It is still summer and I am in a vacation mood. So well, what to write about then? About sun, sea and beach? About ice cream, chips and the two dozen cucumbers we gnawed away on that beach?
I'll just leave out the staff shortage for now, because that's an unsociable topic. We know it by now. We have to wait longer for our coffee and our suitcases. Fewer trains are running and even in the call centers you are on hold a little longer. All this requires something new from us as customers. Patience.
Fortunately, we are totally prepared for that. Right? Because we got the vacation over with, went to that beach and went on endless walks. We watched the sunset from that mountain and rested up nicely. Ready for the last few months of 2022.
I do predict, in the coming time, we may luck out as customers. We get to practice patience and kindness. Something we may have lost in recent times. I would call for a loving approach to all staff serving customers. In restaurants, at the bakery, the butcher, in call centers, the delivery drivers, receptionists, stewards, cleaners and front desk staff. By now you understand.
Be prepared for the upside-down world. The wait staff is in power. Not us as customers, but them, on the other side of the bar. Because somewhere they disappeared. Did they prefer to work at the COVID test locations. With a mask on they stuck a stick in noses and throats to test. Rather that, than serve us as customers. And I can understand that. After all, how much fun are we as customers? Those disgruntled heads, drumming impatient fingers and disapproving looks. Maybe it's because of ourselves, the customer? That has to change.
So are you ready? To start being the coolest version of yourself? To start calling the insurance call center with a smile when your prolongation bill is not clear? To just add another five, when you wait five minutes for your cappuccino, and then say a cheerful Thank You to that girl on the terrace, who is very clearly having her first day at work?
As customers, let us be the reason why everyone wants to work in customer service again. Of course also because it's great work in organizations and good pay. But mainly because customers are nice. Because they are patient, even when things don't work out for a while. Because customers give compliments. In the coming months, be the best version of yourself as a customer. The world needs us.
This blog was written for CustomerFirst and published on September 6, 2022
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