05.05.10

10 common misconceptions about customer service

Posted in Humor~Business, Humor~Social Media, Humor~Technology at 5:04 pm by Dr. Trina Hess

I was going to write about how HUMOR helps us in customer service situations. But then I realized–it’s not important whether you have a sense of HUMOR. What does matter is that you have a sense of HUMAN. That’s why I started the list off with the major misconception:

1. You are not dealing with humans. We tend to forget that the customer is still human. Whether they display any evidence of this to you or not, the fact remains. They have un-paid bills, their roots need done, their laundry is dirty and the cat litter needs changed. They will take all of this out on you. Get over it.

2. You will always know how to react to each customer. This may be where humor comes in handy. But first, you must have cleared out all your own mental baggage. That way when their arrows fly, you don’t have to catch them with your chest or your emotions.

3. Using humor is the key. It may be one of the keys. But only IF it’s used correctly. The problem is that humor makes us too comfortable with people. We don’t know when or how to stop ourselves. It’s too easy for our fun playful jesting to turn into biting sarcasm.

4. You have to be an expert. No, you have only to be a servant. If you don’t know the answer, you can show them someone who does know.

5. Your customers don’t know as much as you do. First, see #4. Then, realize that most people have seen it all. They have the internet, they know everything. There is no concievable way to know how to deal with each individual customer, individually. Just be yourself. They will catch on.

6. Customer service only means face-to-face interaction. Yes it does, AND it means any time a customer interacts with your product or business. And there are many ways they can do that: word of mouth, they can tweet it, they can text about you, they can post on Facebook, and other sites yet to be invented.

7. It won’t matter if you’re having a bad day. Go ahead and snap at the customer. After all, they are completely annoying you. Big deal–it’s only one person, they didn’t buy much anyway. One person who will tell absolutely anyone who will listen, about how mean you were. ‘Nuff said.

8. If you have a skin-tight policy you are covered. No–if you have employees who are flexible enough to work around your policy, then you are covered.

9. It’s just a matter of being friendly. This is where many people leap blindly into the trusting darkness. People are savvy. They have the internet. They know when you are faking happiness. Better to actually be happy and sincere or find another line of work.

10. The business world is separate from the “real” world. Your company is not a microcosm that the customer steps into and back out of. They have layers and levels of experiences. Your job is figuring out how to tap into their world(s) and seeing where your product fits.

Humor can absolutely benefit customer service management. But how you use that humor and where, and with whom, and how much, and how often, and when and in which situations–that is the question.

What are your solutions?

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