A Useful Customer Service Tip: ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

Whether you’re in the business world, military, sports, or even government, you’ve read, heard, seen, etc. many opinions on the importance of attitude in performance. While a few authors may downplay attitude as a primary driver of performance, many more believe it is the key ingredient in high production. There are reasons for this strong belief.

World famous statesman Winston Churchill put this issue in wonderful and simple perspective when he said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”

Understand that attitude will always make a big difference – for better or worse. A poor attitude will make the same level of difference as a good attitude. However, your customers, your company, and you will not be pleased with the effect. Your attitude will affect your performance, whether you want it to or not.

Even the simplest, most neutral statements you make will create judgments – conscious or subconscious – by listeners. A speaker’s attitude will affect the listener, positively or negatively, just as strongly as the spoken words. In a customer service environment, even delivering bad news can generate a positive customer response if you have a great attitude, displaying empathy, concern, and interest in the customer’s feelings.

If you’re convinced that attitude rules, you might become a “positive attitude guru” if you use some of the following tips and practice your delivery until it becomes automatic. Here are some suggestions that you can use starting tomorrow.

Attitude Tips to Improve Your Customer Service

First, foremost, and the number-one tip:  Always start the day with a good attitude.  Be aware that, at first, this may be easier said than done. If you’re a naturally “sunny” or “glass is always half-full” person, this may be an easy tip to put into action immediately. However, if you have other issues – workplace, personal, financial, family, etc. – that are creating negative influences in your life, you may have to dedicate more effort to generate this attitude on a daily basis.

Smile!  While the benefits of a genuine smile are obvious in face-to-face encounters, it has also been proven that smiling when on the telephone or even during an online customer service “chat” sends out positive signals to your customer. Although opinions differ on the reasons that smiling is “transmitted” through a telephone line or during electronic communications, there is agreement that it happens consistently. Practice your smile diligently.

Learn active listening.  Hearing is often mistakenly confused with listening. Hearing is simply a biological function, while listening is a learned skill. Superior customer service is dependent on effective listening. Excellent listening is highly influenced by a strong positive attitude. Remember that active listening also involves asking pertinent questions. This enhances the customer service contact by a) displaying that you have listened to the client closely, b) gives you the proper information to solve the problem or satisfy the request, and c) prevents you from “assuming” an issue that doesn’t exist or constructing an answer that does not fit the question.

Don’t blow smoke; take action.  All of the benefits of a great attitude could be wasted if you neglect to answer the question or solve the problem. Even if you encounter a serious customer issue, your helpful, concerned attitude should diffuse most of the original anger and frustration. Your smile and active listening skills should give your customer the ability to explain their question or problem sufficiently. You should now  take action  to maximize the good will you’ve generated. While your attitude is crucial, it cannot answer questions or solve problems without your action. Depending on your operational authority, you may be able to solve most issues immediately for your customer.

If the question, issue, or problem is beyond your authority, explain that to your customer. Your attitude should permit you to explain the situation positively. Be sure to tell your customer what action you will take, even if it involves moving up the organization chart ladder to solve the problem. By this time, you should have established your credibility and concern for your customer’s issue. They should, therefore, be reasonable and accepting of your answer and trust that you will take the actions necessary to accomplish the customer’s wishes or solve their problem. Be sure you do it  immediately. Your customer – and management – will definitely notice your actions and be quite pleased.

Customer service starts and ends with attitude. Your attitude – good or poor – will be more important than the actual answers you give and the actions you take. While you need to give the right answers and take the appropriate actions, your customer interaction will be most affected by the attitude you display. Your customer, even if formerly displeased, should return to a calm state, allowing you to effectively answer their question, give the proper advice, or solve their problem quickly and efficiently.