The stressed-out demanding coworker, the skeptical regulatory agent, the overwhelmed student, the sick and crabby patient, the distracted team member, or the busy boss – what do these people all have in common? They are someone’s customer!
When I worked in health care we always had to stop and remind ourselves that the reason our customers (patients and their families) were acting stressed, confused, and unhappy was because they were sick or their family members were sick! Customer service can be easy when everyone is on their best behavior and interacting in a highly professional manner, but that isn’t reality. Leaders need to be able to listen and respond with respect even when people are being “difficult.”
Author Paul Meshanko in his book, The Respect Effect, highlights 12 Rules of Respect that can help you establish respect with your customers even in difficult situations. These rules are based on behaviors that have been shown to neurologically enhance human interactions even in stressful situations.
- Be aware of your nonverbal cues – are your behaviors supporting your desired message?
- Develop a curiosity about the perspective of others – actively demonstrate that you are interested in what or why or how others are feeling or thinking.
- Assume that everyone is smart about something – give people the benefit of the doubt.
- Become a better listener by shaking your “but” – using the word but dismisses anything said previously even if that isn’t what you mean.
- Look for opportunities to connect and support others – identify areas of agreement while acknowledging areas of difference.
- When you disagree, explain why – provide information that clarifies how you made a decision.
- Look for opportunities to grow, stretch and change – remind yourself that nothing is static and each of us has something new to learn.
- Learn to be wrong on occasion – consider other points of view, even when your idea will work, and demonstrate to others that it is ok to make a mistake at times.
- Never hesitate to say you are sorry – acknowledge when you have not been respectful. It happens!
- Intentionally engage others in ways that build their self-esteem – intentionally interact in ways that recognize the value others have.
- Be respectful of time – remember that other people have time commitments that you are not aware of, and they are important to them.
- Smile! – last but definitely not least. Even in difficult situations look for opportunities to recognize connection or forward movement with a genuine smile.
Customer interactions can be messy. Demonstrating respect gives you the foundation to move forward.
Todd Thorsgaard
Higher EDge 