I was on the phone the other day with a customer service rep—whose company should thank me, as they will remain anonymous to my readers here. Anyhow, I was totally shocked at how they seemed to be annoyed with my questions. This is certainly the exception, at least in my life that is…

Now then, let us not lose hope in thinking all customer service was dead! The other day I was on the phone with the good folks at NRS—Northwest River Supply. It amazed me how friendly, willing to answer questions and helpful these people were. It honestly made me feel as though I was a welcomed customer and that all my seemingly endless questions were not an issue for her to answer.

Another moment such as this was when I went to a national restaurant chain called “Five Guys Burgers and Fries” and was impressed with the fact that no matter how busy they appeared to be, there was always time for the guy taking my order to make me feel like I was not just a customer, but more like a friend. Seriously. This guy took the time to just make me feel at ease, that I was welcomed and he was happy that I was there. It was in the way he spoke to me, the way he listened and just made me feel like I was “at home” while at the place.

If we can take these lessons and adopt them to the way we present our companies to clients, co-workers and potential clients, odds are we’ll begin noticing a better rapport in the office and a more open channel of communication—not to mention happier people on both sides of the phone/keyboards.

So why not take the time and find out how this could affect your business? It isn’t that hard to “put on a happy face,” right?

--C. Cook