It's Still Crucial to Develop Quality Human Interaction Skills
Jeannette Seibly
Expert in success strategies to solve people issues for small business and family business leaders??Hiring, Coaching, & Assessment Strategies??Keynote Speaker, Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach, and Business Author
Sadly, companies today are hiding behind their technology instead of training employees in basic customer service and communication skills.
Recently, a woman went to a major pharmacy for her annual vaccines. Although a sign stated, “Try This New Check-In,” she went to the counter to check in since no one else was in line.
Thirty minutes later, the woman is still waiting. The four other people waiting were being served first because they used the “New Check-In” QR Code. They were frustrated because there was a problem with their vaccine orders and told the pharmacist to allow the woman ahead of them to go first. The pharmacist and assistant ignored all of them.
When an older man arrived for his vaccines 40 minutes later, he went to the counter to check-in. The assistant insisted he sign in using the QR code. The problem was he had to return to his car to get his phone, causing an unnecessary inconvenience. This was poor customer service.
At this point, the woman spoke with the store manager. When the store manager apologized, the woman responded, “The biggest issue wasn’t the wait; it was the disrespect and lack of human interaction that was so frustrating. While technology is important, it should never overshadow the value of human interaction.”
Did you know that people will drive further to buy and pay more for identical or similar items when they can talk with a human rather than AI?
As bosses, you must develop all your team members to be responsible for good customer interactions and responsiveness.
Great Customer Service Requires Ongoing Training
Train for Basic Communication Skills. Too often, team members train their people in technology, finance, and mechanical operations. Unfortunately, they fail to include essential interpersonal (verbal and non-verbal communication), respect, and emotional intelligence skills. This has become a big issue since companies opt for technology-based customer interaction to save money. But does it really?
Many people today “talk” via “texts,” “emojis,” and other “social media posts.” They are at a loss to respond to people when situations require human interaction. Instead, they choose to say nothing or make inappropriate comments or gestures, worsening the problem and increasing the possibility of the customer never returning. Provide workshops, podcasts, and other training opportunities. Hold bosses and leaders accountable for using these skills, too.
Quality Work Means Doing Complete Work .? Hiding behind emails and texts and failing to do the quality of work required (e.g., minimum work, being late, and doing sloppy work) will have your customers looking at your competition! Apologizing for poor quality, promises not kept, and long wait times are essential. But relying on apologies instead of improving quality issues and time delivery problems is a critical mistake! Have weekly (or daily) meetings to keep your team updated with any changes. Expect them to work collaboratively and respond appropriately to different customer(s) situations.
Address Issues in Real Time. When a person is responsible for customer service and using technology, it can feel challenging to do their best job when someone is waiting, especially an impatient person. Team members will default to their natural way of talking with others (which can be problematic). This needs to be addressed immediately before others follow suit. One company lost a major national contract when allowing their service reps to make wildly inappropriate comments.
As bosses, we must train all our employees to be customer service-focused and ask, “How can I help you? Then, follow through.”
Update Training and Make It Ongoing. While training should include routine procedures, it must also address those exceptions that will pop up. Expecting everyone to learn and remember after one or several training sessions isn’t being responsible for ongoing training! People will forget about 50 percent after each session, especially if the boss and co-workers fail to use the skills appropriately. Poor training creates a poor reputation for the company. Provide certificates and other acknowledgments to reinforce the importance of good customer service results.
Remind team members that their customer service attitude will determine the quality of their day and enjoyment of their job.
?Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved
Jeannette Seibly?is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of practical experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, achieving business success always starts with?having the right people in the right jobs !?She has been an Authorized PXT Select? Partner for over 32 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about these state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tools or how to coach and manage your people to achieve incredible results.
A note from Jeannette:?Bosses, when you rely on AI and other technology to handle customer concerns, you’ll lose customers! Quality human interaction is still required, and so is developing all your employees to use these critical communication skills. You never know when an off-handed comment or gesture can cause a customer to fire you. Contact me .
Now is the time to get into focused action!?Are there days you dread doing what is needed to manage your people, projects, and team's financial performance? You're not alone! Everyone has those days! But continuing to hide behind excuses only hurts you and your future promotability. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully – this includes getting you out of the way and working with and through people effectively to achieve the results required. Contact me ?to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.
Get Your Brag On! (International Amazon Best-Seller)
Why is it important to self-promote and share your successes? ?
Listen to this 15-minute interview and learn why.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/hoF1Obii7RQ
To grab the book, go to: https://SeibCo.com/books/ ??