleasant work environment.
Come to work with a positive attitude. Your fellow workers may be negative, but you don't have to let them color your view of the situation. Don't let someone else rain on your parade! If you have a good attitude about the entire work experience, you're less likely to let small things get you down and will feel better about yourself overall.
Do the best job you can, even if you're doing the most menial task possible. Cleaning bathrooms certainly isn't glamorous, but it's vital to creating a positive experience for customers. If you take pride in your work, you'll have pride in yourself. When you do quality work, you're also more likely to get praise, raises and promotions, which are always confidence boosters.
Overall, the best advice for workers is to have a positive attitude and maintain a sense of perspective. Will the customer that just yelled at you really matter tomorrow? Don't take it to heart...just brush it off. Don't let it eat away at you because if you do, it will! Then don't let it drag you down today. If you keep this in mind, you'll be able to emerge from the world of customer service with your confidence intact!
 |
| www.simplydeliciouslingerie.com |
No comments:
Post a Comment