IT is so rare to get great customer service these days that when you do get it, the surprise is wonderful.
I went to the General Post Office on Monday morning to pick up a small parcel and although I felt fairly neutral about going there, I was leaning towards feeling bothersome about going there first thing on a Monday morning of all days.
I had no idea what to expect since the post office is pretty alien to me…yes I am one of those people who, 99.9% of the time have absolutely no need to use the establishment or its services since I am very well comfortable with the good old internet for sending all my mail, keeping in touch and heck, even paying my bills and shopping.
I am almost embarrassed to say that I have almost forgotten how to construct a formal letter…Almost. I also feel like a tourist in a foreign land when I’m at the post office as I have no idea what to do, where to go or how to conduct business there.
It is with these facts that I felt some slight apprehension about going to pick up my package but I must say that I got a pleasant surprise that lifted my spirits for the day.
When I walked into the building, I told one of the clerks that I was here to pick up a package and she directed me to the correct station with a lovely smile.
Once at the pick-up spot, I waited in line as two customers ahead of me were served and even then, the clerk looked over to me and said with a smile; “I’ll be with you shortly” to which I replied; “Sure, no problem”…I too, smiling.
Then it was my turn. I noticed that the clerk was in the process of showing a young trainee the ropes but even then, they were both so very pleasant so much so that I didn’t even mind that I was being served by a trainee.
The best bit came when the trainee went into the mail room to retrieve my package and out of nowhere, another clerk came over with a beaming smile and asked if I was OK and whether I was being served or not.
I couldn’t help but nod to her with my mouth agape and a look of satisfactory approval on my face.
Before I knew it, the trainee was back with my belongings and with one signature and another smile, I was done.
Now, why can’t all establishments be like this one where the friendly customer service has the potential to calm even the grumpiest of Scrooges?
I’m so used to being ignored or having eyes rolled at me for no good reason that I’d forgotten what it felt like to receive friendly customer service.
Another business I feel it necessary to highlight, or should that be “businesses”, are the Super J establishments as I always receive friendly reception there. I also have to give some serious kudos to the cashiers as I can tell you that these people get verbally slaughtered on a daily basis by rude, irate, loud and downright vile customers yet they always seem to keep their calm composure and not falter under pressure…to you all I tip my hat because you definitely have more patience and tolerance in the tips of your pinky fingers than I do in my entire body.
As I mentioned above, I know there are customers who are absolute NIGHTMARES ON LEGS but like the staff at the popular supermarket chain have continued to show, there really is no excuse for the way that some people serve customers. If you don’t like your field of work, find a new one but please keep the bad attitudes away from the customers.
Whilst I believe that the saying; “The customer is always right” is pure and utter nonsense, I believe that as representatives of whatever business that you work for, you need to practise courtesy, patience, tolerance and how to smile for goodness sake…there are many ways to skin a cat , se pa tout chienkihapé, ounipou di mash.
There are many establishments that I can think of where the staff are horrid and off putting. One can go there with the biggest of smiles and politeness to sell but the bad customer service acts like big steel toe boots just trampling on whatever rainbows and sunshine some good customers exude.
There are also places where one can go to purchase lunch or clothes or to pay for services and rather than getting served, they will hear the entire life stories of their servers, the servers best friends, worst enemies, uncles, cousins, nennens and their cat since the servers will either be on the phones or chatting with other customers or colleagues.
Many servers might fail to realise that smiles and politeness are powerful and highly infectious. Whilst I do recognise that there will always be angry gnomes that no one can please, a smile and politeness will go far and almost certainly guarantee you a day with smoother customer traffic…take a leaf out of the staff of the post office’s book.
