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Are you finding it challenging to be a customer? When you’ve called with a product or service query and the person you speak to struggles to find support from up the line?
I’m talking about when you make time to make a call. You’ve braced yourself to navigate a menu – then wait, hoping to speak to a human.
Your call gets through. Your question is complex, which is why you’re calling. You know it needs a higher-level response. So does the front line Customer Service Representative – team member – who has answered.
And then it happens.
Doing their job, they ask to put you on a brief hold before transferring your call. Pleasant and friendly. Skilled and competent enough to know they are out of their depth and need help. Respecting your time is valuable. Knowing they’re expected to finish each call promptly.
Help Me – Please
Sadly, they may also know they’re entering a Lion’s Den. Where no matter how optimistic or how much they need help, they know the chances of getting that assistance is slim. Or worse, they know there is no chance of finding anyone to help them.
Committed to their role, and with you patiently waiting on hold, they dive in. Only to come back to you with nothing better than “they can’t come to the phone right now”; “they’re in a meeting and will call you back within 5 days”; or the one I love the most “there’s no-one here at the moment”.
Whilst these may be legitimate reasons, they are often no more than excuses. And we all know it.
Squeeze Mode
The team member is now in full-on squeeze mode. We have a query they can’t answer. They feel unsupported and at a dead end.
The call was already escalating, and now it’s getting worse. You’re upset because you know the request could be answered quickly by the right person. The team member is upset because they want to do a good job.
Sometimes so upset they want to leave – like the four team members I spoke to in three days, from two departments, in one organisation whom each told me they had resigned. They couldn’t deal with the pressure and lack of support and training anymore.
To make things worse, frustrated customers may hang up – only to call back and select the sales option to see if they get a better response. When they do, it confirms in their mind that an existing customer is less important or valuable than a new one.
What’s going on?
The ongoing impact of the pandemic may not be noticeable to you. However, it’s still there, manifesting as pressure from all sides. Compassion, empathy and kindness are more important now than ever – for ourselves and others.
Leaders not Bosses
Plus, our front line team members need leaders more than bosses. Leaders lead by example and are ready to jump in where needed. They’ll find a way – and make the time – to sit at the front line with the team when necessary. Bosses direct and tell, not coach and guide, believing throwing someone in the deep end builds character. You’ll rarely find a boss sitting at the front line with their team.
I get it. It can be a real challenge to balance everything in this time-poor, pandemic-adjusting world, especially when it comes to customer challenges. And managers have managers as well, right up the line.
So, I’m not talking about holding people’s hands, never letting them learn how to do their job. I’m talking about providing backup support for a new team member or someone dealing with an unfamiliar query or situation. Or an option for looking after a customer they are not gelling with.
It’s about the three-phase learning of show, do together, observe.
Throwing someone in the deep end without a lifebuoy can be counterproductive. Especially true if you wish to develop confidence, trust and initiative. While some people may excel and be better for the experience, others will flounder – and the cost across the board can be enormous. Complaints. Extra staff and time to resolve things. Customer relationships damaged or lost. Or the cost of losing a team member.
The Opportunity
Here is an opportunity for front line managers to develop more robust, supportive relationships and a more engaged team. Going back to these basics is a great place to start:
- Develop Understanding. Schedule time in other roles or parts of the business. It doesn’t take long for someone in a back-office type role to understand how different a front line customer contact role is – and vice-versa.
- Show Availability. Be available to your team as much as possible and work with them as they learn. Making time for coaching and learning at the beginning will drastically reduce time later on.
- Create Ownership. Review work processes to ensure they encourage buy-in and are flexible where possible. We design processes to assist work, not impede it – to provide a framework that reduces the need to think about “what do I do next?” giving space to focus on the customer, project, or challenge.
- Build Confidence. Build confidence and empower team members to think on their feet. Develop mutual trust and respect that means they come to you only when they need to, committed and open to learning.
This approach is about ‘slowing down to speed up’. It may mean more interruptions and requests for assistance in the beginning. Then the benefits will shine through as you see how well customers are being looked after and how much happier and more engaged your team is.
Keep Caring
It’s just over 18 months since the pandemic hit. We started saying, “we’re all in this together”, and need to care more about each other. Kindness was the word of the day, with compassion not far behind.
Well, things are still uncertain, and people are feeling the impact now more than ever, no matter where you live. It might be lockdown fatigue, increased workload, money, job or work uncertainty – or any one of the myriads of ongoing challenging conversations that abound right now.
Whatever work role we play – team member, manager, customer – we’re all customers as well. So, taking a moment to step back and think about the other person with kindness, compassion and empathy will benefit all of us. Now and into the future.
Until next time…
Anne