Excerpts from The Edge Up

“Attitude” Adds to 100
Is it a coincidence that when you assign the number of its position in the alphabet to each letter in the word “attitude” and add it up, the total comes to 100? (1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5=100) Surely the wordsmiths of the English language didn’t carefully calculate the numerology in the word “attitude,” but it’s there nevertheless.

Read success books or talk with success coaches and you’ll find the key element in good customer service, as well as in business in general, is attitude. Sometimes it’s the attitude of the customer and sometimes it’s the attitude of the employee. But no matter how you look at it, the attitude of one can affect the attitude of the other.

One of my favorite stories is about a man who became a monk and joined a strict monastery where they were allowed to speak only two words every ten years. After the first ten years, he said, “Bed hard.” Ten years later, when it was his turn to speak, he said, “Food bad.” After another ten years, the monk once again said his two words, “I quit.” The monk in charge said, “I’m not really surprised. After all, he’s had a bad attitude for 30 years!”

You can probably think of someone who’s attitude has needed improvement for a long time, like our monk in the story.

We’re talking here about the positive, customer friendly attitude of employees in customer service and the attributes necessary to keep them positive. Where it’s relatively easy to identify bad attitudes in others, it’s much more challenging to assess one’s own attitude. Examine the following characteristics and determine if your attitude is as positive as you want it to be. The following elements of a positive attitude are basic to the winners in the customer service game.

Do you solve problems creatively?

Do you continually thinks of solutions that no one else comes up with? This requires looking at a problem from a unique perspective, one that takes extra effort and thought. Most likely, you’re excited about the possibility of solving a problem. You seem to get great satisfaction from problem solving and are probably known as a positive person.

Are you persistent?

Customer service winners never give up. Persistence is their middle name. When there’s a problem with a customer, they keep at it until the problem is solved and the customer is satisfied. For the average person, it’s easy to give up after two or three tries. For the persistent, two or three tries are just the beginning.

Do you expect the best in any situation?

Customer service winners expect the best out of both people and situations. They expect to succeed and they know that positive expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Do you take personal responsibility?

Customer service winners accept responsibility for their actions and take responsibility whenever they can to solve the customer’s problem. They are aware of their mistakes or failures and use them to learn and improve. They are generally confident and happy people.

Are you committed to succeed?

You can only succeed if you’re determined to do so. Committing to succeed takes a lot of energy, enthusiasm and determination, but in the end, the rewards are there: happy customers, happy employees and a positive attitude.

Are you devoted to what must be done?

Customer service winners don’t expect to get something for nothing. They are well aware that there’s a price for every success - time, effort, creativity and energy.

Do you think positively in adverse situations?

Attitude-wise, we all have two choices in life. One is to face each day 1) aiming to discover what can be done or 2) worrying over what can’t. It takes as much energy to think the crops won’t grow, for example, as it does to expect to produce record yields!

Do you truly appreciate your customers?

When things go well, it’s easy to show appreciation to customers who are grateful for your assistance. When the day becomes busy, the phone rings constantly and your boss has unusual demands, it’s difficult to remember that it’s the customer who pays your salary.

How did you do? Does your attitude add up to 100? Is your attitude golden? One of my clients delights in passing out a gold lapel pin that spells “Attitude” to those he feels measure up. “You’ve got a golden attitude,” he says as he presents the pin. Would you give yourself a “golden attitude” pin? It makes a difference to those with whom you work and your customers as well.

June Van Klaveren - 800-779-0067 - Website design by Compelling Communications
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