If you deal with anyone daily in a work capacity, you have to do some type of customer service. Whether your place of work is a public-facing entity or not, if you are speaking to your boss, your employee, or the plumber fixing a sink, you are expected to have a degree of professionalism. With that in mind, here are a couple places you may have forgotten that customer service still needs to be at the forefront of your mind.
Have you ever heard the term “telephone tough guy”? If you haven’t, it’s someone who gets on the phone and acts harsh or rude because they aren’t directly walking up to the person to have a conversation and use their phone as a shield. This applies to your keyboard as well. As a rule of thumb, treat every interaction through your email as if that person is your grandmother. Is it frustrating explaining something over and over again in an email? Of course! But you are still in a professional work environment, and your email tone needs to reflect that every time. Does it have to be perfect and full of top-notch grammar? It helps, but the tone will translate a lot better when it’s friendly, and people are more likely to want to keep working with you.
Conversing With Other Entities
If USPS drops off a package, or you have a contractor coming to fix a leak in your roof, it’s important to remember that just because you don’t see them often or work for the same company, you still are required to act professionally. If they ask you a question that you don’t know the answer to, act as if you were a concierge. “That’s a great question, I am not sure, but I will get that information to you as soon as possible.”
Co-Workers
You might think that this is a given, but when people get to know each other better, they might think it’s ok to just act however they want. Mind your P’s and Q’s with your co-workers. We should never expect our co-workers to do things for us. We have to understand their time is just as valuable, and we should be respectful of our requests and responses every time.
Most people think customer service only applies to service industry jobs, yet it’s really something that should be a part of everyone’s professional working life. You will maintain longevity in your work relationships, and people will feel like you actually respect and care for them. This goes a long way in making your everyday interactions pleasant and productive, and that will always make your place of work a place that others want to be.
