I recently received a telephone call from a woman named Grace. She was extremely upset because she wanted to end her subscription for my autoresponder. I am thankful this woman was not in customer service because of how brash she was. Sometimes it is not what is said but how. Attitude is everything in business.
Attitude can hurt or hinder. There are many businesses that you frequent because of the hired help. And there are others we avoid like the plague.
It is imperative then that attitude and a culture of customer service are paramount.
We are all busy and we all get stressed from time to time. Clearly one additional e-mail is not enough to send anybody into a tizzy. Yet, the recent issues of the flight attendant and other customer service folly illustrate the need for some best practices.
- Check you baggage. We all carry issues with us every day. Some of this stuff is enough to fill a freight train. Leave it home. The entire focus should be on value in deliverables to the client not a psychology session in ending your stress.
- Cut the crap. Apathy is never a good thing to bring into the workplace. Have passion for the job that you do or simply quit. The purpose of every business is serving a customer.
- Compartmentalize. Sometimes being in business is as harried as riding a roller coaster. There are multiple volatilities during the day. Learn to marginalize the highs and the lows.
- Feedback. One of the problems with American business is the constant need to speak. It is a cultural phenomenon. A good best practice is to listen more and not offer feedback.
- Small stuff. Not to sound trite but do not sweat it. If you are stressed then take time out for you. Go for a walk or listen to some good music but do not remain in a workplace that will create more stress for you.
- Reward yourself. We are all little too hard on ourselves. Take the time to reward yourself for the positive things in life. Go shopping and buy yourself something that you want.
- Education. Stress sometimes is attributed to a lack of information. Business professionals must take the time to invest in their own self development. Listen to audio books, read voraciously were enrolled in the class. Only you are the captain of your own destiny.
When the little things start to add up and you feel more stressed than ever it is time to remove yourself from those situations. Clearly getting stressed over one simple e-mail is amazing. Ignore it and move on or have the grace to end it professionally. Do not get lost or blinded by the ignorance of stress. Otherwise you will be seeking reconciliation.
