Excellent customer service is very much a set of buzzwords. Do companies really know their level of customer service? I recently had two separate ‘customer service’ experiences — one was a delight and the other was, well, it just was.
I have been receiving fax’s from construction companies wanting me to distribute their RFP’s to others. They are getting my fax number from an organization I led about six years ago. I am no longer involved in that organization and, knowing these construction companies are not interested in my increasing bottom line results using EI, I want off their fax list. The gentleman I spoke with about this would not jump to my core question: where did he get my fax number? He did get irritated with me when I asked him. I finally got my response, and called the association that has my name on their list. I was put through to six people ….. I began my conversation with person #5 “you are the fifth person I’ve spoken with in four minutes” and person #6 “you are the sixth person I’ve spoken with in five minutes”. I said it lightheartedly and got my point across without raising my voice or causing them to be defensive. Person #6 was wonderful and went out of her way to explain the situation and the next steps she would take [which she did not have to]. Ending: we both hung up the phone pleasant, smiling and our minds focused on our next task, not rehashing the ugly conversation.
The second person was a home pest exterminator … my appointment was scheduled between 9-11. I asked the driver call when he’s on his way so I can put my dogs in the back yard. He calls at 11 and tells me he’ll be at my place in 15-20 minutes. He arrives at 11:30 – yes 30 minutes late and 10 minutes after he said he’d arrive. Again I was firm and polite, and told him that he has put me 60 minutes behind schedule — all for a 5 minute ‘home visit’! He proceeded to give me excuses — he has not stopped since his first appointment, he had to take someone else’s stops … yada yada yada. Did I care? Certainly not! Did he care that he put me 60 minutes behind my already packed schedule? Don’t know … what I do know is that an apology for being late and 1-2 steps to resolve the issue in the future would have gone a long way.
I was aware of my emotional reactivity and how I was managing it, as evidenced by the first call results. In the first situation, she handled herself well and also was astute enough to realize that although I was not yelling and screaming, I was irritated. In the second situation, he was unaware of my underlying emotions and chose to immediately offer excuses — put up a barrier — and not even listen to me.
Emotional intelligence is the skill in knowing your emotions and handling situations correctly, and paying attention to the other person’s words and behaviors.
How well do you handle yourself in these situations? And how can you be a better leader or problem-resolver for your situations?
