Management, Human Resources, and Life in a Customer Focused World

Customer service is something that comes from the obvious locations — the agent picking up the phone when you call technical support, the sandwich maker behind the counter when you walk into one of the many sandwich shops around town, and the manager at a video chain. These are examples of the obvious. Even though, all too often, the customer service is lacking, at least they’re being handled.

Customers such as people currently trapped away from home in foreign countries are much more difficult to handle. With the ash spewing forth from the Icelandic volcano, there is not much that anyone can do to go above and beyond … is there?

British Minister Gordon Brown disagrees. Rather than standby, he has gone above and beyond. “The UK sent three Royal Navy ships yesterday on missions to rescue thousands of Britons stranded by the European flights ban.” (FT.com, 2010)

Yesterday, I was walking through a local grocery store. Walking may be a stretch — I was hopping on one foot, pushing a grocery cart and hobbling along with a crutch to support my leg. For me, there was no real other way to get around. Employees of the store and customers alike watched me with amusement (well, it IS funny to see honestly), but there weren’t any offers of assistance. After about ten minutes of this, I paused and was looking around for a product. A seemingly random stranger stopped and asked me, “Do you need some help?” My response was no, but thank you .. Even though it’s agony for me, I’m one of those people that would rather not impose on others if at all avoidable. Her response was, “Alright. Please let me know, though. I work here and would be glad to help you out.” This was a woman who, on her off time, thought enough of her customer service to offer to help someone who appeared to be struggling in her store.

Even if you’re not in the position to seemingly do anything, think about it. What can do you do to help bring something to the table that may be outside of the norm, yet could make a true impact on your business’ customers. It’s important to realize that your action, or inaction, directly reflects on the organization in which you work. Maybe you can use your Twitter account to respond to a customer complaint that you saw. Perhaps your Facebook network has a complaint that you can try to address. Perhaps you overhear some one complaining about your company at Starbucks.

Whatever the case may be, think about how an unexpected action may reflect on your organization …