I’m not a man for self-help books usually, always preferring to steer my own path. But after listening to a review on BBC radio of Dr Steve Peters’ book, The Chimp Paradox, I thought I would give it a read, as understanding people’s motivations is something that has always interested me.
If you haven’t read it; the book describes how the baser feelings (anger, fear, joy etc) can “overcome” the higher brain functions. He calls this your chimp, and in many ways borrows from a number of philosophical and psychological axioms. Where the book brings a new view however, is how it describes these terms and how they can help you to manage your chimp (or feelings) and overcome your fears (just look at the GB cycling squad if you want proof).
But in part, it is a shame to lose the chimp. The chimp – that moment of visceral emotion – contains all of that person’s immediate feelings about a situation – it might not be fair, it might not even be reasonable, but it’s honest and filled with clear passion and unadulterated statements.
I love those moments – after 20+ years in Customer Service and Relationship Management, those are the moments that you hope to get. It’s never easy, but by clearly understanding what is troubling your customer, you can deal with the issue quickly and professionally and not only resolve the problem, but develop trust and loyalty with the customer. Those are the good moments, full of personal satisfaction and direct action.
It works with happy customers too, those moments where someone has been excited or delighted by the service they have received – right then is where they will share with you why they really feel good.
As I have moved away from the frontline those moments have become less and less. If the service is poor brands may not get the full unfiltered problems straight from their customers’ point of view and even more sadly, they will rarely get feedback on what they have done right.
I try not to lose sight of the lack of “chimp response” in my day to day dealings and try to imagine what vigour my customers would share their thoughts with, if I just had a chance to stand in front of them at that very moment of experience. It helps me to make bolder choices when looking at good Customer Service and pushes me to share my experiences when I do.
I’ll never get to the Olympics though…
