Custo"ME"r Service - Lisa U Maki
For sure you've heard of the phrase "Talk is cheap" several times in your life, or at least you've heard of it. Well, if there is some talk that is truly becoming cheap these days, it is "Customer Service". Every business establishment, whether big or small talks about this... but who is really doing it?
Let me give you some of my worst cases of customer service.
Case #1:
A bank who was awarded "best in customer service" used to be my bank. Other than the agent who assisted me during my first time in their bank, none of the people there were friendly. One day, I called up their office asking for some help with my paypal account. The lady on the phone got impatient with me because she was busy. That's when I decided to close my account with them.
Case #2:
Our church had a 3-year contract with a leading alarm company. When we moved to another place, we signed another contract with this company, not knowing that they added another two years to our contract. To make matters worse, we started receiving two bills: the former and the new contract. I then called their office to file a complaint and they told me to fax them a letter. I faxed a letter and called them again and I was informed that they didn't get any. I was passed on from one person to the next (which is what happens each time I call them). This went on and on and until now we still have some issues with them.
Case #3:
My husband called a leading mobile phone service provider inquiring about plans. He was convinced of their service and made the decision to order and pay over the phone. We were shocked when we got our first bill. There were a lot of hidden costs that were never explained to him. But it was too late because we were already locked in a contract.
So where is customer service here?
I believe what is happening is that the pressure of earning more is taking precedence over service. The focus is "me" more than others. Sales agents, supervisors, and managers have to meet their quota and so their focus is more on meeting the quota than servicing the customer.
This should not be the case, more so for us Christians. We Christians have to set higher standards for ourselves. We have to exceed the world with how they deal with others. We have to be people of excellence. Jesus' focus is always "service" and "building relationships". He said in Matthew 6:33: Seek Me first and all those other things shall be added unto you. If God is truly first in our lives, then we will follow His Word and have the same character that He has. If we look at our jobs or professions as our ministry, and use it for God's glory, then we will be serving others more than ourselves. And if we know we are serving Him and prioritizing Him, then there is no need to worry about our future.
The sad thing is a lot of Christians still don't get this. A brother in the Lord posted a business promotion on my wall and I reminded him that more than promoting his business he has to be building relationships with people, and that God will send the right people to him to support him in his business. I believe I stirred up something in him because he started being defensive. He said he needs to feed his family. Who doesn't???
I am not saying that we should not be promoting our businesses or set high goals for ourselves. What I am saying is that we have to focus more on serving others.
I have a Professional Writing business. And since I have learned to give and offer everything to God, I have offered this business to Him from day one. I have to admit that there are days when I am pressured to make more money and I can easily do this by taking in more clients than I can handle and then not meeting my commitments to them. But since I abide by the Bible's "service orientation", I give only my best to my clients, which means I have to put quality above quantity. And yes, quantity translates to more income, but in the long run, quality will produce more satisfied customers which in turn will bring in more profits for the business.
Let me end this topic by sharing with you an experience I've had in the past as a Real Estate professional.
I worked as Sales Director for a Real Estate Marketing company in the Philippines. I had sales people under me and I had bosses above me. My bosses put so much pressure on me that I had to do some personal selling on the side as well. To cut the long story short, we were told what was wrong with our projects and were also taught how to mislead our clients by focusing on the projects' strengths. We were also taught different types of closing techniques that sounded more like a trap than a negotiation. I just couldn't do what they were telling us to do. I used my own style of building relationships, which most of my agents followed, and we surely didn't meet our quotas. I left the company after some time, set up my own business, applied my style of building relationships and service orientation and God blessed my business.
The relationships I have built with my previous clients have been very helpful when God called me for full-time ministry. These clients who trusted and respected me supported my ministry. This trust and support outweigh all the money I have earned during those years in my previous business. And this is what customer service is all about.
Lisa Maki is the founder of God'z Gurlz, a Bible-based online magazine for women whose mission is to is to provide a place where women can learn to manage their emotions, experience healing, receive love and acceptance, be free to be who God made them to be, and be the best they can be in their homes, schools, professions, relationships, and calling, through sharing of insights and experiences, counseling, prayer, and devotionals, thereby learning from and supporting each other. For more of Lisa's articles, visit http://godzgurlz.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_U_Maki Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6921526