‘Customer service is all about acting, sometimes’ – Yvonne MacCarthy
For the sake of quality customer service delivery, one must act, “sometimes,” learning to put on a smile, being pleasant despite one’s temperament, or zigging where one’s emotions may zag, an expert and trainer has highlighted.
In an exclusive interview on Class 91.3 FM’s Class Morning Show, Yvonne Ohui MacCarthy spoke to Prince Benjamin (PB).
The lead consultant at the Institute of Customer Service Professionals (ICSP) premised her perspective on the assertion “customers are situational,” and should not be seen as “difficult” as popular opinion suggests.
To help, she advocated emotional intelligence (EQ), which she explained covered not only learning to manage one's own emotions but also learning to positively regulate the emotions of others – customers, in this instance.
“Just like you wake up in the morning and have some bad news [or] you’re not feeling too well, customers are going through the same, if not worse, sometimes – they’ve been told they have a terminal illness, they’re going through a divorce, they just lost somebody – you never know what the issue is,” Yvonne said.
She emphasised the need to have a “mindset shift” the moment one got to their post, so as to “create the [right] experience” for the customer as “the service provider”.
“Take off your old emotions like a dress when you enter your place of work,” she added, asserting: “When you enter your place of work, it’s lights, camera, action!”
The Board Chair of the West African Association of Customer Service Professionals categorically said: “Customer service is all about acting, sometimes. You have to put on an act to make the customer happy.”
The customer service thought leader said it was professionally acceptable for a service agent dealing with a heavy personal issue to seek to be excused from duty by their supervisor. Another option, she added, would be to ask to be positioned where one would not deal with customers directly and or for prolonged periods.
Yvonne MacCarthy has trained representatives of diverse organisations including banks, embassies, etc. She is the creator of the revolutionary Ghana Customer Service Index (GCSI).
Take a moment to rate your customer service experience in Ghana in 2024 by clicking here.
Trending Business
Fuel companies increase pump price
10:27Inclusive insurance is an untapped viable business opportunity – Insurance professionals told
21:02V/R: Ho Assembly Members petition OSP to investigate property rate collected by GRA
16:16Skills training drives economic development –Prince Obeng
14:595th cohort graduation of Kayayei empowerment programme: 620 women successfully complete
13:38ADB board chairman resigns over allegations of extortion
00:47Five-day workshop on textile waste management ends in Accra
11:54BoG directs ADB chair to resign over allegations of misconduct
09:07Newmont, MKS PAMP partner to launch Mine-to-Market Traceable Gold Bar
10:52Customer Service Week: Citizens, organisations are customer service agents of the country – Yvonne McCarthy
23:48