Customer Service Excellence versus Customer Slavery
Good Morning!
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The third time for me.
I wake up in Australian Morning, Asian Morning and then American Morning.
Yes, I work three scattered shifts.
Often, people tell me, ‘You need to rest more’, ‘You need to look after yourself’ and so on. These people haven’t spent a single day with me, to see how and why I do three shifts and follow a split-pattern for sleeping and doing other day to day things of my life.
Then there are people who complain about my availability, and that it’s inconvenient to book me for 3,5,9 days later when I could have just had a 15 min conversation with them when I responded to their hello.
Many of these are same people who want me to look after myself.
Then there are also people who work around my lifestyle and acknowledge that I work hard to make things happen for my clients, team, family and myself. They appreciate that I am doing it despite always being on the go and constantly fighting against the clock.
I used to get stressed about the first two lots: The ones who made me feel the guilt of not looking after myself enough or the ones who expressed that I am not doing enough as per their expectations of me.
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I would get anxious.
And given my Clinical Depression, ADHD, OCD, Insomnia and Oneirophobia added with a touch of severe RSI, it was enough for me to come crumbling down and get very anxious and depressed in no time.
I’d blame myself. It was easiest thing to do to get them off my back!
Some even claimed my Mental Fitness challenges were a cover up, to excuse myself from my responsibilities. One such client was recently fired by me. That’s right I fired the condescending individual who preached about kindness but was nothing but a bully.
then in 2009 I woke up to my truth.
I did not owe any body an answer for how I worked, how I slept and how I lived my lifestyle especially if I was the one providing and they were the ones receiving. Their tactic of ‘Over Promising, Under Delivering’ did not work on me, because I knew what I promised and what I was delivering and where they had crossed the line of expecting beyond what they are entitled to receive.
I stopped caring so much about their irrational expectations.
When I say irrational, I specifically mean the expectations that were neither built by our contract agreement nor agreed upon at any time. More importantly if they expected magic but did not do their part completely or in time but wanted me or my team to deliver magical work anyway. I stopped beating myself over their inept work-style and taking the burden of their insecurities on me. At first they threatened to leave. I almost gave into the tactic but then I asked myself, “What do I have to lose if a client who does not respect the process, the effort and the team leaves us? Nothing. We get more time and space for those who do!”
BINGO! That was the moment when business and life started turning around and we started growing. I stopped confusing ‘Customer Service Excellence’ with ‘Customer Slavery’ and boom, we started getting clients who liked our direct, clear and structured approach. We introduced a ‘Client Compatibility Quotient’ which every client had to pass to be able to accepted. It worked. It still does and things are amazing.
In 2014 and 2019, I found myself falling back into the patterns of old-mistake of mixing up Customer Service Excellence with Customer Slavery. I must admit it was more because of my own personal compassion or affection towards couple of these projects/clients. It started creating a cycle of events I well recognized from the past. It took me a few months to get alarmed but thanks to a great team and lessons I learned the hard way, I knew when to stop.
and that’s one I fired not one, not two but three clients! It felt amazing!
Moral of the story is very simple
- If you are working sincerely
- If you have processes that work for you and majority of your clients
- If you are flexible enough to adapt to the needs of the clients despite those processes
- If you know when to say NO to the adaptation that is becoming slavery
- If you know you only want to deliver the best and it means honoring your process
You will continue to progress as a provider, a brand and a team. You will continue to build yourself and your clientele up. You will continue to create success stories that matter.
That is your branding, that is your integrity, that is your success.
So if you struggle with any of the above circumstances, business anxieties, difficult customer tactics, don’t fret. Believe in yourself and let’s talk to see how I can help you build a confident brand, team and work-culture that does not compromise itself under pressures. Book A Session NOW.
Featured Photo Courtesy: Helena Lopes
