The job hunt has made me think not only how I might meet the various qualifications that line the pages of employment opportunities, but also how they manifest through other people in my daily life, and customer service (very desirable in reference work) tugged at my thoughts last week when I went to pick up breakfast for the office. I walked into the deli and there are six people behind the counter, and no other customers. I fully expected a pleasant, efficient experience. The only person over age eighteen greeted me with a smile and asked for my order, then set off to fill the first part of it. Several others were busy preparing meals and barely looked at me. I glanced around the empty dining room and wondered at what was keeping the staff on its toes. I found enlightenment a few minutes later when an employee sat down and began eating Her break had been imminent when I walked in; how could she be bothered with a simple hello? Still, I'm an understanding sort, and she hadn't been tasked with preparing my order, so whatevs. I turned back to the counter to have a different employee ask for my order as if I hadn't given it thirty seconds prior. Patient and kind as I always am (ahem), I explained that it was being handled and moved on to the register. Three people stood in the kitchen doorway across from the register, chatting and avoiding eye contact until a couple of minutes later one nudged another towards the register. He brought up the order at which point I discovered that they either ignored or completely forgot the second half of my order, which I then repeated for the third time. The experience wasn't a disaster, just mildly exasperating. And the kids (I mean employees) weren't rude, just unobservant. They met my needs, after all.
So, what does good customer service mean? Does it have anything to do with how I perceive my own skills (the deli staff might have felt that they did a bang up job), or is it all up to the customer to decide if I meet the mark? Goodness knows that I try my best, but I often wonder how my customers feel about that best. During face to face transactions, especially, I'm self-conscious. We see many of our policyholders only when they stop in to pay their premiums. The process is quick and painless, for the most part. We take the money, print a receipt, and send them on their way with a smile (well, we smile; no one likes paying insurance premiums). Our computers, however, are slow. S-L-O-W. The transactions may take up to five minutes or more (when usually 30 seconds to a minute should suffice), and during the data entry and plain old waiting, the atmosphere is wrought with silence. No small talk, nothing. I feel like I should fill this void, but other than the weather, nothing comes to mind. I just want to take care of their business and be done. I'm meeting their needs, I'm polite, and I move as quickly as possible with the tools I have, but is that good customer service when there is potentially so much awkwardness? Or am I the only one who is awkward? And how can I effectively convey my confidence in this area without a page of testimonials from happy customers attached to my resume?
You know, I should welcome those awkward silences. They are so much better than the times when I need to hold my temper in check when a customer does everything in his/her power to test/belittle/demand the world on a platter from me. I am a service-provider, but I also have limitations. For example, I have absolutely NO influence over the decision-makers at multi-million-dollar insurance companies. Really, I don't. I do my best, but I'm not omnipotent.
Why does that word make me giggle?
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