Let’s call this a “Revelations While Trying to Fall Asleep but You Can’t Since Your Mind is Racing a Million Miles a Minute” post. Yup, that was me last night. Needless to say, coffee is my friend today.
I had been having one of those days (er, well it’s almost a daily thing) where I questioned everything that I’ve been doing lately and asking myself “WHY?”. I’m very good at criticizing myself, down to the nitty gritty, mostly coming to a conclusion that I’m “just not good enough so why even try”?
Yeah, I write posts about challenging myself. And, I do. I really try. It’s NOT easy, dagnabbit! We all struggle with this to an extent. However, I have to give myself permission to have an off day as it is a natural progression to doing something outside of your comfort zone. Right?
But, it got me thinking about how I talk to customers. And, as I was laying awake in bed, I jotted down this idea:
How you talk to customers teaches us about how to talk to ourselves.
Ok, maybe I’m going a little Stretch Armstrong here, but think about it:
- For customers, we strive to go above and beyond to help them accomplish what they want and need.
- We limit the words “no” and “can’t” because we always want to try to look at available alternatives to what we CAN do.
- We speak and listen to them kindly, with positivity and empathy, understanding their struggles and stepping in their shoes.
- We give honest and respectful responses and resolutions to issues.
- We empower them to learn and understand.
And maybe, just maybe, the more we talk internally to ourselves like this, the more it will inspire us to talk externally to our customers like this. This can also apply to life outside of work and all the people we have in it.
So, note to self:
Talk to yourself like you’d talk to a customer. Keep the doors open for opportunity. You wouldn’t limit it for them–why would you limit it for yourself?
In dealing with a customer one should put themselves in their shoes. Which means understanding what they want, what they need and what satisfies them should be the goal. Let’s say we are them. Then let’s think, what could please us? Then it struck us that all it needs to please them is the patience of listening and pleasing them. Sometimes simplicity has its own merits. When we listen we get to understand them better, we get to know what they really want, and then we do everything we can to serve them and serve them well with presentation served on a golden plate. Spice it up a little and viola! A happy customer is what we get simply because they are satisfied with the service.