THREE REASONS WHY EMPLOYEES ARE RESISTANT TO GIVING GREAT SERVICE

THREE REASONS WHY EMPLOYEES ARE RESISTANT TO GIVING GREAT SERVICE

At this point, it is understood that the Customer Experience is crucial for the success of a business. Employee- Customer interaction is one of the most important aspects of the Customer Experience.

Customers like to buy from people they like. So naturally, there will be a correlation between employees being resistant to delivering great service, the resultant quality of that service and ultimately the cost of that poor service to the company. Poor Service impacts the company`s bottom line. 

Why are some employees resistant to giving great service? In this article, we speak to three causes that we have encountered during our Customer Care Intervention Projects. We also offer some suggestions on how to remedy these issues.

 

REASONS EMPLOYEES ARE RESISTANT TO GIVING GREAT SERVICE

1. LACK OF CONFIDENCE WITH NEW BEHAVIOURS

Sometimes employees are very unfamiliar with new Customer Care behaviours and it makes them cautious and self-conscious. People may also be afraid of ridicule because they are doing something new. Their colleagues and peers may say things to them like: “What`s up with you and this new style?” Even though the individual may want to progress and adopt the new behaviours, peer pressure will have an opposing influence. This lack of confidence may cause the individual to be a bit slow to adopt the new practices.

2. ORGANISATIONAL ISSUES

Another area that affects an organization`s delivery of Customer Care is internal issues. Employees may be feeling a level of discord with their team mates or a level of discontent with the organisation itself. More often than not when employees dislike our customers, they dislike our organisation.

3. PERSONAL DISCONTENTMENT

Sometimes people don`t want to do anything new because of personal issues that are happening at that point in time, or they may just have a level of discontent with life in general. If this is the case, it will be hard to stir up these high energy behaviours.

 

HOW DO WE REMEDY THESE ISSUES?

Some things to consider:

1.When Employees are Willing but Cautious

In the case of willing but cautious employees, it is crucial to recognize effort. Not everybody grasps things at the same time, not everybody is a “Usain Bolt” when it comes to the speed at which they adopt new behaviours. When we catch people in the act of giving great service, we need to recognize them on spot. This helps to reinforce their willingness to continue utilizing those behaviours. It also helps push them to a level of self-motivation where those behaviours become repeated behaviours and the ultimate payoff is that people do what they are supposed to do without supervision.

2. When There Are Organizational Issues

In the event that there are organizational issues that are preventing the delivery of quality Customer Care , the organizational issues have to be dealt with before any Customer Care Standards are to be implemented. We want to make sure that the company`s internal environment is positive and we have a very respectful internal community. The internal community needs to be caring and courteous. When internal customer care is very high, there will be a natural overflow of the same. The other thing that we want to make sure of is that the Managers and the Leaders have become the first adopters of the new practices and that they are leading by example.

3. When Employees Are Not Content Personally

This is probably the trickiest issue of all. If a significant number of staff have a high level of personal discontentment, it is going to be difficult for the company`s Customer Service Delivery to be improved. Often times personal discontent is the result of deep-seated beliefs that are not uplifting, and negative patterns of thinking. Even though at DRA Consulting we focus on Customer Care Culture Shifts, because of the nature of our interventions and our understanding of how people work, many times we are able to reach individuals at the core level through our interventions. We help them to detach from their personal discontentment issues and open up to new ways of thinking. This is the starting point for improved Customer Service Delivery.

KNOWING WHEN TO CALL IN THE EXPERTS

An important part of dealing with issues such as the ones outlined in this article, is understanding when to get assistance. When it comes to moving employees from where they are to where they want to be, you may want to consider getting the assistance of a qualified professional or an organisation that has the expertise in being able to utilise the kinds of methodologies that allow people to shift in behaviour.