Image by markolson via Flickr
Written by Karen D. Swim
The other day I had an inexplicable craving for a muffin. Out of my trusty Vitalicious VitaMuffins I decided to drive to the local Tim Horton’s coffee shop where they sell muffins that do not resemble a giant burger. I found myself standing in line with the morning commute crowd. It was not even 8:30 am and most of the people were unsmiling and clearly in a rush.
The cashier was a young girl who looked no older than 20 (Confession: these days anyone younger than 30 looks like a 12 year old to me). She was helping the gentleman in front of me and it was clear the transaction was not going well. The man was in his late 40s with graying hair. He was wearing dress slacks, a freshly pressed white shirt with thin blue stripes and a dashing blue tie wih red accents. He barked orders at the poor girl as though she were Cinderella, you know before Prince Charming whisked her off with her glass slipper.
She completed his order and sat his coffee down on as she rang him up. She handed him his change and he grabbed the bag. With a half frightened smile she then asked, “Would you like a sleeve for your coffee?” “I don’t even know why you have to ask!,” he bellowed in response. Looking as if she had been slapped in the face, she stammered something about paper conservation as the red faced man took his coffee and donuts and left in a huff.
As I watched the exchange, I felt sorry for the poor girl who was simply doing her job. I knew that she had not deserved the treatment she received.
We often speak of customer service from the perspective of the one providing service. Conversely, we spend little time on our responsibilities as a customer. Many believe that their money buys them a servant rather than service. This attitude can be very dangerous.
We all have bad days and a sour mood can seep out and poison those around us. Perhaps the man was having an incredibly bad day. Maybe he had a fight with his wife, his dog had an accident on his shoe and his kid threw up at the breakfast table. That could certainly set the stage for a less than pleasant morning. More than likely, he has little respect for the minimum wage worker in his local coffee shop. I have seen that type of arrogance and on good days the result is still the same.
The size of a person’s paycheck should not determine the level of respect they receive from other human beings. If we operate this way on both sides of the service equation, we will enjoy much more pleasant exchanges. Shouldn’t that be our goal anyway?
As a teenager and later a college student, I worked in a doctor’s office. The doctor was often late, sometimes due to surgery and at other times because he had a craving for a Falafel on the other side of town! I was the one who got to calm down irate patients. I was poked with canes, yelled at, given dirty looks and generally held responsible for the doctor’s tardiness. However, the moment the patient saw the doctor they were all smiles and kindness. Why? Well, they respected him and I was just a “worker.”
The bonus to being a good customer is that you also make it nicer for the people who follow you. Good cheer is infectious. Have you ever left a pleasant exchange with a little bounce in your step and a smile on your face? I know that good service has that impact on me and I have watched my good mood rub off on others. It’s nice when you can leave someone with a good feeling when you exit.
Good customers also sometimes receive perks. The person who serves you appreciates being treated with kindness. They will often go out of their way to make your experience pleasant. You may receive little extras or advance information about new products or services.
Even if the initial service exchange begins a little shaky, you can often turn it around with your good attitude. This is always preferable than allowing the exchange to proceed on a negative note. Being a good customer is not a guarantee for excellent service everytime but it goes a long way to creating a good service environment.
Do you have a service story that you’d like to share – good or bad? How do you ensure that you give and receive good service?
Related articles by Zemanta
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=54108cef-f137-49cf-850f-faeedab6e343)
Jim, lol, this is a great story! Thank you so much for reading the post and adding to the conversation with such a great example!
I was a stockroom supervisor at a retail store in the 80’s. You would buy an item of the floor and get a ticket to pick it up at an area connected to the warehouse. All automotive stereo stuff was kept in a locked, upstairs room that made the pickup process a bit more tedious since only myself and another supervisor had a key. Delivery was simple, you’d put an item on the conveyor and it would travel downstairs to the pickup area and into the customers hands. The last conveyor belt had about a three inch drop to it as it came around the corner. When this one car stereo deck made the “bump” the customer said, “I want another, that one dropped”. This meant a supervisor had to be paged again to retrieve and replace the same unit. This happened two more times as the customer refused each unit and wanted it hand delivered. I watched the other supervisor drop the third unit over the second floor railing! It landed on the concrete floor just inside the backroom curtain. He walked down the stairs, picked up the item off the floor and walked it over to the happy customer. We only had two of the units in inventory. He received his first refusal !
Brilliant post. It is always good to look in the mirror. ALWAYS.
