I have
had it! I am sick and tired of the surly smirk, lackadaisical attitude, the
disgruntled looks, and the irritated mien that greets me every single time I
approach them. Who are they? Well, you can find “them” at banks, shops, fast
food restaurants and petrol stations. That’s right, they are the front line
officers and the face of whatever company you have tried to receive “customer
service” from today. Instead of service, the customer is treated like a rude
interruption and kicked like a sick puppy for good measure.
Newsflash: Customer SERVICE is your J-O-B.
That is what they put you there for – to provide service to any individual who
happens to walk through the door with money in their pocket and a willingness
to spend it at that business. I am one such individual. So, I do have the right
to question you when you short-change me by N8.00 and don’t deign to tell me.
You don’t have the right to start muttering in my presence that it is “just
eight naira.” Are you kidding me?! How do you think I earned the money? Did it
just stroll out of the treasury and into my pocket? Did I not work for it?
Would they, with however much they earn, be willing to give money to strangers
at the drop of a hat? I don’t think so.
I too
have worked in customer service. For three summer breaks while I was getting my
first degree, I worked at a little-known amusement park just outside of
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. It was not the best paying job, but it allowed me
to earn enough money to pay some of those many university bills. Just so you
know, amusement parks are not necessarily filled with the best-behaved people.
People are there to have a good time and they like snappy service—and boy, do
they demand it. They are paying guests at the park, so that is what they should
get.
The staff
on the other hand had to deal with 10, 12 even 16 hours of work in a day, with
ONE 30 minute break and TWO 15-minute ones, all to be taken in the break
room—which was a 10-minute walk away from the park location. And yes, there was
no literally no sitting on the job either. You were overworked and underpaid,
and had to smile while doing it. It was gruelling, all sorts of depressing and
I will not lie—I hated my job with the passion of a thousand suns. What’s to
enjoy about dealing with whiny kids, their annoying parents, the obnoxious
teenagers and the drunks leering at you, all the while dressed in itchy
polyester that sloughed off layers of skin. Oh, the horrors! But I still smiled
and greeted every, single, blessed guest like they were descended from the
heavens (okay, not every one, but most). On some days my “sunniness” was real,
but most days I was smiling and engaged on the outside, and dead on the inside.
Do you
know who I blame for the atrocious manners of customer service agents? The
employers who are more concerned with their bottom line than with proper
training. They definitely missed that part in the business owner’s manual where
it says that happy customers spend more money. So employers, train your people.
Employees—if you don’t like serving people, quit your job and find something
else to do, or else fake it. And customers don’t just take it - stand up
for your rights, gosh darnit. Got a complaint? Make a fuss, be polite and do
not yell, but be insistent. The customer service revolution just might begin
with you!
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