We = Everyone = One Team

A one team approach to customer service is vital in an organisation. I often refer to this statistic but not a lot of people believe it, so here it is:

Which of the following is the biggest single reason a business loses customers:

a) competition

b) indifference of one employee

c) word of mouth

d) Dissatisfaction with the product

... well, its 'b', the indifference of one employee!!!

I know what you are all thinking... how can it be? Well, I wondered this myself until it happened to me, and I resolutely did not return to the business in question after one employee and their poor customer service and manner including talking about how they hope that there will no more customers for the rest of the day - which made me feel uncomfortable! The competition is always there in the background, but people don't want to move unless they have to, so for someone to do so is a big deal. People thankfully aren't all sheep and so don't follow others and to a degree people will cope with a bad product for a few times. However, rudeness and an uncaring attitude at any point instantly turns people away. 

This rudeness and uncaring attitude will stretch internally within a team and create friction if one member of the team is unmotivated. I have seen brilliantly motivated new staff brought down by others. I always wonder why - if a person is not happy in their job - they don't just move on and gain a job they are happy in and be motivating and supportive to their teams rather than bring them down. You have to work for around 45 years - so make it count!

Most excellent customer service orientated people will not let this get to them and will shut out the negativity and put on a face after having a rude word spoken to them by a colleague - or customer - but others cannot and the adjusting of attitude as mentioned in last weeks first impressions blog may not happen when in the front facing role. So, unmotivated and thus rude internal colleagues can also create a stampede of customers moving to another product or service as this negativity creeps into customer service - customer can, tell you know! See above and overhearing two girls talking about customers - and I was one of them!

I have witnessed this time and time again in my career and my colleagues in the sector mention this too when an internal team do not act as one team or they talk about negative situations in front of a customer!

It is vital that everyone is on the same hymn sheet whatever department within an industry you are in. Take mine for example - education - where the departments include marketing, curriculum, IT, domestic support, facilities and estates, finance, student support etc etc. Everyone on an open day - as an example - needs to be supportive of each other and no one department is more important than another. We all have the same result in mind, to ensure a successful organisation, and that means working together. The cogs in a clock all need to work together to make the clock run and chime, and every person rowing a boat needs to row and work together and align to make it to the end and win. No one cog is more important than another and neither the cox nor the oarsman could win without each other. Teams need to work together which is why this blog is all about the 'we' and not the 'I'.

Team work makes the dream work! Something to consider on the eve of Christmas when a turkey needs cooking.... and basting...... and basting......and watching, washing up doing over and over again or the dishwater needs filling and emptying, the table needs laying, vegetables need chopping and roasting, gravy needs stirring and the pudding needs cooking. How about some team work with the utterance of three words to whoever is co-ordinating all of this ...."Can I help!" stolen from 'Oh What Fun' which you need to watch!

Happy Christmas All!