Staying customer positive when you feel customer negative

Customer service professionals know that when they’re not feeling positive, those feelings can impact how they behave and negative behaviours will impact negatively on everyone they interact with. They also know that faking a positive attitude is hard work, and so sustainable only for a short time.

Working on the frontline of a business requires staff to be visible but it’s not unusual for frontline staff to forget they are being watched.

Rude or angry customers, unexpected changes, delays or errors can all have a negative effect on even the most skilled frontline staff and customers and co-workers will be on to them. Customers can pick a ‘faker’ from a mile away and co-workers, who know each other so well, will easily be able to identify when anyone in the team is not at their usual positive and service-focused best.

This means on some days, customer service staff will be required to make a greater effort to remain positive, and those are the times when choosing the right attitude will serve them and everyone they interact with, very well. Customer service professionals find when they make a conscious effort to change a negative attitude, they lower stress and increase positive feedback from customers and co-workers.

So what do customer service professional have that can turn those frowns upside down, espeically on the most challenging of days?

They have a tool box of attitude adjusters. The tool box includes active listening and empathy so they can handle customer who are angry or confused, they prioritise regularly so they can balance the day-to-day demands of their role and the are not only self aware, they can self regulate negative feelings. Self awareness and self regulation are components of Emotional Intelligence and they are key to keeping yourself and those around you feeling safe.

Customer service professionals have a positive attitude and a belief of ‘Yes, I can help’.

Be let’s be honest, consciously choosing a positve attitude at the start of every day is not always easy and maintaing that same positvity all day can sometimes feel impossible.

Situations in our personal lives and/or our mental and physical health can impact on our emotions negatively and make it difficult for us to concentrate, to think clearly and to smile. There have certainly been times in my career when, no matter how hard I tried, leaving those difficult thoughts and feelings at home was quite a challenge and staying home was a better option for everyone, including me.

When those times happen, staff must disclose their situation. Employers have a responsibility to provide every employee and visitor with a safe environments and one employee who is unable to complete their role safely or finds it difficult to interact professionally, can make it difficult for those around them to also remain productive and, in some cases, safe.

Staff in every business and at every level have a duty of care and disclosure of instances when staff may be feeling stressed, unwell or fatigued etc, allows the business leader/manager to consider the best steps for the workplace as a whole.

So when tough times happen, be kind to yourself and be honest with your employer, and take the time and support you need to recharge your customer service batteries. Time out for a chat or time away from the customer service component of the job can help staff recharge and return to work with a renewed attitude of service excellence.

If you would like to become or create a team of Customer Service Professionals, grab a copy of my book The A-Z of Service Excellence. Hard copy, e-book and audio versions are available.

By Cate Schreck - Director of Lightbulb Training Solutions