Customer Service and Job Candidates

First a story: Years ago, when I started my business, I received a letter from the IRS. My heart started pounding a mile a minute. I was somewhere between worried, panic stricken, and just plain scared. It took me what seemed like forever to dial the number on the letter. I got through right away, and actually spoke to a human being. He was polite, patient, knowledgeable, and calming. He answered my questions clearly and simply. With others, as you no doubt know, and are about to read, when you call them the person you are speaking with is more often than not a slave to their script. They don't know their product or service, only what is in the book - and, for that matter, they probably don't understand what their reading! If the IRS can properly train their staff, so can you!

CVS, as in the pharmacy, stands for "Consumer Value Store." I don't like that. I was once told that it stands for Courtesy, Value, Service. Even though it's incorrect, let's go with that. Far too often, for many businesses, it seems to stand for Customers/Clients vs Staff. Now I have never believed that "the customer is always right," but I am a believer in "the customer is always the customer."

One component of a job search that too many job seekers don't seem to understand is, just like the employer's hiring process tells an applicant everything they need to know about the company's decision making process, the applicant's behavior tells the employer everything they need to know about the applicant's concept of customer service.

Who is the most important employee in any office? Wrong! It's the receptionist. The receptionist sets the mood. If she (or he, but let's stick with she) is always smiling and pleasant that will be the mood, at least initially, in the office. The opposite is also true. Think of it this way: What would you think if you called or entered a company and the person answering the phone/greeting you said, "Good morning. (Thank you for calling XYZ.) My name is Jane. How may I assist you?" On the other hand, what if she said, "Morning. (XYZ.) I'm Jane. What do you want?"

Now sometimes the person answering the phone means well but is totally clueless. Recently, I called one of my credit card companies (I don't remember which) to ask about a suspicious email I had received. After multiple transfers I finally lost it and said, "I want to speak with a supervisor, who speaks English and does not read from a script. You DO NOT have to ask my permission to put me on hold, just DO IT, NOW!" The next voice I heard, in perfect English was, "Good morning. This is Jane, Supervisor 1234. How may I assist you?" Problem solved in literally under a minute. (Prior to that I was on the phone with them for a good 10 minutes!)

I had similar nonsense with a new hire I had trained. She was to work in the front office. I told her, "When the phone rings, the proper way to answer is to say, 'Good morning. Thank you for calling XYZ. This is Jane. How may I help you?' " A minute or two later, the phone rang, and she answered as instructed.

A few hours later, after lunch, the phone rang. I was just entering the front office and I heard her say, "Good morning. Thank you for calling XYZ. This is Jane. How may I help you?" When she had transferred the call I told her she done well except for the fact that it was no longer morning but rather afternoon. Her response, "But you told me to say, 'Good morning.' " I reported this. It turned out the person who had vetted her did not do a very good job. Her references were her father and boy friend. She did not last the week.

That is why a job applicant's customer services skills are of paramount importance. Always do the following:

• Have a professional voice mail message on your phone.
• Call recruiters/employers back promptly.
• Confirm receipt of all emails, especially those with information about interviews. Make certain to thank the person for agreeing to interview you.
• The day before an interview, call or email (however they communicate with you) the person with whom you will be meeting (whether Zoom or in-person) to confirm.
• The same day of the interview, send a thank-you e-mail to everyone who interviewed you. Personalize the emails. Never send a generic thank-you. (In a future article I will show you how to write effective personalized thank-you emails.)

Just as everyone is involved with sales and marketing, so too is everyone involved with customer service. If as a candidate your customer services skills (when you are representing yourself) are stellar, the employer will conclude they will be stellar for them. On the other hand, if you can't break away from a script or tell time, literally or figuratively, you can probably forget about getting a job offer.

ARE YOU AN EXPERT IN YOUR FIELD? THEN I INVITE YOU TO BE A GUEST ON MY PODCAST, BRUCE HURWITZ PRESENTS: MEET THE EXPERTS. FOR COMPLETE DETAILS, TO APPLY AND TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW VISIT: https://hsstaffing.com/video-podcast

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Future Articles:

• What Animal Do You Want Your Business to Be?
• But I Did What They Told Me!
• Boneless and Humorless: Shopper Responsibility
• Science and a Successful Job Search
• The Thank-You Email
• Doggie Decision Making