In essence, when you know others have your back, you’re more likely to have the back of others. This goes a very long way to reducing conflict among team members.
Customer service is about people interacting with people. So it stands to reason that how your customer service team interacts and treats one another is a telling sign of how they treat your clients and customers.
Real world story: Have you ever been in a store and had one employee talk negatively about a co-worker to you? That employee will most likely talk about you once you leave. Have you ever been in a restaurant and had a waiter tell you how incompetent the busboys are? That waiter will most likely talk about how cheap and demanding you were once you leave. Have you ever been at a doctor’s office and overheard two employees squabbling without any care to who was in hearing distance? What makes you think one of those employees won’t get into an argument with you? I am immediately put off and expect the worst possible customer service experience when I see employees treating one another negatively and with disrespect. I was at the supermarket this afternoon and two cashiers were busy talking badly to one another and about their management over some apparent new policy. They were too busy arguing and name calling their managers to help anyone effectively. So was I surprised when my cashier totally ignored me and took his time by constantly turning around to fight with the cashier next to him? No hello. No thank you. No come again soon. Nothing. I, like everyone else in those two lines, was completely invisible to this cashier. Neither my business nor I mattered to him.
Strategies that Turn it Around:
- Empathy: To achieve great customer service, your team members must have the ability to understand and share feelings of another. When you put yourself in someone else’s shoes, you are able to feel what they feel. This is essential in customer service. By understanding what your customers feel, you are able to help them solve their problems with greater ease and less effort. Empathy allows you to treat others like you would like to be treated. And don’t you want to be greeted warmly with a smile and thanked for being a customer?
- Caring: Great customer service begins by displaying kindness and concern for others. When you begin to care for others, you lose the need to gossip, backstab, talk behind the back of others, and lose the desire to fight with coworkers. Caring goes a long way to establishing connections with your clients and customers. When they feel cared for, they become loyal to your company and brand.
- Teamwork: The combined action of a group of people, especially when effective and efficient allows everyone to feel part of a greater good. Teamwork allows team members not to feel alone, it gives them greater confidence, and improves their outlook. The combination of these enables team members to deliver customer service at a higher and more efficient level. In essence, when you know others have your back, you’re more likely to have the back of others. This goes a very long way to reducing conflict among team members.
Remember: Learn to connect the dots. If you have employees disrespecting one another, they’re most likely disrespecting your clients and customers too. But with three simple strategies, you can ensure harmony with your team members and subsequently ensure happy, loyal customers.
What do YOU do to ensure that your team members treat one another with respect, thus ensuring they delivery the best possible service to your clients or customers?