{"id":107392,"date":"2014-06-26T11:26:44","date_gmt":"2014-06-26T18:26:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/customerthink.com\/?p=107392"},"modified":"2014-06-26T11:26:59","modified_gmt":"2014-06-26T18:26:59","slug":"customer-service-kayaks-and-the-tennessee-wildlife-resources-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/customer-service-kayaks-and-the-tennessee-wildlife-resources-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Customer Service, Kayaks, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

A lake-side lesson in credibility.<\/strong><\/em> Co-written by Jim Quiggins and Nate Brown<\/p>\n

\u201cThe unspoken.\u201d \u00a0It\u2019s not only a feature of awkward prayer gatherings, but it can also be the most important element in customer service transactions. \u00a0An outstanding resolution requires so much more then answering the surface level question. \u00a0Oftentimes the best hope an analyst has of getting to the root cause is by perceiving the unspoken need. \u00a0If the customer has carried an emotional burden with them to the call, the analyst’s job is not only to resolve, but to heal.\u00a0 This concept was recently personified by an unlikely source in Long Hunter State Park. <\/p>\n

I (Nate) love Kayaking. \u00a0 Add a fishing pole to the equation, and I am a very happy man. \u00a0Such was the case early Saturday morning on the beautiful Couchville Lake \"fishingpic5\"just outside of Nashville. \u00a0The weather was outstanding \u2013 and I was even catching some nice fish. \u00a0My good fortunate took a surprising turn, however, as I became engulfed in the wake of a Tennessee Wildlife and Resource Agency (TWRA) vessel.\u00a0 There were two agents standing on the boat, and one of them meant serious business. \u00a0His frantic yelling echoed across the otherwise silent lake. \u00a0Once my distress receded, I could hear him urgently demanding to see my life jacket. \u00a0A life jacket? \u00a0In a kayak? \u00a0Clearly this person had no idea how I\u2019d been doing this for 12+ years and never needed a life jacket. \u00a0A defensive tone took shape as I explained how not only did I not have a flotation device, but I did not need one. \u00a0As expected, the agent threw the book at me – taking a messianic tone as he articulated the special regulations for Couchville lake and the dangers involved. I was not even close to caring what he said.\u00a0 My goal was to internalize my anger and shut up while I awaited inevitable punishment.<\/p>\n

\"Couchville
Couchville Lake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was at this moment that our interaction took an astonishing turn. \u00a0Instead of reaching for his ticket book, the agent began unbuckling the straps of his own life jacket. \u00a0He removed it and held it out as a gift. \u00a0His expression changed from that of a disciplinarian to a concerned friend. The realization washed over me fast and strong. \u00a0This man was not out here to punish minor violators, but rather to keep people safe and protect them. \u00a0The gesture communicated his purpose so clearly…making me see how foolish I was to have been defensive. \u00a0The agent had won my full loyalty and trust by showing that he cared about me as a person. This is how great customer service is done.<\/strong><\/em> \u00a0By proving to the customer that you sincerely care about them and have their best interest at heart, you can conquer the \u201cunspoken\u201d need. \u00a0It is requires a very special person, especially when your customer (lik\"fishingpic4\"e me) is frustrated or resistant.\u00a0 Sincerity and trust are the key words. \u00a0You can have the smartest analyst in the world, loaded with product knowledge, but if he cannot make the person on the other end of the line feel cared for, it will likely be a poor interaction.<\/p>\n

\u00a0– – –<\/p>\n

As I (Jim) heard about Nate\u2019s experience it reminded me that there can be a \u201clife jacket\u201d<\/em> moment in every call.\u00a0 It is what we might refer to as a \u201cmoment of truth\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0and it occurs in almost every interaction or relationship at some point. How this defining moment is handled can make a huge difference in the ultimate outcome of a potentially defensive situation. A successful transaction often hinges on how each party perceives the other communicator. One of the most extensively researched areas in the field of human relations is the concept of \u201ccommunicator \"fishingpic\"credibility.\u201d<\/strong> Credibility is the perceived character and competence of the other party in a relationship – including the call center help desk interaction. The number one factor in shaping perceived credibility is \u201ctrust.\u201d At the moment the TWRA official demonstrated his trustworthiness<\/em>, Nate\u2019s attitude changed from resistance and defensiveness to openness and trust. <\/p>\n

The second factor that determines how we are perceived in terms of credibility is \u201ccompetence.\u201d<\/strong> Being trustworthy will only carry us so far and trust is not a substitute for competence. Trust and competence combined create a climate in which service can more likely succeed. Finally, we also tend to be more receptive to someone who is also likeable. It is what the research in this area refers to as \u201csociability.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong> These three perceived personal characteristics – Trust, Competence and Sociability \u2013 are the key determinants in creating a supportive climate where effective mutual problem solving can thrive. In a future post we will talk more about some practical actions an agent can display to establish credibility and make this magic happen \u2013 the kind of magic that will keep Nate safely kayaking for a long time.<\/p>\n

\"fishingpic1\"
Stones River, Smyrna TN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Capture\"Jim Quiggins has over 25 years of experience in technology sales, marketing and business development in the contact center industry. Currently he does private consulting with contact centers in the area of workforce optimization, quality monitoring, and operational reporting & analytics. He is also a member of a group of contact center professionals that have formed a consortium called Call Center Training Associates (CCTA). CCTA provides training for call center staff including frontline agents as well as supervisory training. They also provide training for quality and WFM analysts. Throughout his career, Jim has built sales and marketing organizations in several early-stage growth companies leading them to dominance in their industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A lake-side lesson in credibility. Co-written by Jim Quiggins and Nate Brown \u201cThe unspoken.\u201d \u00a0It\u2019s not only a feature of awkward prayer gatherings, but it can also be the most important element in customer service transactions. \u00a0An outstanding resolution requires so much more then answering the surface level question. \u00a0Oftentimes the best hope an analyst […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8435,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[128,84],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107392"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8435"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107392\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}