Customer Service Training:
5 Traits You Cannot Teach In Customer Service Training
There are some character traits that cannot be taught in customer service training. If we could teach them, we would, because it would make the whole world a better place, not just customer service. We can't, so therefore we try to work with the people who we believe to most exemplify these traits.
Here are five things you can't teach in customer service training:
1. Enthusiasm. We see it, we feel it and boy, do we wish everyone had it.
Many people don't, though. It is often reflected in their faces when a request is made and reinforced with a sullen "just a moment" that does nothing to help us believe that we are about to receive a service which we so desperately hope is better than what Mr. or Ms. Sullen face has just prefaced us with.
Enthusiasm is infectious, contagious and outright fun. It seems the Enthusiast is everywhere, ready and willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that we have a fantastic customer service training experience. It is reflected by the pride they take in doing the job right, the care they take making sure everything is just so and the delivery of "Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. or Ms. Customer?"
The Enthusiast is nearly extinct these days. The victim of "Faster, More, Cheaper" customer service training.
Are you exemplifying "Faster, More, Cheaper" or are you trying to grow customer service training Enthusiasts?
2. Happiness. A feeling of pleasure. I have come to believe that Happiness is often misused when the word neded is Enlightened.
I know, now you think I am really off my meds. Let me ask you something. Have you ever met a person who was Happy? I mean really, really Happy? Really, when? Where do you think "Happy Hour" comes from? My point is that when people feel Happy, it eventually leads to the ending of Happiness, or a state of Unhappiness. In other words, there is a limit to Happiness.
I don't think there can be a limit to Enlightenment. Either way you think about it, it is not something you can teach in customer service training. You can feel it. You can see it when another person really has it. You just can't teach someone to be Happy or Enlightened in customer service training. They have to find it themselves.
3. Commitment. The feeling one has when one decides to do something no matter the cost or the journey. The ability to see it through to the end. People who have commitment are not easily swayed. They keep putting one foot in front of the other, keeping their eye on the prize, the goal, the end.
Oh, they have trials and tribulations, and when you ask them about it, they shrug and say things like, "That's the way we do it," or "It needed to be done." They have little concern or care for the thoughts of others who can't see the world through their eyes. They shrug and say, "It's got to get done, and I'm the person to do it." You sure can't teach that in customer service training.
4. Belief. The thought that someone feels completely, through and through, that resonates deep inside them and tells them that they are on the right path. They have their beliefs, they don't need your beliefs, and are quite content to let you have yours.
Once it is felt between a group of people, it sings to everyone's heart in that group. A drumbeat that is felt by and played by all. It brings a natural power to a person that is unquenchable and unwavering. When all else is in doubt, it is Belief that carries a person through.
I have experienced total Belief and a loss of Belief, and I can tell you that when there is a loss of Belief, it literally can crush a soul. It's at these times that a person has to find that small spark, that ignites and starts the fire anew. You can't teach that in customer service training.
5. Attitude. Above all, I really want to have the ability to teach Attitude in customer service training. You could point out to someone what Attitude looks like and say things like, "He has a great Attitude, you would do well to be like this" and the person would say "Oh, I see. No problem. Attitude is adjusted to maximum. Thanks." And it would be.
Or say something like, "Study this book, read chapters 3 and 4, answer the questions at the end of the chapters, and you will have the Attitude you need to make it through life." Right. The world would be a much more interesting place if all of our Attitudes where in sync and working towards a common goal.
"Imagine," as someone once said. You can't teach Attitude in customer service training, but don't you wish you could?
If you are trying to teach one of these to your personnel in customer service training in the hope that they will morph into Super Customer Service Professionals, forget it. You have a better chance of seeing Santa Claus, The Tooth Fairy and The Easter Bunny playing ball on your front lawn one morning.
Concentrate on finding those people who best demonstrate these traits. Help them grow their own Enthusiasm, Happiness, Commitment, Belief and Attitude. You will be much happier with the results. (Or perhaps more Enlightened).
Source: Leonard Buchholz, leonard@bizprotraining.com or call 760-529-5635.:
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Article Content: Customer Service Training
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Customer Service Training:
5 Traits You Cannot Teach In Customer Service Training
