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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Customer Service


A funny and telling definition of Customer service has been put this way – “Apologizing to total strangers for things over which you have no control”


As both a Customer and  a Customer Service “Representative” (or “CSR” )  I have had a few thoughts on this topic of Customer Service and how we treat people in this industry.

1) The first point I would like to make is this – as customers we have to distinguish our feelings for the corporation from our feelings toward the level entry worker you most often encounter (and on whom we often take out our wrath.)

As a customer I can understand the anger we can feel towards the corporation in question ( which ever that may be) , however it is a huge mistake to take out your anger against the corporation on the store associate who is lucky enough to get your complaint.

The average customer service worker – whether they be a cashier, a waitress, a drive through attendant, a telephone support worker  or a big box store floor worker (hereafter referred to as the CSR )   - is not responsible for corporate policy.

To boot -  They are often poorly paid and poorly trained – and that, again,  is the fault of the corporation.

Of  course -  they are responsible for their own personal conduct, their patience, their effort in helping you and their attitude in general…. But not the edicts passed down from “Head Office”.

When it comes to issues of price and policy – don’t shoot the messenger. 

Perhaps you should ask to talk to a manager (they are paid more and trained more and are expected to take on more responsibility). 


You may not know this but the average CSR is held to at least 3 “metrics” or standards.

a) They are expected to have great customer satisfaction .  This is usually measured by telephone, online or “fill out the card” surveys.   However the  customers  often fill out their surveys only when  they are angry – and the even then it is usually with things beyond the CSR’s control. 

Its also interesting to note that in a lot of businesses unless the CSR gets an “Extremely Satisfied” , they actually get docked points.

In other words when we customers fill something out as “Fairly” or “Somewhat” satisfied – the employee gets a big fat 0 , just the same as if you had said “Extremely Unsatisfied”.

Unfortunately . The systematic measuring of customer satisfaction of the CSR in the industry is extremely inaccurate and not true to life.

b)  Quality control – the CSR is also responsible for upholding company policy to a “t” .  This often handcuffs them in their attempt to please the customer – an example:

If you are on a phone, the common rule is that the CSR is not allowed to even let you talk to a supervisor until you have asked 3 times!  If they give you to a supervisor before then they will get docked in their Quality Control metric – this in turns affects their review and possibly their employment.

c) To add to these things, the average CSR is also expected to get things done fast or to increase sales or production . In other words, taking the time to make sure the customer is satisfied is often discouraged by the fact that their  “call time” is now too long ( or drive through time too slow , or sales too low etc…)

One other note – We all know how annoyed we get when the person on the other end of the phone support has a thick accent. But once again, are you really mad at them?  Are you mad that they took a well-paying job to provide for themselves and their family ?

No, the corporation again must be held accountable for their decisions and policies.

2)      The second principle I believe we need to remember when dealing with those in the customer service industry is simply this  - 

The universal law of “Love your neighbour” does not go out the window just because you are spending money.  The CSR should still be treated with courtesy and respect.  Believe it or not  - we are not better then them.

Christians -  re-read that last paragraph.


Now I am not out to vilify all corporations as some are great employers and they too have their challenges ( if the company doesn’t make any money, we all lose) .

Nor am I excusing the poor effort or bad attitudes put forth by some CSRs – as I said above - they are responsible for their own personal conduct, their patience, their effort in helping you and their attitude in general .

But lets just take a few moments to think before we are rude, angry or just plain disrespectful to that person in the customer service industry.


See MSN's Customer Service Hall of Shame ;)

http://money.ca.msn.com/savings-debt/gallery/customer-service-hall-of-shame?cp-documentid=30689754


My friend Joel had this to add on as a comment - I wholeheartedly agree!

Joel Boismier 
I can't seem to make the comment section work on your blog so I'll put my comments here:

Being in a customer service based industry I can definitely verify that the comments in the blog are correct and that we all encounter the crazy customers who make our lives difficult. But there is also the plus side of the job too when we have great customers who understand and work with you.

Typically the reason I encounter rude or irrate customers is when it comes to money. Money is such a driving force in our world that ones own money usually comes before anything else. The returns policy, bargining and the price of items are what draw customers into and drive them out of a store.

Honestly though, I am happier to work with and find work arounds for dilemmas that arise when a customer is level headed over a customer who is tearing a strip off of you. Respect, what I'm getting at, goes both ways!

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