If you are in customer service, you’ve had to face a lot of lemons lately. It has been nearly impossible to give customers exactly what they want when the whole world has been turned upside down. Yet customer service is turning lemons into lemonade.
When I drew this cartoon, I didn’t realize how sales and customer service do this daily. Instead, I wondered how even a humble lemonade stand owner could benefit from customer service. I didn’t know about the sour events customer service representatives face daily. Yet, this view can be compelling.
One of my friends works in the hospital billing department. She has fielded calls from people who have been affected by the financial hardships of COVID-19. For example, two couples in a family have lost their jobs. Or maybe someone just wanted to talk about the disease. She’s done a lot of listening. She’s shed tears with customers who are going through tough times.
About a year ago, our plant was going through some capital improvements. We hit some snags when installing and testing the new equipment, which caused jobs to be late. Our customer service department had a very rough time because they had to field the calls of frustrated customers who were used to excellent service. I was impressed by those in the department who took the time to listen and be helpful even when they may have felt there was little they could do.
Excellent customer service looks like the following:
- Treat each customer the way you want to be treated
- Taking the time to listen to the customer even when they may disagree with them
- Offer solutions that may not be precisely what they wish but involve compromise
- Being an advocate for the customer while avoiding making unattainable promisUltimately
In the end, if we’re in business, we are all in customer service. Everyone wants to know they are being listened to and that the other person cares about their plight. Consider listening to the customer and becoming an expert at turning lemons into lemonade.
