09 Sep 09 Brush Up Those Customer Care Skills

Customer service skills are important to have at a variety of jobs, as almost every business is a for profit industry.  Part of working for profit is getting people to pay you for a service, and likely at some point you’ll have to directly deal with those people.  Your customers are important, they are the lifeblood of your company and your job.  So knowing how to handle them in the proper way is invaluable.  Even if you don’t typically deal with customers at your job now, it’s good to have the knowledge on hand.  You never know when you’ll end up with a job where you just might have to.

First off it’s important to know how to maintain an appropriate work demeanor.  Remember that your customers are the basis of your business, and treat them as such.  Without their money you don’t have a job, so part of your task is to ensure that they are happy with what their money is doing for them.  Keep everything professional but be courteous, and always take someone’s mood into account.  At times you have to relay information that can anger a customer, and work through it with the customer.  Don’t give up or let their bad mood control yours.

Don’t bring your stress to the customers.  If you’ve had a bad day, or feel that something just didn’t go your way, don’t take it out on your customers.  Keep your personal feelings personal.  This way you can maintain a professional atmosphere that people will want to participate within.  Always keep professional and courteous, that’s pretty much the name of the game.

You basically need to have the patience of a saint sometimes.  So just remember, you’re being paid to do a job, and part of that job is waiting for customers to work through their own frustrations.  Whether it’s you having to explain the same points over and over again, or if they just seem to have an angry disposition, work through it.  Don’t let their mood or inability to quickly understand you affect your mood.  You’re there to help, and are being paid to do so, so jut take everything in your stride and have the patience to deal with customers effectively.  So just don’t take anything personally, and get the job done remaining professional and courteous.

Tags: Anger, Bad Day, Bad Mood, Customer Care, Customer Service Skills, Demeanor, Frustrations, Job, Jobs, Lifeblood, Money, Mood Control, Name Of The Game, Patience Of A Saint, People, Personal Feelings, Professional Atmosphere, Stress