Think and Grow Rich: 4 Ways to Improve Your Customer Service

Hello and welcome to Wonderful Wednesday!

Today I want you to Think and Grow Rich like the author, Napoleon Hill, said. Customer service and customer engagement can help pave the way. 

One of the purposes of this blog is to have you dig deep and reflect about your experiences with honor, a great work ethic and to inspire you to create a great customer experience plus customer engagement.

This week, I want you to think about how you view customer service. I believe riches abound in great customer service since it’s timeless, always needed and can’t be automated! I hope most of us have experienced the feeling of overwhelming pride, gratefulness and appreciation that comes from really serving someone. The dynamics of people deeply connected through interactions are very difficult to explain but the feeling is pure ecstasy and can definitely put a smile on your face.

Just remember how you felt when a barista, cashier, masseuse or retailer (physical or online) genuinely went out of their way to serve you and gave you the royal treatment. The likelihood you returned with friends or colleagues as well as recommended that service was greatly increased. Those money tips come in handy for the mentioned individuals, but it made you feel good as well. How can you get into that profitable customer service game?

I have four personal insights below:

1. Know your product or service and how it will help benefit the customer. Take full advantage of any training your organization provides to better educate yourself and become a subject matter expert (SME). Sometimes to thrive, you must take measures to educate yourself via Learning Management Systems (LMS), YouTube, the public library and the internet.

2. Listen and be attentive to your customer, colleague or client. You will never know how your hospitality, kindness and delivery will be rewarded now and in the future. i.e. promotion, SME on a project or praise. I personally witnessed a situation where a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus driver risked his position by not calling the Chicago Police and delaying the bus but instead asking a passenger to remove himself. He then escorted the traveler to the bus curbside, who was harassing the female commuters riding in the back. Once the trouble maker was off the bus, cheers went up and the CTA driver’s pride went soaring and his military training and how he could have been fired came up as part of the passengers’ discussion. Everyone felt good about his customer service after a brave female passage reported the nuisance to the attentive bus driver and action followed. I am sure someone called the CTA with a good report!

3. Understand that no matter how small or great, everyone wants to be treated with dignity and respect. Developing a great work ethic that includes great customer service is a windfall and dare I say it’s gold Them Thar Hills. It’s about your passion, dedication and drive to be the consummate professional. People want the results they are looking for, not excuses nor to be transferred to the company directory or an automated system. Demonstrate your commitment to earn their trust and their business. Just think about the last time you were transferred to an effective communicator that knew the product and services intimately and where to go if they did not have the answer and were joyful and courteous. In addition, your issue was resolved completely to your satisfaction.

4. Go the extra mile when no one is looking. Have you developed and disciplined yourself to create effective and consistent habits of success? I want you to be like one of the many NBA, NHL, WNBA, MLB and MLS sports members who practice day in and day out to develop their talents for success. So, the customer service experience you need to practice are communication skills, courtesy (thank you), listening and knowledge of your agency, company or institution’s product and services.

Key takeaways are for you to develop a positive and great work ethic that will inspire you to develop yourself and provide excellent customer service. I want you to experience the joys of service and creating deep bonds with others to enrich your life more than you even thought possible.

This will create opportunities for our various agencies and institutions to serve and engage the public in new and exciting ways that are principled and able to stand the enduring test of time. Don’t forget customer service and customer engagement may be the gold in your future!

Let’s grow together.

LaShun Perry  is part of the GovLoop Featured Contributor program, where we feature articles by government voices from all across the country (and world!). To see more Featured Contributor posts, click here.