Everyone on earth has experienced some form of this. Whether we’re on the phone talking to someone in customer service or in person at a store, you come to find out, there is the good, the bad, and the downright ugly people working in customer service. Let’s take the good first.
You go to the store to return an item you purchased. The lady behind the counter is so friendly and professional and treats you like you’re the Queen of England. You feel relieved you successfully took care of an errand and you know you want to come back to that store because everyone at the store has excellent customer service skill. They’re polite. They’re friendly and they are nothing but helpful. It makes you feel satisfied.
Then you’re at home trying to manage something related to your occupation, for example, you’re talking to a customer service agent who answered the phone at a law firm and you need a specific answer to an urgent issue you’re working on before you walk into court. The man behind the phone appears absolutely clueless and doesn’t know who to direct the call to even, and he can’t answer anything about what you’re asking. He’s the bad, you can’t get any sort of assistance from the guy. You feel frustrated, but you’re polite and patient. You’re professional. So, he tells you, “I’ll ask the attorney and call you back.” He never calls back. So, you ask yourself, “Why are they employing this guy.” He’s not worth a dime. He’s terrible at his job. He’s a bad customer service agent and the law firm will loose clients because of him.
Nowadays, we’ll be calling a bank or a major service business and the person behind the phone doesn’t speak English well. You can’t understand them. Hang up or tell them politely you prefer to speak to a person where English is their first language, please. It is always wise to be polite and kind to anyone we speak to, especially in business matters. You will always come out ahead and when we are friendly, kind and polite, you know that the person on the phone likes you. You made them feel good. You complimented their professional communication skills and we all can use emotional support. Especially, when people can be so rude and arrogant. It makes their jobs difficult.
Then there’s the ugly. The worst customer service anyone can experience, and it makes you feel like you want to pull your hair out. The person on the other end of the phone is rude, short with you, downright ignorant, immature and even hangs the phone up on you when all you were was polite.
Employers often have no idea they’ve hired someone to answer the phones like this, because they don’t communicate with the office by calling the front desk. A person like this will absolutely harm or could destroy a business. Customer service is everything in the business world. Many companies have been sued for inappropriate contact with customer service agents that caused severe injury or intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Some customer service people don’t even answer the phone. They forward the calls to voicemail. Their employer knows nothing about it. They should be fired.
In the state I currently live, it’s rare to dial a number of a realtor or small business and anyone even answer the phone. It’s standard in most rural areas across the country, come to find out. Makes you wonder how they support themselves. Answering the phone is mandatory. It’s customers and clients. That’s where the money comes from. Satisfied customers.
It’s even more mandatory that the person answering the phones or the person behind the store counters are professional, polite and friendly. If they’re not, don’t use the business, you can do better. You deserve better.