What a manager can do in 2009

Stand in any check-out line and see the cheerless expression. Call your service provider and hear the disinterest in the voice. Deceit, abuse, mistrust, disorganization, lying and cheating are commonplace in the workplace. Companies and departments are infested with negativity that sucks the life right out of those that are expected to “love on their customers”. Many of us wonder why, in a world where jobs are scarce, why aren’t people more excited about their jobs? As executives and managers we need to set good examples and fill the tanks of our customer service representatives so they are gushing with good will for the customer and each other.

If you are an executive, manager or supervisor, you need to ask yourself some tough questions to determine if there is an underlying problem you haven’t addressed.

“Do as I say and not as I do”
Watching the boss make exceptions to the rules for him/herself and chosen favorites discredits any standards the company may be trying to put in place. It also sends confusion to the team on exactly what the expectations and consequences are. Employees will do just enough to get by or to stay under the radar. Apathy is the end result. Eventually there aren’t enough caring people to provide great customer service.

Ask yourself these questions:

1) Do I use curse words at any time?
2) Do I refer to my employees or our customers as idiots, stupid, worthless, etc.?
3) Do I treat internal and external customers differently?
4) Do I make a point of saying please and thank you?
5) Do I have a smile on my face?
6) Do I make eye contact with people?

If you have not figured out that your answers to questions 1-3 should be no, and the answers to questions 4-6 should be yes, it would be safe to say that you are not leading by example. However, the good news for you is that you can take these 6 questions and turn them into action plans for yourself. By personally making a positive change, you will create some momentum in your company or department.

“I assume you know”
As a consultant, I hear plenty of managers boast about their customer service team’s skills. Customer service representatives will also say they are doing the best they can. However, in listening to actual customer interactions, often there is an obvious communication or service gap. The tools they are lacking can be technology or information based, but most often what is missing is what our grandmothers used to call the “social graces”. Social Graces are skills used to interact politely in social situations. They include manners, etiquette, conduct and fashion. As managers, we assume that everyone knows, if not shares, that the social graces are also business standards. Much to our surprise, we have a whole generation of workers that are more comfortable in a virtual world or in texting than in having direct interaction with another person! These workers may be unaware of their lack of business etiquette, which directly impacts the impression they make on your customers.

What can you do as a manager to avoid the trap of making general assumptions?

1) Complete a work study for the department to detail what exact tools or skills are missing.
2) Implement a mentoring program. Use your in-house talent to teach and to be a sounding board for some of the complex people situations that take place. This can be a big benefit to a new employee or young worker.
3) Implement an effective third party Secret Shopper or call monitoring program that is designed to flush out weaknesses. Often times the goal of these programs is to focus only on what the customer service representative is doing right.

For more information, contact Lori Miller, President of Tooty Inc. Tooty Inc. is a creative company devoted to evaluating, training, monitoring and mentoring your customer service and sales teams. lori@tootyinc.com 708-478-5772