Recently, I was talking to some folks about customer service and who is and isn’t in the business. For fun we started naming jobs and seeing if they were in customer service or not. Why? Well, my general premise is that everyone is in customer service even when they don’t think they are and most folks could use a whole lot of training.
I didn’t always feel that way. When I worked for Bechtel in San Francisco high above in the 21st floor I didn’t think I was in customer service. We had a receptionist on the first floor – a really nice guy that thwarted unwanted visitors. In the evenings that switched to security who did the same and called cars for us when we were working late. Even in that vaulted state I now know that I was in customer service. My customer was the engineering teams that we developed proposals for and a little more care to those relationships would have been a good thing for our department.
Are You In Customer Service?
Anyway, enough reminiscing. Let’s talk jobs! I’ll list a job and then figure out the customer service aspect. Then, if you are game, add one or two in the comments and see if you can see how they are part of the customer service industry.
Loan Officer: Totally in the realm of customer service. They are both working with clients seeking loans (and those folks can go anywhere) and internal teams – piss off an internal team and it will be a long time before someone reminds you there are doughnuts in the conference room.
Parks Department Employee: You bet. Although they don’t deal with the public necessarily all day in their job, they are faced with a very public position and have to remember that tax dollars are what put them in place. A little customer service training to develop the skills of listening and solutions might help them in their day to day.
Produce Clerk: Absolutely. Groceries are everywhere and a produce clerk that talks to their customers, is helpful and engaging will go further than one that slinks into the back when they see a customer coming.
Admitting Nurse: Obviously. They are, possibly, dealing with high stress situations and their ability to be kind and calm is the essence of good customer service.
Toll Booth Operator: Admittedly, their exposure to their audience is minutes, but their impact could be welcoming at the very least. I don’t know how many tolls I recently drove through that could have been staffed by zombies… maybe they were zombies. Yikes!
High School Teacher: Um, yep. With three customers – what? Yep. Students, administration and parents. Each one requiring a different finesse. This is especially hard for teachers because they are in the business of passing on information and the idea that they have remember to build relationships can be trying at best.
Main Street Director: (See, I wouldn’t leave myself out of scrutiny.) It is a HUGE part of the work of a director. Serving the district, understanding their needs, listening and putting the good of the whole before individual agendas is a big part of the job. Heck, just being nice is sometimes the very best tool a director has in the tool belt.
Ok, now you. What do you do? Put it in the comments and I’ll figure out your customer service angle. I’m really hoping you can stump me… although I’m betting you can’t. And run to the next customer service training you can find. Honestly, even if you are just reminded of the key points and get reenergized you will be doing a better job.
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