Carpe Deum

There are no such things as mistakes just happy accidents.

Bob Ross

Every mistake will always have the potential to be a learning experience. It may be an opportunity to try something new or see something from a different perspective.

The chance to learn a new direction or take a different path moving forward and benefit from the “mistake” should be seized much the same as an obvious golden opportunity. Every mistake can be a key to a new solution, perhaps one that no one knew was needed to begin with.

Kindness Counts

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

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Always remember you may not know the circumstances another person is dealing with. An act of kindness, even the smallest and simplest ones, will go much further to improve any situation than almost anything else you can offer.

When dealing with a distraught person, and remember a customer is a person first and foremost, always remember to be at least considerate and that small act of kindness may be the key to resolving the issue at hand … and even if it doesn’t solve the issue you will see that it will have made it much easier to deal with. Give it a try!

Always be kind.

Aspirations

Those at the top of the mountain didn’t fall there.

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Having a goal is as important as what the goal actually is although you must still work towards achieving that goal as it is not going to just happen because you want it to.

Much like Mallory said when he looked at Mount Everest, sometimes a goal is just because it’s there and often times not something you get done on your own. Always remember those who helped you climb the mountains of your goals as they deserve the recognition as much as you deserve to enjoy your achievement.

Even Angry Customers Offer Benefits

The eyes of a vengeful man miss few details he can turn to advantage.

“Robinton” in the novel Dragonquest by Anne McCaffery

Angry and disgruntled customers are often times the most observant and critical. Ideally, you can take what they are saying and make use of their feedback to recognize and fix issues they are reporting. Aside from correcting problems and concerns these updates may also turn the tide in the customer’s view of your product offering.

Smile

Wearing a smile is telling everyone you are here to help.

No matter the issue or question you are addressing and no matter how you are addressing it always smile. Smile in your heart and put a smile on your face, too!

When you communicate with a smile it comes through to the person you are having a conversation with and it will help keep things moving more smoothly and with less stress and frustration.

It’s much easier to work with people when you smile as you have a natural feeling of goodwill and empathy towards others built into every smile you share.

A smile is a great stress reliever and allows you to relax that much easier. Approaching the customer in a relaxed low-stress manner will also help difuse difficult situations.

One Tribe

Staying on course and getting to your destination is just as important as following your heart to the same place on the map.

Although it’s great to have a list of questions and answers to follow it is often better to know those questions and answers and be empowered to go off script as needed.

Great customer care comes from the intuition and empathy of the support team and they should be striving towards this at all times.

The key to having this “tribal knowledge” approach based on intuition and empathy is to use it as the basis for the common documentation all team members use.

Focus

Do one thing at a time. Do it well. Move on to the next.

There are many proponents of “multitasking” which I find is better described as the skill of focusing on one thing at a time with the ability to seamlessly shift that focus to other things as needed without losing a beat. By expanding and enhancing this skill you will find you are handling multiple tasks at the “same time” whenever the need arises.

A key concept to take into consideration here is documentation. Make notes of your progress and steps taken so you can easily return to the task at hand and know where you were; or, when in a team environment, allow another to pick up where you left off.

Working to improve recall and other similar memory functions will also help to make these shifts in focus much more seamless as well and remember to always use what works best for the environment you find yourself in.

Moving Forward

Never stop growing, there will always be a bigger role to fill.

Being complacent in your work or your life will eventually lead to stagnation. You should always be looking forward to possibilities and potential as they will always be in front of you no matter the path you take.

Passion

Skills are cheap. Passion is priceless.

Gary Vaynerchuk

Instilling a passion into a person, whether it be to help or by helping, will be your greatest achievement in providing support. You cannot buy passion for a product, it must be earned by the quality of the product and the company providing it.

Recognition

A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is expected.

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Letting someone know they are doing a good job is sometimes all you need to do to give them the incentive to continue to improve on the work they are already doing.