Making or Breaking of Service - Listen

Most of us who work in the front line, directly attending to customers, will spell the difference between satisfying a customer, or leading a customer away. Most often that difference can be made by the simple act of listening. What does it mean really to listen to a customer?



We would all probably be able to relate easily to service as exemplified by our frequent visit to our favorite fast food place. We would normally fall in line and wait for our turn to be served at the counter. And I know, you know it very well that during peak hours such as lunch time, the lines can become pretty long. It may take a few minutes before you are actually in front of the cashier, and by the time you get there, you just want to get things over with as you are either already very hungry, or your lunch break is almost over.



So you place your order, your order is repeated, you acknowledge and pay for it. The servers do a little dance about the counter, to get your order ready. Lo and behold, when you get your order, you find out they miss out on one of the things you specifically mentioned. “How can that be?” you ask yourself and everyone else in front of you, when your order was even repeated. Had the cashier only paid attention and listened carefully.

In the world of service, listening doesn't only entail the use of our ears to hear, but requires the full use of our hearts and mind to understand what a customer goes through when our orders aren't given right. Once we hear what a customer wants, the listening service provider will take all the care to get the order delivery right.



Some service people due to direction given from management go through a litany of spiels that are not from the heart. For managers, when you make your order taking procedures, make “listen” the next step after greeting. A lot of customers already know what they want from the very beginning. Do your suggestive selling and selling up after they tell you what they want. Stay 100% focused on the customer. Most front line order takers have a slew of other orders in mind making it difficult for them to focus. Managers, try considering to assign another person to complete unserved orders. This way your order takers can focus on what the customer really wants and not what the customer is saying.



Next time you are in front of a customer, take the time to give them your undivided attention. Ask yourself afterwards “Have I listened to my customer today?”

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The Author is a musician and plays Michael Jackson Lyrics during his spare time.