JOB SKILLS
Customer Service Failure: The Top 3 Skills You Need, or Just Quit Now
Do you have what it takes?
All I wanted was an air filter.
What I got was frustration.
Disappointment.
In May, I moved to a newly constructed apartment complex. The word luxury is in its name and deservedly so.
State-of-the-art amenities include energy-efficient appliances, a playground, dog park, gym, and a resort-like pool surrounded by grills and hammocks, which holds great appeal. They tout valet trash removal.
Put your issued can outside your front door for easy disposal.
Perfect.
But not really perfect.
Customer Service Failure
I ambled into the leasing office for the second time this week. I previously lodged a low-key, and recurring, concern regarding the Amazon deliveries. I handed them a package for Mike.
Our mailroom contains lockers opened by individual codes. A signature is required following input.
After signing multiple times for Mike’s packages, I passed them to the leasing office. I don’t want responsibility for taking his deliveries by blindly signing for them.
I kindly requested a fix on their computer or in Amazon’s program.
Again, I received a code and opened a locker.
It was empty.
No big deal, but what if it was supposed to be something? Once again, I had signed to indicate receipt. Of nothing.
Whatever.
All good, right? I am not a wave maker, but neither am I a shrinking violet.
Just kindly get your shiite together approach.
And, thank you.
When I returned a few days later to pick up an air filter, the house of cards collapsed.
The 3 Must-Have Customer Service Skills
- Enjoy People
- Listen
- Problem Solve
Enjoy People
You have to like people enough to assist them. Caring is the foundation to customer service.
Resentment will show on your face, in your posture, and in your voice.
Yes, there will be questions or concerns forthcoming. It’s the crux of the job description, no?
If you have negative physical and mental reactions to the general public, take a pass on any customer service job.
Listen
It is necessary to listen so you can fully assess someone’s needs.
If you enjoy the human race, listening to them shouldn’t tax your resources. It’s physically impossible to listen well and talk at the same time.
Good customer service cannot exist if you come from a defensive position. Talking faster, over the customer’s words, is off-putting and irritating.
It’s physically impossible to listen well and talk at the same time.
Problem Solve
The customer service representative spearheads solutions.
Professionalism includes general knowledge, creativity, quick fixes, and potential coddling, to reach a viable resolution.
I only wanted an air filter. No brainer. Hand me one and I’ll be off.
Problem solved.
But no.
The rep chose side commentary on trash build-up in the hallways. Pick-up was missed. I tried to downplay his angst with, hey life happens, yet he took a turn and blamed the residents.
“Residents have bags out, bags instead of their cans!”
I calmly offered that maybe they have pets or small children, and needed the lidded can back while they waited for pickup to resume. They left the trash out for the valets.
A flicker of light passed through his eyes. Huh, she could be onto something.
His frustration mounted. He thrust a flyer my way and asked me to call the valet trash people to complain about the oversight. They will respond to pressure from the tenants.
Say, what?
No.
He asked me to take a picture of the empty mail locker. He wanted pics of the ketchup-like substance on my Jeep, and other cars, that appeared overnight courtesy of delinquents. “Send me an email,” he insisted.
Dumbfounded, I asked if he was serious.
That’s when he bristled.
“We need evidence! We have to have evidence to document.”
But, what about my filter?
I went in for a filter. I stood there, filterless, while he postured about everything else.
Let the dance continue.
Was there an unwritten expectation for me to self-police the community and follow up on the leasing office’s responsibilities?
“Why would you burden me with that?” I was compelled to ask.
God forbid, he drove me to the point of asking why he couldn’t walk the 10 feet to the mailroom and take his own picture.
He looked shocked.“It’s not like I do nothing, you know. I work hard. I don’t just sit around.”
Yeah, I never said anything remotely close to that.
“Surely,” I commented, “the leasing office has its own system of incident reports.” His face reddened, dangerously close to purple.
I just wanted my filter.
“Can I grab my filter now?”
Mr. Chestpuffery Pressurecooker, leasing agent extraordinaire, scoffed and answered slowly as if English was my newly acquired second language. “You are re-quir-ed to change your filter every 30 days.”
I mimicked his slow delivery. Yes, I un-der-stand. What I don’t un-der-stand is how you expected me to know. Osmosis?
My issue was that the information came to me while standing in line behind another resident, at the grocery store. He mentioned picking up his air filter.
The rep and I stood there, awkwardly locking eyes, at a stalemate.
“Can I grab my filter now?”
What could have been a quick stop-in, grab and go, for the damn filter, turned into deep and disappointing resentment.
Think customer service is easy?
It can be.
- You need to like people enough to want to help them.
- Listen first. Wait to respond. Aggression, defensive posturing, and shirking accountability, are not customer service.
- Problem-solve an issue. If an obvious solution isn’t available, assure follow-up when you have one.
Never pawn off your duties or burden the customer with responsibilities that don’t belong to them.
The customer isn’t always right.
But.
You can still serve them with a smile.
Or, quit and find a job that makes you smile.
More customer service glitches?
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