The Best-Kept Secret to Turning A Difficult Customer into a Happy One

If you have a job, you have a customer; a customer who may be internal or external, virtual or physically face-to-face. They could be co-workers that you see every day or simply voices on the phone.

But no matter who your customers are, at some point, you've probably considered a few of them 'difficult'. You know the ones, those who expect you:

...to know their needs (even when they don't know themselves)
...to quickly deliver those needs, and
...to answer every demand and challenge they toss your way in order to get their needs met (and with a smile on your face to boot)

Since the success of your job lies in keeping all of your customers happy and satisfied, it's important to know one of the best-kept secrets on how to turn a difficult customer into a happy and satisfied one.

So what's the secret?

STOP CALLING THEM DIFFICULT

That's the secret?

Yes, that's it. It's that simple.
You see, it's not about what you should do; it's about what you should not do...You should not label them 'difficult'.

Here's why...

Labeling a customer 'difficult' sabotages your relationship with them and is unfair to both you and your customer because...

• You put yourself in defense mode which negatively affects your attitude toward them; an attitude that's bound to be felt by the customer and ultimately resented by them.
• It causes you to inadvertently restrict yourself from providing the full scope of service that you could be giving.
• It creates a negative impression for you, your workplace, your customer, and for anyone who hears you call them difficult.

Then why do we do it?

• Sometimes we don't realize it's what we're doing.
• Sometimes we're just repeating what we've heard others say about the customer. We may have heard  about how hard it is to please them, causing subconscious prejudgment.
• You might even feel challenged because it's you who doesn't know what to do to please them.

When you think about it, you may be the one who's actually creating the so-called difficult customers in your work life. So when you begin to think of a customer as challenging, what can you do?

You can...

• Choose a better attitude and create a better customer...a happy customer.
• View the challenge as incentive to up your game of service, and 
• Don't try to figure out what they want or need; listen for indications of what will please them. Directly or indirectly, they will let you know.

So regardless of what your customer has done in the past or what you've heard they may do in the future, the next time you feel the D-word coming on, do the right thing...the fair thing;

1) Recognize your customers for who they are and what they need...people who need your help. 
2) Then do what's necessary to help them. 

Loyalty will be created and trust will be built. And instead of thinking of them as difficult, you'll learn to appreciate them for the value they bring.

            City of Hampton's
          Administrative Professionals 
                    Support Group

                            April 26, 2012 

Author & Keynote Speaker,
TAMMY THOMAS HOPSON

                                          
                             
                            Getting Ready...                           

Setting Up

My Hype-man makes sure
everything's Just Right!

Final Inspection...Everything's A-Go!

A Blissfully Full House!

Mmmm...the food was
DELICIOUS!

Robert & Me

Bliss Book  Event 

                for the

First Fuits of Praise

                   
                           Women's Day 
                                               Hosted by 
                     The Women's Ministry
                                         April 21, 2012

Speaker Tammy & Hostess Lisa

Mary, My Blissful Associate

     

Pastor & Brother Rick taking care
of the set-up

Vendors Getting Ready

7 Ways to be and Stay Satisfied With Your Job

Do you get excited when you think about the functions of your job? Or are you only interested in doing what's necessary to get you from Monday morning to Friday evening without a hitch?

The way you feel about your job depends on you; your perceptions and your attitude. Maybe you feel you're lacking in the job satisfaction department. If so, consider the following to bring satisfaction back to your position:

Pride and a Positive Attitude 
Keep in mind the fulfilling position you hold and take pride in your role as a service provider. Pat yourself on the back for the great job that you do. Feel good about yourself when you think of the responsibilities that have been placed in your care.

Shared Vision
Determine your definition and your vision of quality service. Compare it to that of your department and team. If you're not all on the same sheet of music, take the initiative and request input from your colleagues to create the necessary steps to get there. Work with your team. Understand, create and agree on new processes and procedures to provide quality service.

Knowledge & Focus
Know your job inside and out. Familiarize yourself with company policies so you can focus on your customer without worrying about your performance. For example: let's say that in the interest of trust, you offer your customer a refund for a prior service mix-up; however, policy dictates this should not be done. Knowing the rules beforehand eliminates the chance of making a bad situation worse by offering something you'd have to either take back, or take a career hit for. Understand just how far you are able to go for your customer. If necessary, ask your supervisor for clarity. Then you can focus on your customers' needs without worrying about errors in job performance.

Improvement 
It's not enough to provide great service. It's also your duty to continuously strive to improve and provide the highest quality of service to your customers, both internal and external.

