10 Commandments of Customer Service

Being that my first official job was that of a sales hostess at Walt Disney World of Orlando, Fl, I must say- I know what it is like to work in a Nazi type environment, where the company uses you as a machine instead of treating you like an individual, so just know that I am not asking for too much... I've learned the thin line between superior performance compared to complete and total submission of will and character, and am not asking anyone to do such a thing. But what I am asking for is some quality customer service to be provided in one of the TOURIST CAPITALS of the USA. DAAAAMMMMMNNNNN, it seems like no one who owns a business out here in Florida ever heard of two simple words we like to call SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY! We laugh at the thought of service when it comes to a position of employment, yet we don't realize how important customer service relations can be. I truly don't see how people stay in hotels that aren't connected to chains of resorts with all the horrible service going on in hotels in Orlando. It's like you never left the unfriendly nature of your god-forsaken city that never sleeps. I'm trying to tiptoe around the issues that most of the independent hotels owned in the central Florida area aren't even owned by people who know how to run a quality resort, let alone a star rated hotel, so things like thoughtfulness, cleanliness, and special consideration are overlooked and replaced with things like beach towel fees, and daily pool use fees, and various fees they should have considered needing before going into the hotel business in FLORIDA.
Let alone having to go to restaurants, OMG... if you don't have a waiter with an attitude and too much flamboyance, your order is incomplete or completely wrong, your steak is overcooked, and you have to wait half way through your meal to get your glass of water refreshed.... And don't let me get started with grocery stores. My goodness, it's UNBELIEVABLE how a person can spend 40 hours a week in a place and don't even know their surroundings....
I wrote this 10 Commandments of Customer Service to help those who actually service customers. Please feel free to take this written training course because your employer probably would never share this information with you, even though not doing it hurts their business everyday you stay employed and unaware.

10 Commandments of Customer Service

1. The Customer is Most Important- Consideration to the needs of the client and or consumer are your only topics discussions on the work floor. Your schedule, your weekend, your relationships, your children, your feelings about the boss or a co-worker are taboos for discussions on the work floor. Questions like, "What time is it?" or things like "I'll be glad when I get off." Should never be said in the presence of any client, consumer, or employer.  You are paying you to represent their interest in the customers affairs, you should do so with pride and in a happy to help manner.

2. The Customer is Always Right: Until they've been taught or made aware of company policy. Which simply means if the customer says the tag say this was 11.99, and it's ringing up 20.00 you should allow the customer to voice and show you their findings, honor the price override, and fix the shelf so that the error does not reoccur. This also means you should not allow yourself to get into a verbal altercation with the customer. Just say the customer comes in with a return and there is no receipt and the customer wants cash back. It probably is in your companies policy to refund returns without proof of purchase in store credit. It is your best interest to allow the customer the opportunity to review the written store policy about returns, instead of saying I can't give you cash. Allowing the hard "no" to come from Company or Store Policy takes the pressure off of you, and the customer will generally understand.

3. Mind Your Business. When you are at work... your services, products, and customers are your business. Commandment 1 says the customer is most important, but what if there's no customer right now? Do you result to conversing and counterproductive communications that tend to bring up unnecessary problems in the workplace? No, of course not! You turn the down time into productive work of learning the area you work in, the name of the products and how they themselves can help the customer's needs individually. Know the prices, clean the shelves, ensure the tabletops are cleaned, fold the napkins, check the floor. Whatever your customer service job entails, the busy work you do when no one is looking matters when people are looking, and that's the only thing that matters. For instance... No one likes restoring PLUSH MOUNTAIN in the retail stores of DISNEY, but between every ride of Space Mountain, I took the time to stack them up, and in 15 mins flat, they were a mess. But, it was always cleaned for the next set of Space Mountain Riders.

4. Never Say I Don't Know... what the hell do you get paid for? If you took training, and especially if they paid you for training, you're expected to know. The people who don't know are sitting at home wishing to know what you fail to know so they can get your check. Don't take your position for granted. If you mind your business, there's no reason you should not know what's around you or accessible to the customer through the services your company provides. It is your job to know, or use the proper response: ALLOW ME TO FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN BETTER ASSIST YOU. And since you've minded your business, you know who to call in what department, so that the customer/client can be efficiently served.

