“Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.”
-Jim Rohn
A while ago I was talking with some people about their customer service experiences. A lady commented to me on what amazing service she received from a cashier at Target. She explained:
The customer ahead of me was grouchy and really giving the cashier a hard time. It seemed he was having a bad day and taking it out on the cashier. I felt so bad for her. Then after he was done, the cashier turned and greeted me with the nicest smile. She was warm, welcoming and friendly. She chatted with my daughters like they were her own. What really amazed me was how she refused to let her experience with the grouchy customer spill over onto me. However bad she might have felt from that, she didn’t let it affect how she treat me. I was thrilled!
This employee faced a common situation. Someone was treating her poorly. It happens to employees every day in every city. No surprises there. But what is surprising is how she handled it. She took the situation, put it in a box and tossed it aside. She refused to let that event affect how she treated others.
She made a choice to treat her customers well no matter what was happening to her at the time.
This should not be a surprising thing. This shouldn’t be something worthy of an article. But it is because too often people make a different choice. Too often we choose to treat others based on how we’re feeling at the moment. We externalize our feeling at dump them on our customers.
I know because I’ve done it .
There is no single reason why we do this. And there is no single solution to preventing it. But there are some things we can do to help. One is to always put your customer first. Focus on helping them rather than expressing your emotions.
Two, make a commitment to treating everyone well no matter what. Then just do it. Do it every time. This helps you build a habit.
Three, remember, helping others feels good. Even if the “helping” is simply treating them well. Research has shown helping others can reduce stress and help us feel better.
Above all, remember, no matter what happens to you, you always have a choice in how you treat your customers. Like the cashier at Target, you can always choose to be amazing.
Other articles you might like:
- Remember What You Control (And What You Don’t)
- Choosing service means choosing responsibility
- Don’t Let a Bad Day Turn Into Bad Customer Service
- Focus on what you control. Don’t worry about the rest.
- Be grouchy on your own time