Dedication
Meet and surpass the expectations of your internal and external customers. Be dedicated to them and to yourself by staying focused on your job-related goals and your current performances. How do you measure up to your own expectations?  

Commitment
Like your dedication, commit to creating a positive experience for everyone. Go above and beyond the expectations of your customers and colleagues. Commit to this and deliver quality service.

Willingness
After studying the previous areas of performance, how willing are you to do what it takes to get the job done?

Job satisfaction begins and ends with YOU. Whether you work 20, 40 or 60 hours a week, the time you put in becomes less stressful when it is spent in a positive frame of mind. Keep in mind that you can't do anything about the actions or attitudes of others, nor can  you control those unexpected situations that constantly creep up. But you can control the way you perceive them which determines how you deal with them.

Whenever there's an issue preventing you from having a great attitude, identify it and do what's necessary to fix your perception of it. Equip yourself to confidently deal with whatever comes along and improve your overall performance.

Become passionate about your job again. And at the end of each workday, ask yourself,

                          "Am I satisfied with my performance...with my job?"

       
                Then think of how good you'll feel when your answer is a resounding "YES".

A SUCCESSFUL BOOK EVENT

Thank you to everyone who came out to Club Twist to support me and my book
Creating BLISS-Better Living In Seven Steps.

Rosalyn & Me

Lena brought her previously-purchased
book for an autograph

Filling Book Orders and
Signing Autographs

BLISS-talking to the Audience

I signed right out of
my Jacket!

Inspired by my presentation, this Young
Gentleman wrote a poem right then
and recited it over the mic.

The audience was inspiring, personal conversations were intriguing, and the many requests for autographs was humbling. 

Share with me some of the night's most BLISSFUL moments...

Email Etiquette

“Email, instant messaging, and cell phones give us fabulous communication ability, but because we live and work in our own little worlds, that communication is totally disorganized.   ~Marilyn vos Savant                          

Recently, I spoke with a professional group about techniques for clear communication and quite a few questions came up about the proper use of email. Since virtually everyone is on the computer these days and are emailing in some form (via desktop, phone, DS, Facebook, etc.) I decided to address some of these concerns in this and future issues of Poise & Protocol.

Tips to Eliminate Easy Email Errors:

• Send only TO the people who need to see your email message. CC (Courtesy Copy) only when necessary. It's a CC, not an FYI. And never, ever BCC (Blind Courtesy Copy) to someone who has nothing to do with the message in the first place. If there's a real reason that person needs to see the email, place them prominently in the TO or CC field. If not -- don't be sneaky -- refrain from sending them the message at all. BCC is to be used in cases like mass mailings such as newsletters where recipients don't necessarily know each other; their addresses will be kept private this way. Use -- don't abuse -- the field for the recipients. 
• Make good use of the Subject Line. People are busy and get tons of email per day. What you place in the subject field could be the deciding factor as to whether or not the message gets read. So don't just say "Hi" when you are clearly sending the message for a specific reason. Instead, try: "Feedback on the report". Let the recipient know from the start exactly what your email is about. 
• Who are you to say your email's important? Ok, if you're the boss or someone equivalent, I guess you have the right. But so many times we're quick to slap on the 'important' symbol to give it a high priority listing when it's not...some bosses included. If your emails are regularly sent out that way, will the really urgent ones get the attention and response you'd like? Or will they be ignored? They'll probably be viewed as garbage that you're trying to pass off as urgent. Chances are they'll be set aside to be read later, if at all; not exactly the way you'd planned, huh? 

These are common email mistakes that happen all the time and believe it or not, readers do notice. Don't mishandle your email. Practice proper usage and eliminate recipients' frustrations that may lead to the deletion of your email messages altogether. 

In future posts, we'll be addressing Tips to Tasteful Email Responses.

If you have a question about emailing, please send it this way to be included as well. Remember, if you have a question about something, chances are someone else does, too.

Until then, 

Easy Emailing & Continued Bliss!!!

IDCC Featured at Local Bank

Old Point National Bank has begun featuring my business, Image Design Consulting Company along with my newly-released book, “Creating Bliss ~ Better Living In Seven Steps”. The business, the book, and I will be on display at this local bank for 2 weeks and right from the beginning (even during set-up) it has attracted a great deal of interest and attention. 

The bank is located at 24 Wine Street in Downtown Hampton, Virginia, and I hope that those of you who are in the area will stop by and give your support. Of course I’ll be back with pictures.