The person standing in front of you might be the owner of a competitor and is in your business assessing you and your operations.
The person on the other end of the phone might be the owner of your company or his representative conducting a quality survey.
The employee you just hired might be having some personal issues and is already deciding to leave your company due to the circumstances.
It’s why we, as Customer Service Managers, must constantly keep our heads on a swivel. We just never know when or where the next challenge is going to come from.
And it’s why we must constantly keep improving. Through training, coaching, reading, and interviewing our employees and our customers.
It is this constant flow of information that allows us to monitor and pro-actively respond to the “just never knows” that make the difference between just average and beyond benchmark.
We keep our minds open and improving by introducing new concepts, ideas, thoughts, and we ask for new concepts, ideas and thoughts from those around us. Our fellow employees and those above us and below. We also ask those at home and even those far away. We must develop a flow of information that is constant and trusted.
And we are not afraid to try new things. In fact, for some of us, we are afraid if new concepts, ideas and thoughts have dried up. We have to be aware that not everything we try will work every single time. I can attest to that personally. If we stop trying however, that is when we begin the downward spiral to mediocrity or even worse, quitting.
Notice I did not say fail. You can only fail if you quit. Once you stop preparing for the “just never knows” you have fallen on the side of the road. You have put your pack down, taken off your shoes and are now subject to the whims of the world.
It’s o.k. to take a breather. Stop and admire the view, talk with some of the others on the same journey, have a snack and companionship. Then put the pack back on and place one foot in front of the other.
Or as one of my favorite characters in a movie I watched recently says “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”
It’s the reason most of us keep trying new things. We just never know. And the more new things you keep trying, the more it comes back to you. And we never know just who is the person standing in front of us. A new customer or a new friend?
About the Author
Leonard Buchholz leads seminars in Customer Service, Attitude and Skills and Management. He also provides coaching and consulting in Customer Service.
