Oh no, someone definitely woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning, I thought as the gentleman glared at me and started rolling off a list of well-prepared dissatisfaction issues he had (the majority, unfortunately, are out of our control).
Doing everything possible we could for him, it was obvious nothing was going to improve his mood. He even muttered to me at one point “Are you sure you want to work here, dealing with customers like me?!”
I smiled and politely replied
“Yes, I’m sure!”
And continued to assist in any way possible.
Just as we were finalising a few last things, I simply ask him if he had anything planned for the rest of his day. Not even looking up at me, he grumbled, “I have a puppy at home to look after.”
Now, anyone who knows me even in the slightest, animals (especially dogs) equals incredibly enthusiastic Jarnia. I restrained myself from flying into my normal doggy interrogation mode, but I did eagerly reply:
“Oh a puppy! Tell me more!”
It’s at this point, he had looked up at me not saying a word, still with a stern face.
“What breed it is? What is its name?” I still eagerly asked with a huge smile on my face.
All of a sudden, I was amazed by the smile that appeared on his face and the gleam that appeared in his eye!
We had a good little chat about the puppy, whose name, by the way is Cooper, a 5 month old English Staffy who likes to steal and then demolish shoes. He is also successfully toilet trained (he hopes). hen off he went, turning around to smile at me on his way out of the store.
Even though, unfortunately, we were unable to solve the issues he originally came into store for, I know he left a little happier than when he first came in, and that to me, is a success in itself.
The moral of my story is:
It would have been too easy for me to have imitated this man’s mood and mannerisms. I could have been blunt and quite difficult to deal with, and probably would have put myself in a horrid mood. Instead I was the complete opposite, I kept that smile on my face, and that smile in my tone of voice, and it was contagious.
My goal in all aspects of my life (especially at work) no matter what, is to always leave someone happier than you first found them. Even though getting someone an awesome brand new phone on an amazing plan works most of the time to make someone happy, working in a customer service based role, I continue to exert amazing customer service no matter what type of customer I may have. With or without a sale we need to endeavour to leave the customer with a positive and happy experience, as difficult as it may seem sometimes!
My advice, never allow anyone to dull your sparkle and always continue to be you, and hopefully spread that sparkle onto everyone you meet! Because if I HAD let this man’s mood get to me, I would have never asked what he was up to that day, I would have never found out about his puppy, I then wouldn’t have inquired about his puppy and I certainly wouldn’t have made him smile!
At HTG, providing excellent customer service is built into our culture and that makes it non negotiable, but in a way that no matter the situation, we want to give 10/10.
“Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave others feeling after having an experience with you becomes your trademark” – Jay Danzie.
Jarnia Taylor