If you don’t like your job and you don’t like people, what are you doing in the service industry?
Customer Service deserves capital letters because it is at the heart of Human relations.
I wish people working in this industry could go to the shoes of their customers: they would understand how important the details of the first seconds are. We all are customers, when we go to the grocery store, when we go to the hair dresser, when we speak to our plumber. What do we expect when we push the door of a shop? Do you expect a “good morning”, a smile? Yes of course. Do you get it all the time? Of course not! Whether it is a big chain or a local shop, I am amazed to see so many unhappy people doing what they do. How can you reasonably expect to make a business success out of such a poor customer service? How can you expect customers to come back to your shop if you did not give them the minimum attention and respect?
Service is a very noble mission in life. It can even be a spiritual experience. Serving others is a privilege and if you put your heart in it, it becomes one of the most rewarding experiences of all.
To Serve with a capital S, you need to have certain values. You need to be Proud: Proud of yourself, proud of what you do, you need to love to help people, you need to be happy, to give the best you can.
When you are happy and you want to give your best, your day flies, you don’t look at the clock, and you enjoy yourself. You have the choice to be happy or not. Do you really believe that the unhappy people are the ones with the most terrible circumstances? Of course not. On the contrary, I met a lot of people with so many reasons to be sad, unhappy and depressed and most of the time, they are the most joyful people. They know what it is to have drama and they are grateful for what they have.
So many grumpy people are working in the service industry. If each of us would make an effort to be kinder, more helpful, smile, give a kind word, life would be so much better everywhere. We have a responsibility in the way the world is. If we can contribute with our way of Service to give a little bit of our positive energy, we can make a difference and if hundreds or thousands of us are doing the same, it can just change the all vibe of our city.
I am not going to talk about how undervalued the service industry is, how underpaid are people working in retail, even if it could help the process. Ultimately, it is not about money, it is about mindset, it is about self-responsibility and how you want your days to go.
Since 2008, about 10% of all high street businesses disappeared. The crisis is hard and it never has been more necessary to adapt and change to survive. Customer Service is definitely a way to improve the business and change future.
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