CUSTOMER CARE: Attracting people through our smiles

There are days I hate going to work, especially when I feel moody, depressed and less motivated. I am in a job where I need to pretend to be friendly. As I write this article I wasn’t in the mood of smiling and being positive towards customers. As a service provider, I am constantly in direct contact with clients. The main objective of my job is to satisfy them and I understand the importance of satisfying them. Customer satisfaction is quite relevant in this business. We need to be cheerful and enthusiastic in any kind of interaction we have with out clients. I am supposed to work five days a week, from 7 am until 4 pm. However I still can’t remember the last time I went home before 6pm. Because of the nature of this business, I find myself struggling to get a 30 minutes lunch break. I am not complaining, because I love my job. I work with a travel agency, a hotel, a bank, telecom company, a hospital, a filling station, a government institution, the supermarket next door, a bar, market, a hair saloon and so many others. The issue I am trying to raise is that despite the hassle I am still meant to be HAPPY and CHEERFUL every other day. That is where we earn a living. Last week when a customer with a bad odor entered my office, but I still showed a big smile. Sometimes customers do not even respond to my greetings but I still have to continue to be professional and friendly so that they can return and do business with us. Sometimes when I wake up I am not in a good mood. This is probably due to the personal issues some including my the house rent, my children, my in-laws, my husband, the house boy, my past, the ambiance with my boss and many worries. However after dressing up I try not to carry the same mood to work. I deploy the actor’s trick of separating one’s personal emotions and the role that one has to play. In this business we are like actors, preachers, singers, doctors, pilots etc … who need to have a border line between their real personal problems and the role they have to play once on stage. Our minds are like bank accounts. We can deposit in them positive thoughts, good ideas, pleasant experiences and they will yield in positive mindset and inevitably to positive behaviors. Some mornings I feel moody because of the negative thoughts I have allowed my spirit to embrace. Being someone who deals with clients I don’t find this easy because I need to find joy in the job and be proud of it everyday no matter my own personal issues. Yes, sometimes the customer is wrong, sometimes he is mean and rude. Sometimes he even tells lies and drives me crazy. But my job as a service person is to be so skillful that even in such instances I am still able to show professionalism and friendliness. I have to behave like an actor performing on a stage. When I do not really feel like smiling or simply being friendly, I need to act “as if” everything was alright. Obviously, it takes a great performance to swallow one’s personal problems and give a good service. As an actor, I understand that the spectator has paid for the “show” and the “performance” must be a good one.Let’s think appreciate the power and opportunity that rest in our hands. We are lucky to be in a job where we can easily market ourselves. Let’s find joy in what we do. With continuous positive attitudes; we can attract great relationships and people to our lives through our friendliness and smiles. sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com