Customer service is really just human relations
Column by Anthonette Klinkerman
Fall is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year. The sugar maple outside is turning a fiery red, the acorns have popped out on the scrub oak, and there are Pumpkin Spice Lattes to be had at every coffee stop. Warm fuzzy feelings are everywhere. We hope.
The season of consumption is beginning. While a few relatives have claimed their Christmas shopping was completed back in September, I have to work myself into motivation to shop. I am not crazy about crowds, but by the time I finish procrastinating I am forced to deal with them.
Customer service is going to be the name of the game this season. Here in Castle Pines, I am pleased to say I have experienced the upper tier of customer service. Years ago when my daughter was a baby, I was emerging from King Soopers to find it had started raining. Correction: pouring.
An employee saw me standing there with that perplexed/exhausted new-mom look on my face, and offered to watch my daughter while I ran for the car. That look of “I have no idea who you are, and you think I’m going to leave MY baby with you?” must have crossed my face. She noticed it and offered instead to go get my car.
Still not quite believing it, I handed the employee my keys and watched her dash off into the rain. Within moments my car whipped up in front of the store. I quickly put my daughter and groceries in, and tearfully thanked the employee before she disappeared.
That very afternoon, I sent a letter to the store recounting the story of the employee’s simple act of kindness. Later I found out that during a store staff meeting she was recognized in front of everyone by the manager. He was holding the letter I had written.
Acknowledging one another as human beings in the first place is the best form of customer relations. That goes for both sides of the counter. That employee recognized my plight, and I recognized her efforts.
Remember as the frenetic activities of the season begin that we are all human beings and deserve to be treated as such. Take some time today to compliment someone for a job well done. Mark Twain once said, “I can live two months on a good compliment.” That ought to get us right through New Year’s.
