Lessons From Customer Services For Life.

When I left university, I went to work as a fitness instructor in a local gym. It was my first ever real job and it was pretty good. Everyday I’d go to work, help people meet their fitness goals and interact with a wide variety of individuals. It always amazed me how friendly people were when I was positive towards them, regardless of how bad their day may have been.

After about eighteen months, I got the chance to go and work in a big leisure center on a holiday park near to where I lived. This took me out of the gym and put me behind a counter helping holiday makers to organize and book all of the activities that they wanted to do during their stay. It was good fun to start with (most days).

As time went by, I was given more responsibility until the point where I became a center supervisor. This meant that it was my job not only to help people organize their holiday but also to ensure that complaints were handled properly and that the building was immaculate 24/7.

If you’ve read my post, Surround Yourself With Great People To Be Successful you’ll know that after a while I wanted more and that I started to look for something better. Eventually I found a way out of the rut that I’d got myself into and moved into something more meaningful and rewarding.

I’m grateful for the jobs that I have had though. The one thing I’m most grateful for is the skills I learned about social interaction that have helped to make me the person I am today. My time working in the customer service industry has fundamentally changed my view on human interaction and it’s a lesson I wish that everyone could learn at some point in their lives.

Smile.

I enjoyed my time working behind the counter at the leisure center. There were always a few of us there at any one time, so we’d regularly have fun and kept ourselves entertained during the quieter periods. One thing I was always conscious of when I was running the desk, was to smile at customers as they came to book something.

I learned this lesson quickly when my manager pulled me to one side one day to tell me I was a “miserable git” when I was having a bad day and that I should always try to smile when at work. She called it “a work smile.” At the time I thought she was bonkers but did it anyway. I soon realized she was right.

When a person interacts with you whether you know them or not, they don’t want your baggage and hang ups from the day. Your customers don’t deserve to experience your bad mood. It’s not their fault.

Smiling at someone does 3 things;
1) It makes you feel a bit better.
2) It makes the person you’re interacting with feel a bit better.
3) It sets up the interaction you’re about to have, whatever that may be.

Whenever I smiled at someone as I greeted them, no matter what they were coming to me for (a booking, a question or even a complaint), the resulting interaction always ended well. It still does. I bet it will for you, too.

Say “Please” and “Thank you”.

No matter what I used to ask for at the Leisure Center or who I used to ask, I would always say “please” and “thank you”. It’s common courtesy yet many of us in our day to day lives don’t take the time or make the effort to say it.

For me, saying “please” and “thank you” is about respect. If you have respect for someone then you’re more likely to ask for something politely and thank them for their help. It frustrates me when I’m served by someone in a shop and they don’t use “please” and “thank you”. It makes me feel worthless.

You should respect everyone you come into contact with in your life, because by doing so, you’ll make the world a better place. Imagine the effect on society if everyone did that.

Do everything you can to help.

I was watching a video by personal development guru, Tony Robbins on YouTube the other day and he was talking about how “wealth is about the value you put back into society, not how much you own.” It made me question myself and I wondered what value I put back into society. I’m quite humbled by the fact that in my current job, by helping young people to grow and realize their dreams, I’m putting value back in to the system and not just taking it out.

We had a guy at the leisure center who always came top of every service chart we had. His till always made the most money (no matter where I put him on the six till desk) and he always got positive comments from guests. His secret was simple. He always did everything he could to help people.

If you go out of your way to help people, that help and positive energy you generate will come back to you. If you make sure that you focus on other people’s needs and not just your own, you’ll find that you’ll grow and develop in ways that you could never have imagined.

Is that all, sir?

Look around you today as you go about your day and notice what level of customer service and human interaction you get. Is it good? Is it woeful? How does that level of service and interaction make you feel?

We’re always told that you should “treat people as you expect to be treated yourself.” But how many of us actually do it? Try to raise the level of customer care and human interactions that you give and watch them positivity flow right back to you. Everyone wants to feel good, right?

Related posts:

1. Are You Controlling Life Or Is Life Controlling You?
2. Personal Development By George Clooney: How Much Does Your Life Weigh?
3. Why Haven’t You Achieved Your Biggest Goal Yet?
4. How Self-confidence Can Strengthen Your Lifestyle Design And Personal Development.
5. Six Things You Should Do Daily To Succeed.