I recently bought a new mattress, which was a whirlwind experience. Sit here, lie there, this has gel, now what about memory foam, etc. After that came the (supposedly) easy part: waiting for it to arrive and for them to take my old one away.
Fast forward a few days, and I’m on the phone with my property manager discussing the old mattress lying where it ought not to be. While rectifying this situation I experienced three types of customer service, which I have also seen demonstrated during my own career.
Providing high quality customer service is a core competency of the Results Driven Executive Core Qualification of the Senior Executive Service, and as you will see some types of service are more effective than others.
It’s Not My Fault
Initially I tried calling the store I bought it from. The person who I talked with said several times he was new there, the computers weren’t working, and so on. Throughout the call it was more of him trying to defend himself and why I shouldn’t be upset with him, as opposed to trying to help solve the problem.
Being defensive is a natural tendency, but try to put yourself in the shoes of whomever you are serving. Try to understand where they are coming from so you can help. Defending yourself is usually not a path to resolving the problem.
I Feel Your Pain
After this reached a dead end, I called the store’s 800 number. I talked with a really nice person who was super apologetic and made me feel better about the situation. However, at the end of the talk I asked what she could do to fix it, as no solutions had been offered. The response was she didn’t know how to fix it, but I could try calling again and maybe the daytime person could think of something.
This scenario happens in meetings where everyone in the room is discussing a problem, a lot is said that makes everyone feel better, but nothing is actually said that can lead to action. If you are running meetings that tend to end this way, dig into the agenda of the meeting and make sure there is a clear purpose and desired outcome of the meeting. Having a clean and clear agenda also helps you stay on track and can measure whether the desired outcomes have been achieved.
Let’s Solve This
The last person I called identified the breakdown, offered a solution which cost me some money but was acceptable, and it was done. At any point the other folks could have offered this solution, however, they either didn’t know about it or didn’t think it would be acceptable.
This is where listening and being prepared come into play. Listen to what your customer has to say and what goal they are trying to achieve. The solution isn’t always painless; it can require extra time or resources. Be honest and don’t overpromise. Finally, know your stuff; the customer is coming to you for a reason. You won’t always have the answers and that’s okay, do the best you can and whatever happens, happens.
Practice, Practice, Practice
If you want to improve your customer service it really comes down to being intentional and seeing everyone you interact with as a customer. However, there are a few areas that are good experiences for every federal manager, which are: Financial Management, Human Capital Management and Technology Management. These are the three pillars of the Business Acumen Executive Core Qualification as well. I have been fortunate enough to work in in both Financial Management and Human Capital Management at a couple agencies. They are different, but the customer service aspect is very similar. If you haven’t spent any time in HR or IT or Finance, I would encourage you to seek out a rotation in one of these areas for a crash course in customer service. You will be a better manager and public servant because of it.
Customer service lessons from the mattress retailer
