Customer Service Tips

Customer Service Training:
My Child Has Opie Eye! The Problem of Acronyms

Huh?... 

My mind is spinning trying to process this information. What sort of illness is Opie Eye? Is it a variation of pinkeye? What is the cure? What is the cause? Why didn't I notice it? Why hadn't I heard of it?

I must be a terrible parent.

My mind goes back the 1960's sitcom 'The Andy Griffith Show' where Ron Howard played the sheriff's young son, Opie. This must be the reference for Opie Eye, I surmised, though I can't think of a single thing wrong with the adorable little guy's eyes.

I'm not doing well sorting this out.

Then I hear it again, "MOM, Puh-lease take care of my Opie Eye... I can't go to school until you do!"

I decide to go to my child and have a look. Perhaps this problem has another name that I'm familiar with.

As I walk up to her, tilt her head toward the light and have a look at her eyes, she says in her best teenage I'm-disgusted-with-you tone, "What ARE you doing?"

"Why, I'm looking at your eyes. Which one is bothering you?" I counter in my best Doctor Mom voice.

To which she flatly retorts, "There is nothing wrong with my eyes."

"Then what is all this about you having Opie Eye?" I ask, now very confused.

She held out an extended hand with a form and a pen. The form that she wants signed, saying that I have seen and agree with her Spanish teacher's guidelines for (are you ready) an Oral Proficiency Interview.

That's right, an O.P.I.

In my best Gomer Pyle voice, I loudly declare, "Shazzam! Andy, call Aunt Bee to bake a pie, my child don't have Opie Eye!"

While we laughed ourselves silly over this early morning incident, it provides a very important lesson for business customer service. Nothing defeats your purpose in customer service faster than using acronyms that nobody understands! This is endlessly frustrating for your customers and clients.

I have Customer Service Tips submitted to me for publication every day using acronyms that are meaningless to my readers. They are not published here. I also receive customer service publications every day for which I cannot find the website because the publication is sent under an acronym, and I don't know or can't remember what the acronym stands for.

Jargon makes for a poor customer service experience. You can't sell to people that don't know what you're talking about. You can't help people using terminology they don't understand. By using acronyms and other forms of jargon, you defeat your purpose in customer service and I would advise that you stop P.D.Q. (Pretty Darn Quick)!

In customer service, it is your job to assist and educate, not intimidate or confuse, your clientele.