by Phyllis Ducey - pfdoriginalartworks
I teach customer service classes at my work and also at some of the local high schools. I am a customer service freak you may say. Every where I go I evaluate the customer service that I receive. If it is extreme in one way or the other I will often contact the manager. If I got great service I will report it (When you call the manager over they inevitably get this look on their face like they are preparing for the worse... I love watching their faces as they hear good news!) and I will do the same if I got bad service. I have a whole collection of good and bad service stories that I share... but will not take all your time with them. (My classes are a captive audience, they have to listen!)
In my classes we discuss the good and bad and how it makes us feel when we receive either. The answers are always the same. Good customer service makes a person feel valued and want to return. Bad customer service makes a person feel unimportant, unwanted and no one wants to go back. When they get bad service I ask how many people they have told about it... it is always a lot and they make sure to tell the name of the company or the person who gave it.
I tell the employees/students that everywhere we go we represent something. If we are working we are representing our company to others. An encounter with us can create a good outlook on our company or prevent people from returning. If we are a parent and talking to our kids teachers we are representatives for our kids. I tell them that maybe they have a spiritual belief and are representing that or are a wife at their husbands function and representing him (or vice versa). But at the least... the very least... they are always representing themselves. So I explain that they should begin thinking of how they want to be represented to others and start practicing good customer services in all things they do.
We all know that in this competitive online business world good customer service is key but as Christians the importance of giving good customer service is greater than anywhere else in our lives. In traffic, at a store that overcharged us, in a restaurant with a waitress who forgets about your table or even with an obnoxious telemarketer... wherever you are whether you like it or not you represent Christ. Kind of scary, isn't it?
We can't check out and say "I'm in a bad mood today so no one will know if I am rude...I'll never meet that person again." Christ knows and knows that you represent Him. Have you ever had one of those days where things just weren't going good in life and someone held a door, picked up something you dropped or smiled and wished you a good day and it changed your mood? I have. Those little things made me feel like God had dropped that person in my life to let me know He was caring for me.
That is who I want to be. I want to be that person who makes another feel valued by God. That person, no matter how incidental the interaction is, who is a message from God of His love. I want to be that person who makes a difference by doing something as simple as holding a door for someone. I want to give a smile to another person to cheer their day. (Did you know that smiling is as good for you as it is for others? When you smile it changes the endorphins in your systems and actually makes you feel better too! Leave it to God to create us to feel better as we make others feel better!)
We can each be that person... it's so simple. Take note of the bad customer service you have received and remove those habits from your life. Then watch for good customer service and apply that to your life and interactions with others. Practice it. Pray for it.
We can all be a great customer service representative for God. What could be more important that that?
Opal & jade hand carved pendant by MathesonGemWorks
Bookmarker by JNJKeepsakes
Beach dressing earrings by JewelrybyMignon
Collage by littlethings1
Sunflower note card by acraftingheart
Glass pendant by bzglass
Pop art flower painting by mizwanky
Hawaiian gift bag by theshortshop
Coasters by hislovenduresforever
I teach customer service classes at my work and also at some of the local high schools. I am a customer service freak you may say. Every where I go I evaluate the customer service that I receive. If it is extreme in one way or the other I will often contact the manager. If I got great service I will report it (When you call the manager over they inevitably get this look on their face like they are preparing for the worse... I love watching their faces as they hear good news!) and I will do the same if I got bad service. I have a whole collection of good and bad service stories that I share... but will not take all your time with them. (My classes are a captive audience, they have to listen!)In my classes we discuss the good and bad and how it makes us feel when we receive either. The answers are always the same. Good customer service makes a person feel valued and want to return. Bad customer service makes a person feel unimportant, unwanted and no one wants to go back. When they get bad service I ask how many people they have told about it... it is always a lot and they make sure to tell the name of the company or the person who gave it.
I tell the employees/students that everywhere we go we represent something. If we are working we are representing our company to others. An encounter with us can create a good outlook on our company or prevent people from returning. If we are a parent and talking to our kids teachers we are representatives for our kids. I tell them that maybe they have a spiritual belief and are representing that or are a wife at their husbands function and representing him (or vice versa). But at the least... the very least... they are always representing themselves. So I explain that they should begin thinking of how they want to be represented to others and start practicing good customer services in all things they do.
Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men
Eph 6:7
We all know that in this competitive online business world good customer service is key but as Christians the importance of giving good customer service is greater than anywhere else in our lives. In traffic, at a store that overcharged us, in a restaurant with a waitress who forgets about your table or even with an obnoxious telemarketer... wherever you are whether you like it or not you represent Christ. Kind of scary, isn't it?
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
Psalm 139:2
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.
Phil 4:4-5
We can each be that person... it's so simple. Take note of the bad customer service you have received and remove those habits from your life. Then watch for good customer service and apply that to your life and interactions with others. Practice it. Pray for it.
We can all be a great customer service representative for God. What could be more important that that?
(and don't forget to smile!)
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Here are some great shops I recently discovered some beautiful items in! Check them out and give them some love!Opal & jade hand carved pendant by MathesonGemWorks
Bookmarker by JNJKeepsakes
Beach dressing earrings by JewelrybyMignon
Collage by littlethings1
Sunflower note card by acraftingheart
Glass pendant by bzglass
Pop art flower painting by mizwanky
Hawaiian gift bag by theshortshop
Coasters by hislovenduresforever
Comments (8)
This is a wonderful topic, Phyllis! Thanks for sharing your insight. This article is a good reminder for me to really encourage those who offer great customer service.
Great article ! Customer service is so important , you brought up a lot of good points ! We should strive to be good examples. Thank you for featuring my collage !!
Eunice
The Little Things
Thanks for this reminder! Great stuff!
Wonderful reminder and good analogy. I think we can all relate to customer service when it comes to being a representative of our Lord.
We are all in the "People Business" one way or another. When we pay it forward we have the possibility of creating the beginning of a wonderful day for somebody else.
Thank you so much for that great analogy. I have never thought about it that way before. It really puts things in to perspective.
:O) Thank you Phyllis!
Phyllis,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on customer service! Your last lines sums it up very well, "We are customer service reps for God! What could be more important than that?" This is something I am forever reminding my children of when we are out of the house! It is a great reminder for them (and myself) that the world is watching everything we do because we are His representatives!
Also, I have to admit sharing a smile doesn't hurt either! You would be surprised how many people do return that smile you've just shared with them!
Blessings,
Debra :)