The Don't Be a Jerk Rule of Customer Service
I walked into a local service centre last week, just in time to witness the manager scolding a customer for not having her tires re-checked within a week of them being put on.
“You can’t just assume that they were torqued correctly the first time,” he said loudly. “It’s just common sense. People make mistakes, you know. It’s a no-brainer. You want a wheel flying off while you’re on the highway?” The tone of his voice left no doubt that he thought she was a complete idiot, and the embarrassed expression on her face confirmed that he had succeeded in making her feel that way.
Yikes.
Rule #1: Don't be a Jerk
Here’s a customer service rule you can absolutely take to the bank: Don’t be a jerk. Really—just don’t.
There is no benefit and no justification—ever—for making a customer feel like an idiot. It serves no purpose and only creates negative outcomes. Should you educate your customers? Yes. Is it okay to skilfully and respectfully advise them, guide them and be transparent with them? Absolutely. But scold them? Never.
The reality of "difficult" customers
Most everyone in customer service has had to deal with at least one ‘difficult’ customer. But the reality is that ‘difficult’ is very much a relative term. A customer you might consider difficult might not be for one of your colleagues, and vice-versa. One of my favourite analogies was a time that I was struggling to change a tire on my car. It was too difficult for me to get off, so I called for service. The guy in the truck had it off in seconds. It turned out that the tire wasn’t difficult at all – I just didn’t have the skill or tools to do it.
The same is true with customers. The more skill you have and the better emotional tools you have, the less difficult they are. This is where training comes in. Sometimes, changing just one or two words is all the difference between customers perceiving you as someone who cares—or someone who’s a jerk.
The reality of "stupid" customers
There’s a reason that we take our computers and appliances to technicians—or that we go to doctors when we’re sick, or call a plumber when a toilet explodes. They know stuff that we don’t. Their expertise is different than ours. This doesn’t mean we’re stupid. It means we’re human.
The same is true for our customers. They come to you for a reason—they need something they think you can provide. Sure, their lack of knowledge or understanding might be frustrating, but is it fair to expect them to have the same level of expertise as you? Of course not. And if you make the mistake of coming across as a condescending know-it-all, it’s a guaranteed way to ensure they won’t come back.
You're probably not a jerk
The thing is, you’re probably not a jerk—even in your worst of moments. My job has provided me the privilege of meeting and working with tens of thousands of people in dozens of countries, and my experience has been that almost all are kind and well-intentioned. Even the jerkiest of jerks aren’t really jerks (most of them) when you sit down over a beer or a cup of coffee with them. They’re just normal people who don’t realize there’s a better way to do things.
