1. Overcoming Customer Service Obstacles
From the video, it is clear that assumptions in the workplace may hinder communication. In this case, the business largely depends on communication as a major factor in successfully running the operations. As pointed out in customer service, majority of customers hold the expectation that if they make a fair payment, in return, the organization will provide a quality service or product. If the organization fails to meet the expectations, the customer often visits a rival firm where the service/product provided meets their expectations for the paid money. The fact that customers expect quality service gives rise to a requisite for customer service professionals with better-training and better-education to fulfill their expectations ( Anderson & Bolt, 2013) . As such, the service professionals require to have up-to-date service/product information to enable them to be keep ahead of their process during interactions with customers.
Similarly, it is necessary for them to be well-informed of recent organizational procedures and processes, and the newest approaches in consumer service and fulfilment. As such, Joel seems at fault in missing these fundamental aspects. Every organization recognizes that if it fails to fulfil the service expectations, the customers look elsewhere thus losing business and income. As a customer-based organization, the focus has to be on providing exceptional service and in a setting where the customer needs are recognized and fulfilled ( Lucas, 2012) . Changes in the service sector require proactive approaches different from previous decades where organizations focused on responsive approaches to service through waiting for the client to ask for something or through making recovery efforts following a service failure. Previously, the customer service focused on customer discontent or sought to resolve problems upon occurrence. However, the current trends require the management in strictly customer-focused organizations to empower staff in all ranks to engage in necessary measures for customer satisfaction. Through the concept of service recovery, management has to give employees the authority to act without requiring initial intervention by management and in so doing, work towards effectively resolving customer issues.
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2. Serving the Customers We Don’t Want To
It is not uncommon to have customers complaining about the quality of specific services, especially in the restaurant business. In the video, perceptions might play into the communication between the waitress and the customer. From the behavioral preferences, the style clearly affects the type of service that the customer wants. The customer’s approach to the situation implies that based on her perception, she does not expect the waitress to take particular actions. She also harbors the perception that the sandwich will appear in a certain way and taste in a specific way based on her background experience in the restaurant. As it turns out, the customer depicts highly decisive behavioral tendencies as he directly expresses her disappointment and is not willing to accept alternative suggestions.
Using the knowledge of behavioral styles, various strategies could be utilized to eliminate service barriers in similar instances. One of the strategies involves being professional and avoiding any form of verbal retaliation. Applying this strategy requires working with the customer to arrive at an acceptable solution ( Lucas, 2012) . Another strategy is focusing attention on the customer’s needs through being assertive as opposed to being aggressive. It may also require requesting the customer to go with you to a more private location to allow a fruitful negotiation. The other strategy involves depicting respect to the customer through positive non-verbal cues, addressing him/her by their name and making it clear that the customer is important to the organization. Ultimately, the strategy of telling the customer on what can be done works in such a situation. Showing willingness to do something and being open to requests works effectively in resolving the issue.
References
Anderson, L. E., & Bolt, S. B. (2013). Professionalism: Skills for workplace success . Prentice Hall.
Lucas, R. W. (2012). Customer service: Skills for success . McGraw-Hill.
