Letter to My Readers

Recently it has been brought to my attention that a few of my blog articles contain a critical undertone. For this I apologize to my readers. My intention is not to create another blog/website dedicated solely to ranting and complaining about receiving poor customer service, but to offer practical solutions, which have been perfected over time and through experience, that will improve all facets of customer service.

My goal is to provide a platform where my articles will enlighten the reader while stimulating his desire to excel at serving others. Occasionally I will write a life story, as an example, to illustrate my point.

As a Chinese proverb states, "Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

A consumer’s emotional spectrum ranges from the high end--satisfaction and loyalty, to the low end--frustration and hostility. Sometimes each end of the emotional spectrum is experienced by the consumer during a single transaction or encounter with a company. Leaving the consumer totally confused and with mixed emotions. Usually though, the consumer’s emotional needle leans and stays more towards one end of the spectrum during and after each encounter or transaction.

Being a consumer, I, too, participate in this roller coaster ride of emotions. With my passion for and expertise in teaching customer service, my personal service experiences are magnified three to four times the norm. My emotional needle tends to gravitate towards one extreme end or the other. Either being totally satisfied or extremely frustrated. Lately, most of my service experiences have my emotional needle hovering near the low end, like a gas gauge registering barely above the empty notch. Frustration, at the lack of good quality customer service, has become my constant and unwelcome companion.

As a business coach, I must be diligent in my pursuit of objectivity, poised in my demeanor, and strive to constantly maintain a professional manner at all times. It does not matter if I am giving a speech on customer service, conducting a training course, or writing a blog article, I must guard against personal frustrations creeping in and overwhelming my message. I realize being overly critical or writing with a spirit of criticism will have a counterproductive effect on my readers. In future articles I will make a conscious effort to write more informatively and less critically.

In this article, contrary to what I wrote earlier, you will not find any “how-to” solutions. Instead I implore the reader to invest some time reflecting upon the customer service he or his company delivers. Begin by asking two stimulating questions: Have any of your customers ever felt frustrated with you, your product, your service, or with your company for any reason? Has their frustration caused a shift in their level of satisfaction or had a negative impact on their loyalty towards you, your product or your company?

If the answer is yes to either question have no fear. Help is on the way.

In the coming weeks we will journey together along the path that leads over the hill of customer service, through the woods of customer satisfaction, and across the river of customer retention, ultimately reaching our final destination, the valley of customer loyalty.