I push the glass door and walk into Dominos Pizza to order my dinner. An associate is at the billing counter taking orders from customers in a queue. A man walks up to her and asks for ‘Tomato sauce and Tissues’ in a demanding tone. Before giving her a chance to tend to his query, in a tone not so respectful he asks ‘Can’t you provide sauce and tissues without I asking for the same?’. She lowers her voice and explains they have a new policy in place to not hand out tissues without being asked to do so. I turn away from the sight since I found it bothering.
Well, it may not seem like a big deal to you, so let me ask you this question — ‘Say you’re at a Fortune 500 company, waiting in the lobby way past the time you were told the meeting would commence. You’re there to land them as a client for your company. There is no update from your prospect. No doubt, your time is valuable. You’re furious. Would you approach them with the same tone and behaviour?’ . The customer in context was hostile. It is so because of the power dynamics at play. The customer is aware the associate cannot speak back and has to be gentle. We live in a society where the customer is the king, adorning them with infinite power — a power which is being abused.
Have you ever been in a customer-facing role? Maybe. Maybe not. But we all directly interact with someone in a customer-facing role on a daily basis(interacted on a daily basis pre-COVID). Have you ever taken a moment to wonder how they’re feeling physically and mentally when take time to solve your query? If you never have, it’s high time you do.
I understand we pay a good sum of money for the goods and the experience, I am just saying we can be more ‘human’ when we try to get the value for what we paid for.
Here are a few ways to do it:
SMILE AT THEM
Pretty sure you smiling is no longer visible with the mask that we wear, but whenever you can, smile at the person you’re interacting with at a customer-facing role. Just as you and I have problems in life, they do too — maybe even bigger ones. It may not be their day, week, month or year but yet they are, trying and doing what they can to help make your day better and cause situation demands them to do the role for the money. The least we can do is smile and greet warmly.
SAY THE MAGIC WORDS — PLEASE, SORRY, THANK YOU
Had the man in Dominos asked for the sauce and tissues with a please in his verbatim, the associate would have been pleased. Trust me when I say these words work wonders.
SHOW EMPATHY
I understand it’s their job to be there and serve you. But at the end of the day, as you and I get exhausted, they do too and their job is mentally taxing. When they do not provide a good service, it could be because they are not feeling well or tired or they just dealt with an abusive customer, yes, ‘ABUSIVE CUSTOMERS’ — it is a real thing. Even when they get abused verbally or attacked personally, they don’t really hold much power to do anything which is a state of a place which needs to change.
But, today …
Smile, say thank you, say sorry, say please, show some empathy and don’t abuse. Let’s do our part in making this world a little kinder than it already is. Be kind and make someones’ day today.
