I’ve been working in customer service in some form for the past five or so years of my life. Working in this industry is not for everyone, but I have found I really enjoy it (which is why I’ve continued to do it for so many years).
Although working in customer service has it’s definite ups and downs, I’m here to give you some tips on how to succeed and enjoy it. Whether you’re working a customer service job now or are considering working one in the near future, this article is for you.
Don’t Take it Personal
First and foremost, don’t take things too personal. Sometimes a customer may act rudely towards you, and obviously that’s never a fun thing to deal with.
But always remember, the reason they’re acting this way could be because they had a bad day or they had a negative experience at your place of employment due to some circumstances that are completely out of your control. So just listen and try your best to help them.
If the customer really can’t be calmed down, it’s always okay to ask a manager for help.
Kill them With Kindness
Another solution in this scenario goes with the classic saying, “kill them with kindness.” It’s hard for a customer to stay mad at someone that’s being overly nice, so keep your composure and the customer might just calm themselves down.
One tip I wish someone would’ve given me before I started working in the industry is that it’s not the end of the world if you mess something up. If you’re like me, you hate to disappoint the people around you, so sometimes making a mistake at work can really bring you down.
But just keep in mind, the mistake you made probably won’t stay in the mind of these people around you for more than 10 minutes. And a new shift is always a new start! So don’t dwell on the negative beyond the shift.
Make Friends
This next tip extends beyond just customer service jobs and extends to jobs of all types, and that is to get to know your coworkers. I’ve found I have a lot more fun during my shifts when I feel comfortable talking to the people working with me. When you do this, a potentially boring or slow shift could turn in to one where you find yourself having fun.
Make an Effort
My last and possibly obvious piece of advice is to make the effort. Even if your customer service job is minimum wage and your only doing it to make yourself some extra spending money, it feels good to be good at your job. Taking the time to really become an expert at what you’re doing will make your shifts much easier, your managers and coworkers will be proud of you and maybe in time you could even earn a raise!
Actively doing these few things during my job over the years have really made me develop love for the jobs I’ve worked, and has kept me working in the customer service industry. Although it can be tough at times, the good shifts outnumber the bad ones and I’ve gotten to a place where I really enjoy being at work.
So hopefully if you take this advice and use in it your own life, you will experience this same outcome that I have.