What’s the Definition of Customer Service?

Photo Credit: http://www.jackiehuba.com

About two weeks ago, I was spending some time with my cousin and we were talking about the crazy job market. She was telling me that she had got fired from the last job that she had but considering the fact that she has an excellent work ethic, I was rather shocked to hear about her termination. When it comes to a job, she’s the type that takes it seriously and strives to do well. So of course, I had to ask her what was the reasoning for her being let go from her previous job. When she told me the reason, I was flabbergasted.

She explained that she was at work on this particular day, making a coffee drink for a customer. Well, the customer wasn’t satisfied with the order and instead of the customer simply asking my cousin to correct it, the disgruntled customer decided to THROW THE COFFEE AT HER. The drink landed on my cousin and so she returned the favor by throwing caramel on the lady. When the smoke cleared, the lady had the nerve to mention that she was going to press charges.

Do you guys remember the video of the former McDonald’s employee that embarked on beating the hell out of two women that jumped across the counter to attack him? Many of us that viewed the video felt his actions were justifiable and we were quite displeased when he was fired. It was as if that particular McDonald’s didn’t have any regards for the employee’s safety. No matter what anyone says, that employee had every right to defend himself against those two women who CLEARLY was looking to cause harm to this man.

Let’s be honest: How many times have we seen customers act a fool in an establishment and felt bad for the employee who had to take the abuse with a smile? I’ll be the first to say that I’ve witnessed that several times and in most cases, management refused to do anything about it because they lived by the bullsh*t slogan, The Customer is Always Right. Management chooses not to address the mistreatment of their employees because they have the ‘dollars over disrespect’ mentality. Meanwhile, the employees have to endure constant ridicule from customers in order to get a paycheck.

It is no secret that excellent customer service is one of the most important factors to put into practice in order to have a successful business. If a customer is willing to spend their hard-earned money in your establishment, they should definitely have the best treatment possible. This mean that employees needs to be helpful, approachable, knowledgeable about the product(s) that they are selling to the customer and a willingness to answer any questions that the customer may have. With this type of treatment, the customer will more than likely be willing to come back to that establishment and give more of their money.

However, I am a firm believer that you should treat people exactly how you would want them to treat YOU. Throwing hot drinks and jumping over counter tops over something that’s not life-threatening is juvenile and asinine. If you ordered a particular service and it’s wrong, BE AN ADULT and simply inform the employee of the error and give them the opportunity to fix it. And while you’re asking them to fix your order, FIX YOUR ATTITUDE. The world doesn’t revolve around you and you don’t have the right disrespect those that are trying to do their damn job.

Some of you miserable bitches feel compelled to throw all of your personal problems onto the employee as if they are supposed to give you the answer to your issues. It is NOT their responsibility to make you feel better about yourself. Their job is to be helpful by giving you the service that you need and keeping it moving. With that being said, stop cursing out the customer service representative on the phone because she turned off your cable. It was YOU that decided to spend your cable money on a new weave and a pack of Black N’ Mild. So now, you’re pissed at the representative and threatening to shoot her in the ass because you’re gonna miss an episode of Love & Hip Hop. That’s not her problem.

And another thing: Get a grip on life and put yourself in the employee’s shoes. You know damn well that you wouldn’t want someone coming to YOUR job and giving you a hard time. A lot of you do it because you know that if the employee lose their cool just a tad and really tell you about yourself, the first thing that you’re gonna holler is, “I wanna speak to a manager!” When the manager comes to rectify the situation, you’re gonna swear that the employee is rude, disrespectful, and not helpful when the TRUTH of the matter is that you’re just a bitch with a chip on your shoulder. Nobody has time for that.

Just because you are a paying customer, it doesn’t give you the right to treat others as if they’re supposed to put up with your abusive behavior. So cut out the shenanigans. A lot of these customer service representatives, servers, hostesses, cashiers, etc. are getting paid the bare minimum to do an astronomical amount of work. The majority of them have to work long hours for horrible pay, standing on their feet and servicing the public just to pay the bills and/or take care of their families. Oh sure, you can say, “Well, nobody forced them to take the job.” Well, let me help you understand something: Just because you’re now a CEO of a company, it doesn’t mean that you will have that job for the rest of your life. You may fall on hard times and have deal with a job like that, experiencing asshole customers that may give you the blues. Sometimes, people have to do what they have to do in order to survive and no one should be judged for that. 

In other words, there’s nothing wrong with expecting good customer service. In fact, you should definitely expect that every time. However, if you want superb customer service, you can first start by being a superb customer. Have a great day.

Sonica

Copyright © 2015 by Sonica Jackson

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