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Customer Service Information |
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What Every Manager Should Know About Seeing the World from Where the Customer Is Standing
It is important to remember that the customer doesn't necessarily see things in the same way we do. This point was brought home to me one day while I was shopping with my daughter, Stefanie, who was two years old at the time. As I stooped down to tie her shoelaces, I immediately realized why she was becoming so irritable. She could not adequately see the toys that were displayed on the shelf above her head. At this point, I decided to pick her up and to continue shopping with her in my arms. The pleasant change in her behavior was quite apparent and welcomed. Stefanie's experience taught me two lessons that I am passing on to you today: * In dealing with children, with customers, and with people in general who may be from different cultures, we do them and ourselves a great service when we take the time to see their uniques situation from their very special viewpoint. * Developing an emphatic attitude means listening, really listening, to what they are say. (I'm not referring to the superficial listening we are so prone to do by mouthing words to someone while our eyes and ears are glues to the TV. I'm referring to emphatic listening: listening with our eyes.) They might just happen to be our neighbors, friends, customers, co-workers, or employees are saying. And it means trying to feel as they feel. It's like the song says, "Walk a mile in my shoes." To help you get into their frame of mind, imagine yourself in their limited experience and highly dependent situation. This will enormously increase your satisfaction and enjoyment of living and, at the same time, make you much more attractive to others as they recognize your sincere attempts to understand them and help them with meaningful solutions. We all need strong egos to cope successfully with our world, but we need empathy, too. If we want to be successful in business as we are in life, then we must get into the other person's shoes and see the world from where he is standing. Remember: When you maximize your potential, everyone wins. When you don't, we all lose. Š Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in ezines, newsletters, and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Although advance permission is not required, please notify us at execandgroup-consulting@yahoo.com when you use this article. Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW, Management Consultant and Trainer, conducts seminars, lectures, and writes articles on his theme: ... helping you maximize your potential. He offers management, marketing, and parenting resources at his Maximizing Your Potential blog.
MORE RESOURCES: Pricing, AI, DPA, Customer Service Tools; Bill Emerson Interview; Training This Week; STRATMOR CD Workshop Mortgage News Daily AI Chatbots Are Ready to Talk to Customers. Sort of. The Wall Street Journal Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in âBest Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Yahoo Finance Qme secures $3M funding to streamline customer service across Africa Techpoint Africa Building Competitive Advantage in Customer Care Through AI The Business of Fashion 311 Customer Service Center City and County of San Francisco FTC Finalizes Order with H&R Block Requiring Them to Pay $7 Million and Overhaul Advertising and Customer Service Practices for 2025 and 2026 Tax Seasons Federal Trade Commission News Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in âBest Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Business Wire JEA is inviting bids for 19-story downtown tower that used to be its headquarters The Florida Times-Union American Lamprecht Enhances Visibility for Air and Ocean Shipments Using Descartes Solution Supply Chain Dive Neterra Enhances Its Customer Service Monitoring System Total Telecom Women in Fintech: A Conversation About Loyalty Ecosystems in Financial Services with Becky Hill Finovate Gladly Named a Leader in Constellation ShortList⢠for Digital Customer Service and Support PR Newswire QueueKioskâ˘: Saving Thousands of Active-Duty Man Hours & Improving Customer Service at the MPF Office Kiosk Marketplace Finally, hard data on a real-world AI business use case: Itâs huge for customer service Sherwood News Liverpool reinvents customer service through digital platform ComputerWeekly.com Firm to expand customer service in Yorkshire with new service centre Golf Business News CSPI & Nutrition Action Customer Service CSPI Newsroom Textron Aviation to Open New Service Facility at Essendon Fields Airport, Expanding Capabilities in Australia Pittsburg Morning Sun Help Department of Taxation and Finance Six Game-Changing AI Customer Service and CX Strategies Hospitality Net Interviews: Talking 'to you, after 2000 years' with Matt, Owen, and Max of Customer Service Punknews.org Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) New York State Department of Health Cigna's customer-centric strategy could ripple across the sector Modern Healthcare Major AI Success Story: Giftify Achieves 40% Faster Customer Response Times with Enterprise AI StockTitan Community advocacy group accuses RG&E of shutting off service to record number of customers in 2024 Spectrum News Contact Us About Your Bill myclearwater.com Customer Service Center apps.tampagov.net Customer Support | Department of Corrections Governor Tom Wolf 311 - Birminghamâs Customer Service Center City of Birmingham (.gov) DESCO's meeting held to enhance customer service and power reliability The Business Standard 70% of customer service to rely on AI by 2028: Gartner Outsource Accelerator Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) My experience as a Customer Service and Sales Intern Toby Shapiro's Experience at A.D. Sutton and Sons Chapman University Deltaâs annual profit-sharing day spotlights âpeople firstâ strategy The Atlanta Journal Constitution 3 Ways To Quickly Make $50 GOBankingRates Welcome to Riverside Public Utilities City of Riverside (.gov) Celebrate Customer Service Week City of Riverside (.gov) Which companies have the best customer service? Amazon, Shein, Costco among top-rated brands USA TODAY Con Edison Proposes Investments to Meet Growing Demand for Clean Energy, Enhance Customer Support T&D World Fulton County Recognized as a 2024 National Customer Service All Star Fulton County Government Contact Reverb Support Reverb America's Best Customer Service 2025 Newsweek 8 strategies for using AI for customer service in 2025 Sprout Social Attorney General Bonta Demands Better Customer Service for Californians California Department of Justice AI for Customer Service Market worth $47.82 Billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets⢠PR Newswire Can artificial intelligence rescue customer service? The Economist Permitsâcustomer services King County Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications Federal Communications Commission Department of Transportation Governor Tom Wolf 11 key elements of excellent customer service Business.com Shep Hyken, HPU Customer Service Expert, Mentors Students and Staff High Point University Summer EBT | Department of Human Services Governor Tom Wolf How Intercom Achieves 86% Resolution Rates with Claude AI: A Customer Service Revolution - Anthropic Office of Developmental Programs Governor Tom Wolf |
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