Emily, your point about eye contact really makes sense. I am one of those people who always makes eye contact and smiles. I have noticed that people (in service) are often a bit surprised, they look down and then kind of look up as they realize you really are acknowledging them. It’s sad that eye contact is the exception and not the rule.
Before my husband died, the cancer paralyzed him from the waist down. After bathing, dressing, lifting in and out of a chair to get him to the car and then driving somewhere to find no handicapped spaces – was torture. You already had to work so hard just to get to the hospital, doctor or wherever you were going but then to be forced to navigate curbs, and walks across a lot…people have no idea how inconsiderate it is to take a space from someone who really needs it.
The handicap issue is a problem indeed. In this case not what you’d think, because the theatre was nearly empty and nobody needed that seat; however the patron said he ‘always’ sat there and that he ‘had to’ because it was the only seat with enough leg room for him. As a tall person myself I might sympathise, but I didn’t. There was sufficient leg room at all of our seats for anyone who wouldn’t be considered a genetic anomaly.
Though I can’t find the relevant link right now, around that time we were given ADA guidelines for handicap seating in performance venues. If I remember correctly, the gist was that companion seats are to be ‘reserved’ until a few minutes before showtime, and if anyone is sitting in them before that time they can be asked to move. I did my fare share of relocating people — often very disgruntled people who threw tantrums over giving up their good seats to the companion of someone in a wheelchair, because they ‘were there first’! I assume these are the same folks who are cavalier about parking in handicap spaces, or wherever they like whether it’s a proper space or not.
One other thing I learned from the theatre experience that I forgot to mention in the previous comment: some of these jobs can be downright dehumanizing because customers just don’t bother to make eye contact or even acknowledge the people helping them. The worst was working as an usher tearing tickets. I would estimate that less than 30% of customers do more than mutter ‘thanks’ — if even that — while brushing past an usher; maybe one in ten bothers to smile or make eye contact. It’s a virtually invisible position. Next time you go to the movies, remember that these poor folks don’t have an easy job so much as an extraordinarily dull and unfulfilling one! Nobody wants to be the usher. Do try to brighten their day a little.
Sue, I agree with you – working with the public is not a job for the faint of heart! I know that sometimes people are having a bad day and may be a bit short, sometimes a kind word can help them too BUT I also agree that at no point do we have license to abuse other people. I can remember bursting into tears during checkout (husband was dying, I was sleep deprived and just worn down) but even then I was never rude, slightly dippy, sometimes teary, but never rude or abusive.
Emily, I would say that it not only made you a great manager but a fine human being! (Of course I already knew that – smile). I am so glad that you shared that story. We can all learn from the experiences shared here. I know there are jerks in the world but I’m so glad they’re outnumbered by good people! 🙂
P.S. The handicap thing really, really pushes my hot button. Grrrr!
The Public – who in their right mind would want to deal with them on a day to day basis?
A hero’s cheer to all those who will. I am always polite to shop assistants, waiting staff, fast food servers. I wouldn’t want to do it, but I certainly don’t belittle those that do work in those jobs.
Bless my mum, she was a classic ‘supermarket check-out staff are miserable for no reason’ believer, until she got that very job. She then discovered the joy of random abuse, unreasonable behaviour and outright rudeness that the customer brings to the store with them.
She was serving one guy and one of her colleagues, implementing company policy to the hilt, asked cheerily if he would like any help with his packing. He told her to “f**k off”.
I agree with Emily. Poor customer behaviour sometimes goes beyond the pale, and at that point they should be tossed out and banned for life!
Sue
I worked for five years as a movie theatre manager in San Francisco. I was lucky to land that position without ever working as floor staff, so I generally avoided the more disdainful treatment from customers; even though I worked daily ON the floor my different wardrobe designated me as a manager. This did not, of course, prevent altercations altogether but it did get me more eye contact if nothing else.
I’ll admit that I was something of a mother hen to my staff. We weren’t as stringent on the ‘customer is always right’ policy as many business are; we enforced our policies strictly, even in the face of argument (and there was nothing my first boss liked better than to face down someone trying to bring in outside food). I always attempted to enforce policies as firmly but politely as possible — *unless* the customer was abusive to my staff. That was the one thing I would NOT tolerate.
