After 13+ years in customer service I got pretty good at reading people and figuring out what type of customer they are. If a customer is constantly looking at their watch and they don‘t talk very much, most likely they don’t want to be bothered. Then there are customers who don’t mind telling you their life story. Those are the customers you will want to try to get as much information from - like their phone number or mailing address to send Thank You cards to. My experience has shown me that the customers that like to talk will come back to you over and over again if you just listen to them. At times I’ve had to play psychologist to customers - which was ok because I was a psych major in college...To be a good customer service rep you need to be your customer’s friend too!
So going back to my friend and her theory that customer service is different in San Diego vs. Chicago....She’s still young - she’ll learn ;)
Your friend has a point. I have lived in many different parts of the US as well as in various other countries including Asia and in my opinion she is right on. In fact you both are and that is what faces most new business owners that relocate or open up businesses in new areas.
Culture isn't necessarily something that is driven by an ethnic grouping it is an area in which people develop similar responses and ideas, hence Midwest vs. San Diego, San Diego vs. Seattle, Chicago vs. Racine, or the Bronx vs. Up State New York. It does make a difference in the way you see and address the customers and the way you evaluate them.
Some areas are homes to specific culture groups than others; such as San Diego with its population of Latin American natives and decedents. But this is actually part of learning about your clients. It’s more than their name and phone number but it also embodies their culture.
Posted by: Tim Whelan | September 7, 2006 5:07 AM | Permalink to Comment