It is astounding that so many people don't understand who their customer is and/or how to treat a customer in the work place. Let me provide a few examples. If you are an HR professional, your customer is likely the leadership team. You are providing services and are an advocate for employees however, your customer is likely (depending on your business model) the leader. If you are in manufacturing, your customer is the next stage in the assembly line. It's very important to understand this and I'll use a simple analogy we can all relate to.
If I work at an electronics store and a 14 year old boy comes in with his mother to purchase a new laptop for the boy, it would be easy for me to think the 14 year old boy is the customer. After all, the laptop is for the boy, he is telling me what he wants and requires in his device. However, a critical component to this sale is the mother - she is likely paying the bill. If I ignore her requests and needs, I will not make the sale. If I talk down to her because she doesn't have any idea about RAM, DRAM, LOL, LMAO, I will lose the sale. So, who is the customer in this case? Yep, mommy.
Now, let's take that back to the workplace. If you don't clearly understand who your internal customers are, you will fail miserably in building sustaining relationships, gaining buy in, and reaching resolutions in conflicts. If you mistakenly believe you are in a power struggle and don't treat the customer like a customer (more on that in a minute), you will quickly lose trust, respect, and business. People will go out of their way to avoid you.
So, what does customer service look like in the work place? First, let's start with what it doesn't look like. Some people mistakenly believe good customer service means you always give the customer what they want. I disagree. Slightly. I say, you give the customer what they want within the scope of the services you can ethically, morally, and legally offer. Being an HR person, I have to be very careful here. Analogy again. If you go into a Pizza place and say "I'd like a steak with a baked potato and side of steamed asparagus" I guarantee they will very nicely send you down the road to a more appropriate location for your needs. We shouldn't try to deliver something outside of our scope of expertise. And we shouldn't compromise our integrity to provide a service either. As a training professional I have many times been asked to provide a sub-par product for the sake of time or because someone thinks a Power Point equals" training. This would be like asking a surgeon to only take out half the tumor because you don't want to lay on the table any longer.
Here is what customer service looks like in the workplace:
- Friendly, cordial, kind
- Ethically, Morally, and Legally appropriate service (do I really need to elaborate on this any more?)
- The customers needs come first (not your time demands or personal opinions and desires.)
- Collaborative
- Customers are treated as welcome guests and the reason for your existence (not another person that wants your time)
- Customers' ideas are welcome and encouraged
- They feel listened to and respected when they leave
- Their time is valued
- Promises are kept (projects delivered on time, calls returned)
- They walk away from a meeting with you feeling important, valuable, and like they can't wait to see you again.
The bottom line is, think about how you like to be treated as a customer, make sure you clearly understand who your internal customers are, and strive each day (no matter how difficult your customers may be), to provide the most outstanding service possible.
Mari
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