On a daily basis I dealt with customers insulting and attacking my staff for doing their jobs properly and then complaining to the manager when the staff refused to be bullied into breaking the rules for them. I have heard customers tell ushers that they ‘must be stupid’ or else they wouldn’t be working in a movie theatre. (The vast majority of my staff consisted of students, artists and musicians who needed a steady paycheck but liked the flexibility of our schedule. And the free movies, of course.) On more than one occasion I gave the customer a refund on their ticket and asked them to leave, and at least once I asked that the customer never return. (This particular customer was convinced that the lights were brighter than usual over the handicapped companion seat, where he insisted on sitting, though he had no limitations that obligated him to do so. When the sweetest, most intelligent, most diplomatic box officer I have ever known explained that this was not the case and suggested he move to a different seat the customer proceeded to abuse him and call me over so that he could complain to me about my staff.)
I honestly believe that, in order to enforce the appropriate level of customer responsibility, those in supervisory positions need to be willing and able to discern when the customer is NOT right and to stand up for their employees against this kind of abuse. I’m not sure if my approach made me a good manager or not, but I can assure you that my staff were happier and more productive — and gave generally better customer service — when they knew there was someone there to watch out for them.
Kelly, I wish they’d just ban Styrofoam altogether so I agree the paper sleeve is much less harmful. I always gain a lot from your posts so I look forward to reading when you publish. In a funny turn, I bought a Tim Horton’s coffee this week and you know it was super hot! LOL! Still, the nice girl gave me a sleeve and all was well. 🙂
Thanks for the link too, Naomi is a hoot so I know this will be good!
Karen,
What a fine reminder. I’ve worked in fast food, too, and I remember the enormous disdain of enormously self-important people. I had more confidence than this poor girl, but I saw a lot of kids wither when customers treated them like dirt. Do people not remember being younger, poorer, but still just as human?
That is the best way in the world to describe the solution.
So funny reading it, because I’d prepared a post for today based on something similar at my favorite bagel shop, then realized I did the bagel shop thing earlier in the week and put it into drafts to hold for later. When I do put it up, I’ll be linking to this post. You put a great spin on it.
Oh, and just to be devil’s advocate on the sleeve (NOT on the attitude): for the decades when we went without them, coffee came in styrofoam. In paper, it kinda hurts your fingers if it’s hot. The sleeve is supposed to harm the environment a lot less (along with the paper cup), but still keep your digits happy.
Friar,
Because I never forget anything, here’s that post:
http://ittybiz.com/get-out-of-my-fcking-shop/
It’s very funny and so true, just like Karen’s experience today.
Regards,
Kelly
@Evelyn, I found your observations interesting and never thought of the impact that service training has when you become the customer! Great food for thought. I hope that companies are evolving to deliver service and focus on resolution rather than the “customer is always right.” I can honestly say that in what I have known of you thus far you really do seem peaceful and patient. 🙂
Oh no! I feel so sorry for the girl that you mentioned.
I have been taught from my days of working in a bank that the customer is king or queen. Service has to be excellent and quick! So I have to learn how to speak diplomatically and also be mindful that I need to service the customer by a certain time period.
On the flip side, it made me impatient when I became a customer of others. I “demanded” the same. Although I was not rude or anything, I expected quick and every assistance. If I was given shoddy service, I would always ask to speak to the manager in charge.
These days, I have mellowed down a lot. I am much more respectful when I make my requests for help. I’m careful about not spreading bad energy vibes. I will constantly remind myself what my practice is to be – peaceful and patient!
Evelyn Lims last blog post..Attract Our Travel Dreams
@Meryl, thank you so much for making that point! The rude or overly demanding client costs much more to maintain. It is far better to cut those ties and make room for ideal clients. Great point!
Karen Swims last blog post..Customer Responsibility – The Other Side of Service
That reminds me that as freelancers — we are not obligated to keep every client. Sometimes a client costs the business more than it’s worth. It may not be in monetary value — maybe the client is very difficult and demanding or has a personality that doesn’t fit you.
I just let a client go — it was mutual, but normally I would work harder to make it work — because I could tell it would become a stressful project and not worth the time and cost.
I know some people worry they won’t be able to replace those clients. But look at it this way… the difficult client takes more time and energy away from you… something you might be able to replace with TWO great clients for the same amount of time and energy. It’s true.
Meryl K. Evanss last blog post..Painful Lessons from a Pinched Nerve
@Dinah, hello and welcome! Congrats on your business and thank you for sharing that insider perspective. I agree, most coffee is not enough to require the sleeve but suddenly people go ballistic when it’s not given to them! It just goes to show how marketing can create monsters. I’m going to pop over to your site, I love the name! 🙂
@Roland, LOL! Ah, I’d give you two cinnamon hearts too! You are such a sweetie! 🙂
@Brad, I wanted to bop the guy on the head. I have a low tolerance for arrogant jerks too. I can imagine how you felt when your daughters had to experience rude behavior.
