Having worked most of my life in media, I have a lot of sympathy for people that have much more customer facing roles. Dealing with the public can be challenging in an increasingly confrontational world. What is key to training for customer service is managing temperament but also thinking about the language you use. It is also critical to have good communication during a grievance or complaint process. Communication is often the biggest weakness in organisations and ironically it is a major issue in media organisations, which deal in comms day-to-day.
I was reminded of this last point during a recent issue we had when our front wall was knocked down by a vehicle turning around in our drive. We returned from holiday to find the damage and a note from a very apologetic parish council driver who had hit the wall. Frustrating yes, but some people would have driven off without leaving a note. So that was a good start. From then it went downhill.
During a prolonged and painful process of getting the council's insurance company to approve our quote for the repair, the communication from everyone involved was terrible. But not only did we have to constantly chase the insurance company, when we did speak to people the messaging was poor. We were told by the parish council that they could not help as it was an insurance issue. Happily, though, they could tell us that they had had their damaged vehicle repaired already, adding that they must have 'jumped through the hoops quicker'.
When we then chased the council leader after numerous emails, we were told that he had not replied to our email because he was on a cruise. Firstly, when you are on holiday I recommend and out of office reply but secondly why tells us these things? When you are angry about something, these comments only fan the flames. Great, you have your van back on the road and plus we are delighted the council leader is enjoying a nice break!
This is all about language and reading the room. Whether you are the prime minister dealing with claims of too many freebies, a football CEO talking about a crisis at the club or a staff member at a parish council dealing with an angry resident, thinking about what you say is so important. It is about training obviously, but also it is about empathy. Putting yourself in the 'other' position should help you to frame your language. It could be that you will never make the complainant feel happy, but you should avoid making things worse.
In our situation it took more than three months for the wall to be repaired and to receive payment for the work from the insurance company. It should not take that long but we should also be treated with understanding and respect whilst the issue is dealt with. Here we are talking about the local authority that is supposed to look after its residents. If it cannot deal with us like humans, then what hope is there?
In 2024 we are surrounded by ways to communicate easily with people, but so often we fail to use them properly. When disputes need to be resolved in the corporate sector, we say the organisations are having 'talks'. That is because talking is good, and we should do it more. Not find weak excuses to ignore complaints or customers/clients that need help. Even if you cannot resolve the issue easily, tell them this. Increased communication leads to stronger relationships and to more trust. And funnily enough it really isn't that hard!
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