Has this ever happened to you?
Real World Story: A meeting planner who had recently booked me for a keynote presentation told me the following true story:
“It was approximately 12:15 in the afternoon, and I had a lunchtime craving for one of my favorite sandwiches at the neighborhood health food store, lovingly 
nicknamed ‘whole paycheck.’ I was standing in line at the deli counter where I normally place my orders. One employee stood behind the counter with his back to me. He was intently reading over some papers. I looked around for other employees but did not see anyone else. It was strange that during this busy lunchtime only one employee was behind the counter. As I continue standing and getting more and more frustrated, a line starts to form behind me. Everyone eventually starts looking around for someone to help us. Finally, after more than 2 minutes, I say to the employee, ‘Excuse me.’ Of course he does not hear me. Louder I repeat myself, ‘Excuse me!’ Without putting down the papers in his hands and without saying a word, he turns his head to look at me. The look on his face suggested I was obviously bothering him. Now, I’m kind of pissed off. I ask him as pleasantly as I can muster, ‘Are you short-handed today?’ He turns his body to face me and says, ‘No. Why?’ I reply, ‘I’ve been waiting here with your back towards me and without your attention.’ Disregarding my concern he asks, ‘How may I help you?’ with a facial expression and tone of voice that indicated I was inconveniencing him. ‘No. I don’t think you want to help people.’ He shrugged his shoulders and simply repeated himself, ‘How may I help you?’ I repeated, ‘No. I really don’t think you want to help me or anyone else for that fact. Continue doing what you’re doing. I’m going somewhere else.’
I went to the cold deli section, bought some turkey meat, and left as quickly as I could.
When I returned the next day, the same man was behind the counter. I turned my back and left the store. I did NOT want or deserve to be treated rudely and with disrespect again. And guess what, now I’m telling a customer service expert in hopes that she writes a blog post about it.”
Wish granted.
Strategies that Turn it Around:
1. About-face: Working with customers requires working face-to-face with them. If you don’t like people, perhaps a behind the scenes position is a better fit for you.
2. Get excited, be excited: You have to love people. And you have to want to help them. If a customer comments on your lack of interest in wanting to help, perhaps there’s some truth to the comment. Imagine all the other customers who did NOT speak up.
3. Customers first; other tasks later: If your job is to serve customers, make sure your other job duties are put aside should a customer need assistance, especially during “rush hours” like lunchtime.
Remember: People who excel at customer service love dealing with the public. If you’re NOT one of them, don’t get a customer-facing job that requires enthusiasm and a helpful attitude; otherwise, be prepared to lose customers in 2 minutes or less.
What have YOU done when an employee ignores you or seems indifferent to your needs? I’d love to read your story in the comments section below.