HAPPY 2009 THE YEAR OF CHANGE

Welcome to 2009! The Year Of Change. Does anything ever change? I mean really change? Well, change is what we make it. We can make up our minds to just continue with our lives - business as usual - or we can decide that we have to reach for our dreams. That itself begins with change. How do we wake up our minds to accept change? I realize that I cannot do it alone. You may be able to do so, but for some of us it takes an outside source to motivate us. You may be asking yourself, at this point, what does this have to do with customer service? Not much.. except to realize that change happens in all of our lives, even in customer service.

New Year.. Whine Whine Whine

With each passing year, I'm forced to face the reality that customer service may end up being that end all job that I never thought would be my end all. What do you do when you wake up and realize that the working world has moved pass you? When you realize that you probably won't ever be famous or write that great book that they say is inside of each of us? How do you take control of your life? Customer Service! Do you run screaming in the opposite direction or pretend that you do something else for a living. Or should you embrace your job and make the best of it. I say, when you feel you are at the crossroads of a new year, make it a new life. Create the person you want to be. Don't sit back and be a passenger on the big bus of life. Get back into the driver's seat. If you're really one of the persons who is in love with the idea of servicing customers, then don't apologize for your choice. And if customer service has chosen you. Choose life. Says, George and have that glass of WHINE.

Weekend Customer Service -At Home??

If you thought the customer service work week ended on Friday, you're wrong! You're still expected to provide customer service on Saturday and Sunday - to your family! Mothers are expected to keep everything together -kinda like the office manager. Fathers can be compared to the department manager, who expects work to somehow just get done. Brothers and sisters are your co -workers also known as your internal customers. The friendly visitors would be your 'customers'. The best part of the weekend, there aren't any telephone calls, or any angry customers to give you a hard time and put those customer handling skills to the test. So, go out and experience customer service in our community or town. See if you can you prove if the customer is always right. It's the weekend, enjoy because manic Monday is right around the corner.

Handling Holidays At the Office

How do you effectively navigate your way around celebrating -or not celebrating the holiday at work? Christmas time, New Year's Day and several others are all heavy holidays that require extra effort on the part of workers. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to actually tell your co-worker you don't celebrate Christmas. Everyone in earshot would turn around to hear who would ever be saying such a thing. Not to mention when the office coordinator or busy body is organizing a Secret Santa and you have to be viewed as Scrooge --just because you just don't want to participate. I love to subscribe to the belief that I do not like any pressure of any sort. I don't buy gifts and I don't expect gifts. In a good year I'll pass out Christmas cards to a selected few. What about the co-workers who don't celebrate the holidays for religious reasons? Doesn't it always seem like they may be against giving a gift- but never against receiving a gift. Well, the way I enjoy the holidays at work- Pot Luck. I love it when the office busy body organizes the pot luck.. that's when everyone brings in a dish and it's shared with the workers. That seems to be the best way to me to celebrate the holdiay at work. So, no gifts, please.. just food! Enjoy.

Surviving Manic Mondays

Monday is already considered the busiest (worst) day of the week, just for the mere fact that you have to go back to work after enjoying a fun filled weekend! Don't you just wish that we could just do away with Monday as the first day of work. It alway seems that every headache at work that happens on a Monday, just seems that much bigger. Managers, bosses, co-workers and yes, customers seem to ask the most prickly of questions on Mondays. It's almost like they start preparing on Friday evening to ask the most unheard unnecessary type of question ever known to mankind. And of course, you're the lucky worker who gets to respond to the question. Mondays are also filled with the customers who are just plain angry at whatever your company has or has not done for them. They're not happy to be doing whatever they're doing in their lives on a Monday, and are happy to have someone or a company where they can direct their anger. Well, you've got to know how to survive the mania of Monday. I've learned to psyche myself out to actually think that Mondays are happy. I wish everyone 'Happy Monday', and yes.. they look at you like you have three heads. I must confess it does take a little time to get used to yourself wishing others a 'Happy Monday'.. and the people around you -get used to hearing it. It really does work. The next step is to already accept that today (Monday) will be filled with challenges that can seem like you're climbing the tallest mountain. Just tell yourself that you'll do whatever it takes to maintain your compsure and everything in your power to help those around you and those you service to be 'happy'. If you begin to try these simple steps, you'll have the tactics for surviving manic Mondays.

How To Survive Office Politics

Just when you thought the political season was over, the office political climate is year 'round. And there are no white nights or any other color knights to come in with their knowledge and political savvyness to rescue you. How do you survive the wonderful work world of politicians? How can you learn to navigate the waters without stirring the pot that it creates a bad enrviornment for you to succeed? I've been there a time or two and I'm sure you have been, too. You may even be dealing with your own politics, as we speak. If so, I'd love to hear about the politics you're dealing with. Most of us can relate to dealing with having to appear a certain way and perform in a certain manner to accomplish our career goals, to some degree that would be considered politics. It's the mere fact that you have to do these things in order to get somewhere. Well, it's the somewhere "behavior" that I'm writing about today. The world ain't fair and we've got to learn to play the game or get played by the game. Should that be the message? Office politics, the boss, the employee, and even the customer. No one is immune to politics, of one sort or another.

Does The Internal Customer Contribute To Your Salary?

When you think about customer service, often you think of the person for whom you provide a service or product. You can more easily make the correlation that this person directly contributes to your salary. This person aka, the customer -the external customer. What about the internal customer? You, the worker, your co-workers, your supverisors and managers. You're all internal customers. Does the internal customer contribute to your salary? I say YES! What makes you an internal customer? Let's think about this for a second or two. When you analyze this from the perspective that we're all customers. I guess it could be stated that we're all internal customers in the big job of life. Well, with that in mind, think about yourself as a person seeking a service or product. We all want the most bang for our buck as a consumer. This is no different in your working life. We're all seeking the same journey, success, riches and happiness. Does this mean that we must get what we want first, before we're able to meet the needs of others? Somewhat like the old 'pyramid of needs'! Making sure you, the internal customer, have your needs met and perhaps you'll be a better customer service rep.