The continuing coverage of JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater and his infamous exit from a plane (and possibly his job) last week offers some great food for thought for those in customer service. Here are some interesting angles that may be useful topics of discussion at your workplace.
Can You Both Command and Serve? Flight attendants have to endure great disparity in their roles – they have to both direct the actions of their passengers (for safety) and make them comfortable (for satisfaction.) It’s a challenging role that can cause major internal conflict. How can you be stern when necessary, without alienating your customer? And how can you be kind when someone is acting out? This type of service is common in many industries and the right approach varies for each. For example, in the medical field, patients can be difficult. They don’t feel well and they may be undergoing painful tests and procedures.
It is imperative, in this type of service, that you and your team rehearse potential scenarios. When your response to difficult situations is practiced, you’ll be able to keep your own emotions in check. Another way to ingrain positive service approaches is to hold weekly staff meetings, during which your managers review difficult situations they encountered and how they solved them. This allows younger staff members to learn from the experiences of more seasoned employees.
What If You’re Going to Explode? What if – like Steven Slater – you feel like you just can’t handle any more customer contact? Before you blow it and potentially lose your job (or worse – get crazy amounts of media attention for your bad behavior), stop and take three really deep breaths. I know it sounds trite, but deep breaths have a physically calming effect. Deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, releasing hormones that work to relax you. If you are able, take a short walk outside AND take a really deep breath of some fresh outside air. The change of scenery will help, too. If you don’t feel that either option will be enough to calm you down, go to a manager or a co-worker for immediate assistance. Let them manage the customers while you take a break.
What If Your Customers Are Stressed Out and Combative AND You’re Not Up to the Challenge? The airline industry has struggled financially and politically for the last several years. Since 9/11, passengers have to go through heightened security procedures, can’t bring as much as a bottle of water on a flight, and sometimes feel like suspects from the minute they enter the airport. With the recent financial instability and corporate mergers in the airline industry, flying customers are offered less amenities while flight attendants suffer pay cuts and lay-offs. It’s a volatile situation that leaves many customers crabby and combative before they even take their assigned seat. What if you’re not up to the challenge of the new airline industry customer?
Steven Slater had some serious family issues, including his father’s recent death and his mother’s cancer diagnosis, which made it extremely challenging for him to manage stress productively. If you end up in a similar situation, before you completely lose your cool, talk to your supervisor and find out what they can do for you. Is there a behind-the-scenes position you can take while you get through your challenging personal situations? Is there an employee assistance service that you can use? Can you take a short leave of absence while you get counseling to get you through? Take care of yourself during difficult times so you can properly take care of your customers like a true service professional.
While many laud Steven Slater as a customer service hero who told his combative customer off, I see him as a service provider who was struggling both personally and professionally. If you feel a similar scenario coming on, seek help before you take the emergency chute to the unemployment line.
What do you think? Have you and your team developed strategies for working with challenging customers and situations?
written by Lori Jo Vest on www.whosyourgladys.com
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