Nobody tells you in journalism school that your No. 1 job (especially as editor of a small newspaper) is customer service. Maybe it’s because all too often it’s forgotten amid classes on writing, editing and reporting. But really, it doesn’t matter how accurate my headlines are if I can’t relate to the readers.
Lately I’ve felt sort of like a hostage negotiator. Or maybe a pseudo-psychologist. This week I’ve already talked several people down from the ledge of anger and resentment toward the paper. Even when people call or stop by the office to complain, they often walk away happy after talking to T-Bone. It doesn’t come naturally. In fact, it took years of practice to get where I am – still not in sight of perfection.
Every job requires some aspect of customer service, even if “customers” are co-workers to whom you provide a service. No employee is an island; at some point we’re probably going to need somebody else’s help in our jobs. It’s easier to build a bridge to them with solid planks rather than termite-infested manners (What? Oh, I don’t know, either).
Here are customer-service tips I’ve learned through trial and several errors:
• Listening is the most important thing you can do, especially to someone who is angry.
• By listening you show that you care and are willing to invest time in solving the problem.
• Eye contact is tantamount to showing that you care and you are listening.
• If on the phone, make sure you restate the problem somehow in your own words to show that you are listening.
• If the error is a result of something you did, admit it. Don’t veil and apology behind a mountain of excuses, though. If there were extinuating circumstances that caused the error, you can mention those to ease some of the blow to your personal self-esteem. Don’t ever make the same mistake.
• Tell the customer what you plan to do to fix the problem, either immediately or in the future. Only say what you will do if you will do it.
• If the problem is severe, you may want to follow up with the customer once you have addressed the problem to see if your efforts are satisfactory.
• If the problem was not your fault, or you had no control over the outcome being questioned, tell that to the customer. Make suggestions on how to fix the problem, if it’s within your scope or authority.
• If the problem is only one of the customer’s perception, tell the customer why things were handled the way they were.
• The customer isn’t always right, but the customer is always the customer. Without customers, we don’t have jobs. We don’t have to put them on pedestals, but we do need to let them know we respect them as fellow human beings. God loves them all, I might as well pretend to like them a little bit.
• It’s not important to be friends with customers, but always be friendly.
• Most of the times someone lobs a complaint your way, it's not personal (not always, but usually). Don't take it personally.
• When you are personally attacked, or someone starts cussing you out on the phone, explain why you are hanging up on them or why you are asking them to leave. Tell them when they're ready to discuss the problem like adults, you'll listen.
I could type for days and days about some of my run-ins with irate patrons, or how I smoothed rough edges, often by accident or luck. As a teen at McDonald's a slipped on a bread tray in front of a roomful of customers, shouting an obscentity as I lunged toward the tile. Sheepishly, I brushed my self off, apologized, shrugged, and listened to them applaud. Not my most shining example of customer-service prowess, but one I uphold as a model of how to behave when I trip and fall.
Got any customer-service stories?
t-bone,
maybe this is why a lot of people like me with journalism degrees turn to PR. PR is like 24/7 customer service.
xoxo,
kasey
Great topic T-Bone. Especailly since I learned that not only is my department responsible for the mall's customer service department, we will be running it as well. Before we just contracted out our customer service company.
Everything you had to say about Customer Service is right on. Our customer service people represent the mall in the biggest way and it's my job to make sure the people that are working in customer service, provide the best customer service possible.
Yes T Bone...my little customer service post was done on April 30, 2002 in my archives...(If you care to read it.)
Yeah, I've been doing a lot of damage control with clients around this office lately as well. It's a tough time for my firm, and everyone is feeling the pressure. And I have to deal with it, even though I'm tempted to hide in my office with the door closed.
The customer is always right... even when they aren't right at all and are complete idiots, they are always right!
Dew
We just have old people come in, yelling that the picture they sent in of their 50th reunion (to our DAILY paper) didn't get published.
I sit next to my boss. My only customer service is that I don't trip these people on the way out.
I think the customer relations stuff must come naturally to many journalists--have to wheedle interviews out of people, get photos in ticklish situations, etc. I was once told that I should specialize in working for bosses who're hard to get along with. I never could figure out a diplomatic way to put that on a resume:) "Are you a SOB? I can keep your employees from fragging you." I don't think that would fly, do you? Happy Super Bowl Weekend!
Handling the public is an underestimated skill. From my personal experience, most employees would flunk Customer Service 101.
Have never figured out a way to gracefully execute a slip and fall, although it is a manuever I try to perfect often!
are you kidding? Customer service stories? I'm in radio, everything that comes out of my mouth damn well better be customer service, or rating drop. Remember the whole Dixie Chiks thing this last year? They opened their mouth, and some stations stopped playing their music. Not us. We kept playing them, because they were still top 40 radio. COuntry music listners are pretty loyal, but I spent hours on the phone with listeners that said that they just couldn't listen to us anymore, because we were obviously anti-america, since we played the Dixie Chicks. Near Diaster? YES. No listners, no number 1 ratings anymore. It was hard to convince hard headed rednecks that sensorship was just as Un American, and we chose not to take away their right to choose for themselves. It turned out ok
I used to enjoy giving customer service at a certain extremely high-end department store with a liberal return policy. Especially when the "customer" would pick something off the rack as she walked to the counter, then plunk it down, hang tag and all and ask for a refund.
The one that's like yours was when I was working at Goldie's burger joint in Tulsa, shortly after highschool. There was a rule everything had to be on a huge tray, on your shoulder, or over your head. It took some practice. I ended up tipping one, resulting in a landslide of 9 jumbo glasses of tea, all down the back of one lady! I don't know if it was my excellent customer service, or what, but I got my biggest tip of the night from that table! A buddy of mine rivaled that feat at a mexican place- he poured half a bottle of tequilia on somebody's fajitas and lit them- singeing the dude's eyebrows and scorching the ceiling!