Great customer service has many shapes and forms, but there’s one common denominator regardless of the situation – behind the great service is a person with a great attitude. In some cases, the only difference between good and great customer service is a great attitude.
At a recent presentation on how to provide outstanding customer service, the speaker shared an excellent example of a great attitude making a huge difference in the service he received. Flying in the night before the presentation, the speaker arrived late in the evening to his hotel. As he entered the front lobby, the speaker shared with us the tremendous reception he received from the person at the front desk. The young lady behind the desk saw him approaching the door and began waving and smiling. Stepping out from behind the counter, the young lady greeted him like a long, lost friend. The speaker felt special, caught up in the young lady’s infectious attitude. Her actions were not extraordinary – it was the extraordinary attitude in which she greeted him.
Sometimes a great attitude is all that’s necessary to deliver great customer service. A person with a great attitude will transform good customer service into great customer service and are prone to go out of their way to help the customer. A person with a negative attitude is less likely to be as helpful, often seeing the request as something that interferes with their “real” work. A person with a negative attitude can do everything right and the customer will still feel like they received poor customer service.
In service industries, it is critical to put the right person in the right job. Employers must select the most qualified candidate with the best attitude. Remember, it’s much easier to train the person in the skills needed to do the job than it is to change their attitude. Plus, a person with a great attitude is easier to train.
If you are a leader, you must also realize that great attitudes need to be nurtured and allowed to develop. No matter how resilient, it is possible to crush a great attitude. Recognition is a wonderful way to reward the employee with a great attitude and to share a “best practice” with the rest of the workforce.
Employees with great attitudes attract and help develop other employees with great attitudes. And in today’s highly competitive economy, you need as many employees with great attitudes as possible.
At a recent presentation on how to provide outstanding customer service, the speaker shared an excellent example of a great attitude making a huge difference in the service he received. Flying in the night before the presentation, the speaker arrived late in the evening to his hotel. As he entered the front lobby, the speaker shared with us the tremendous reception he received from the person at the front desk. The young lady behind the desk saw him approaching the door and began waving and smiling. Stepping out from behind the counter, the young lady greeted him like a long, lost friend. The speaker felt special, caught up in the young lady’s infectious attitude. Her actions were not extraordinary – it was the extraordinary attitude in which she greeted him.
Sometimes a great attitude is all that’s necessary to deliver great customer service. A person with a great attitude will transform good customer service into great customer service and are prone to go out of their way to help the customer. A person with a negative attitude is less likely to be as helpful, often seeing the request as something that interferes with their “real” work. A person with a negative attitude can do everything right and the customer will still feel like they received poor customer service.
In service industries, it is critical to put the right person in the right job. Employers must select the most qualified candidate with the best attitude. Remember, it’s much easier to train the person in the skills needed to do the job than it is to change their attitude. Plus, a person with a great attitude is easier to train.
If you are a leader, you must also realize that great attitudes need to be nurtured and allowed to develop. No matter how resilient, it is possible to crush a great attitude. Recognition is a wonderful way to reward the employee with a great attitude and to share a “best practice” with the rest of the workforce.
Employees with great attitudes attract and help develop other employees with great attitudes. And in today’s highly competitive economy, you need as many employees with great attitudes as possible.