@Melissa, that’s the really sad thing too is that good people are driven away from service positions. Although in your case, thank goodness! 🙂
Karen Swims last blog post..Hurricane Life
As a teen and young adult, I worked retail (video store, mostly) and this post is a vivid reminder of why I disliked that type of work so very much. The bottom line is that many customers are unnecessarily rude, just like the man you described here. Sure, there were some great people and you’re right, I always went out of my way to give them something extra (free movie anyone?) but those nasty customers drove me away from behind-the-counter customer service positions forever.
Karen, you’ve hit on a hot button topic for me. All three of my daughters have worked as waitresses and I can remember times when they came home in tears because of some incident like you describe. No excuse for it.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Guest Post on Wired PR Works – Why No Humor?
Hi Karen.
This post just reminded me of a post on Seth Godin’s blog:
The Customer is Always Right.
As for the poor girl – I have not been in her shoes, I think that’s good news for the (not)employing business and the (not)met customer. I take badly to arrogant,dismissing attitude – I feel sorry for her.
Paycheck does not set ones value – I wonder how would anyone do if the low paycheck people just disappeared suddenly and we all had to process our own trash, clean our own parts of the sewer
system, etc.
I can’t even grasp the concept of the “how to behave in front of a CEO”, when all I see is a guy in a suit doing a job like me.
Mind you, this mentality did not serve me too well in the army 😉
And while I expect good service, I try to be nice and smiley with the guy/girl serving me.. Usually that means I get better service – like two cinnamon hearts on top of the coffee instead of one. 🙂
@Friar, you’ll be glad to know I was extra nice to the poor thing. 🙂 I’ll have to google to see if I can find that article. I agree Friar, no one should have to stand for abuse.
@Joanna, I am not surprised by your kindness and respect. 🙂 I know that your actions were appreciated.
@Meryl, wow! Thanks for sharing that! Some people can just be unbelievably rude. I agree with you about a calm attitude. I think the people who don’t get that are really leading miserable lives and in danger of health issues from all that anger. Yeesh!
Karen Swims last blog post..Hurricane Life
Great article!
Having worked customer service for 8 years, this article speaks to me on so many levels. There are definitely times when bad customers can cost the company valuable time and money. I can’t tell you how many times we would encourage bad customers to cancel service or “move on to a more compatible provider of _blank_ service”. Having services people all over the world, Americans are thee worst offenders when it comes to verbally abusing service providers, unfortunately.
I left customer service to start my own business (www.CupKozy.com) which brings me to the point in your article about the coffee sleeve.
When did the coffee sleeve become a requirement and not an “option”? Do people yell at baristas when they don’t hand out a stirring stick? No. It’s almost like people have become spoiled by this sleeve thing. It prompted me to create the CupKozy.
We drank coffee for decades without them. The sleeve is just so unnecessary!
Wonderful on the other side of customer service. Jim Fay shared a story on his Love and Logic video about an irate customer and the person behind the counter for an airline. The customer was mad because flights were canceled due to snow. What could the counter person do? Send the snow elsewhere and melt it?
She gave the angry customer a polite response. Jim Fay went over and told her he was proud of her. I don’t remember her response, but regardless… when we are calm and polite — it prevents our fight or flight mechanism from kicking in which gets us all no where.
A calm attitude is infectious and makes the world a little better.
Meryl Evanss last blog post..Painful Lessons from a Pinched Nerve
Karen, I hate it when I see people behaving badly like that. You’re right, it does poison the atmosphere (and the individual doing it in the long run).
I try and treat everybody the same whoever they are and whatever job they’re doing. I used to work in a very hierarchical organisation and some senior people treated the junior staff, security teams, cleaners etc like dirt. I took a lot of pride in trying to make time to say hello or at the very least to smile at *everyone* – for my sake, for theirs and to try and make amends for more less thoughtful colleagues
I feel sorry for that Tim Horton’s girl (As a teen, I used to work in fast-food, I can relate to being treated like crap).
I think the moment customers become abusive and disrespectful, they’ve forfeited all rights to receiving good service.
There’s a blog post out there (from a few months ago). I forget who wrote it, but to paraphrase, the theme was: “Get the hell out of my store”.
The writer made a very good point. There are sometimes bad customers out there, that are a waste of time and harmful to your business. You need to get rid of those.
I guess the Customer is not ALWAYS right, eh?
Friars last blog post..Tips for Married Couples: How to Deal with your Single Friends