5. Follow the dress code. You may have gotten hired for your personality and sense of humor, but unless your working as an independent contractor or a fashion designer or in something where personal style is preferred, you did not get hired for you sense of style, so follow the dress code. Actually, the colors, designs, and presentation of the employees of every company took time, money, and effort to cultivate and manifest. This work was put in so that the customer will know who to identify as the individual who represents the company, and feel as if they can trust them to provide them with the best service and right answers. You are being compensated to represent the company, so do it to the best of your ability.

6. Listen to Produce Solutions to Presented Problems. You may have heard the saying listen twice as more as you speak. And that's a great saying to live by in customer service. It's hard to provide quality customer service when you don't know what the customer wants because you won't listen. Sometimes people don't know what they want or how to explain what they want but they need you to lead them in the right direction. If you've done the work, you will see that listening with the intent of providing a solution is easy, because you know key factors of every service or product in your area, and or who to refer them to for better assistance. Listening in silence and responding in questions to find out further detail will help you narrow down options and help consumers make better decisions. If you allow your conversation to be friendly and helpful you will find that having these conversations can help time on the clock go by more enjoyably, and ensure the customer will make the best purchase, reduce the risk of  product return, and ensure the customer repeat business. These are the objectives of customer service.

7. Acknowledgement + Solution = De-escalation
De-escalations begins with a sincere apology and acknowledgement of error and swift actions to make it right to the customers' satisfactions. De-escalation also means you may keep your job in a situation where you are wrong and the customer may complain to your boss to see you penalized. De-escalation is simply humbling yourself and removing your personal feelings and pride out of the way for the good of the company. Sometimes giving a client a free gift or coupon to use may suffice, sometimes awarding a refund is necessary. Yet, use skills of compromise within the limit of the companies policy to suffice the upset client, and keep their business. Most time customers are not mad at you personally they are upset that they did not get what they expected, and they bring their frustrations to display them to you. Do no defend yourself, yet acknowledgement of the customers frustrations and your positive attitude with actions to bring about a solution can make them a happy customer again. And if it is your fault... be accountable and take responsibility for the error. Remember we all know no one is perfect, but everyone can take responsibility when they mess up.

8. Your Attitude Should Reflect the Company's Mission Statement.  If your company's mission statement say the happiest place on Earth, and you are depressed, I don't think it's suitable employment, unless you're a great actor. Honestly if you don't agree with a company or are not able to deal with the needs of others then customer service is not the place for you. I don't know why people get jobs in these area and complain about the fact that they have to deal with people. Unless you grew up in a bubble or under a rock, you should have learned by now that people are different, moody, erratic, emotional, and tight about issues dealing with their money. They feel like if you're getting the money the company asks for, then they should receive all the things they pay for including good service. Before you get hired, review the company customer service mission and measure your attitude, see if you can be a stand up employee when the ish falls down on that sales floor.


9. Have Fun and Be Proud. Yes at work you can have fun. You probably got your job in customer service because you claimed, and they believed you were a peoples person and you enjoyed helping people. Well, everyday you show up to work is your chance to prove your integrity by having the time of your life with all the people that your company has attracted for you to interact with and help select and purchases services that will keep your company in business so that you can stay employed. Conversations reveal needs, needs reveal selling opportunities, and if you make commissions, selling opportunities make bigger paychecks, and greater tips if you're a waiter. You have to admit making people laugh is a sure way to make them comfortable with you! Also really offering assistance when you see someone standing around looking dazed is your job! Most importantly the greeting of the customer should be done by you and not by the customer. It is so rude that a patron has to greet the company and give it money.


10. SMILE AND BE GRATEFUL!
You need nothing but to understand a few aspect of a reality check to understand this one. You're blessed to be alive, and have the ability to work. You are blessed to have  a job that pays you for your ability to work. You are blessed to be in position to help your company grow to maintain your employment. You are blessed that customers and clients have been cultivated without your help or money to come in to your establishment to do business to keep the company in business to keep you maintaining a comfortable lifestyle. Remember these blessings and treat everyone with gratitude knowing that you all work together to keep you employed.