The Art of Customer Service

WOW- things have been BUSY! Yesterday I headed to Nashville to work on the songs for the musical 'Eyewitness' with a good friend of mine. (See the link in my side column- 'Sitler-Strong Productions') We worked for hours to get it done, but it was fun & we work really well together. I ended up leaving Nashville pretty late though. Driving solo- blah! On my way out of town, I had dash lights for 'Oil' & 'Check Engine'. Figured I'd better stop before I got too far and broke down by the side of the road. My friend, Brian came and checked the oil and poured a bottle of it under the hood for me. Thankfully, the dash lights went out and stayed out. I played really loud music and did pretty well until the last 60 miles. Started getting REALLY sleepy, so had to pull over to rest. Slept about 20 minutes, then woke up and kept haulin'. Went about 20 miles more and had to stop again. I'm getting too old for this. LOL Needless to say, I made it home at 5:30am & crashed into bed. NOT enough rest, but I'm doing okay and will go to bed early tonight. :o)

This week I'm training for the Front Desk at the YMCA- lovin' it. I'm such a people person! Not only was today my first day training, I was called upon- last minute to give a presentation to our staff for the 'United Way' fundraising campaign we are currently doing. Being the up-front person that I am, I did my best. Think it went over okay...

Anyway, aside from the fundraising, the main topic for staff-meeting was customer service. There is a new health club moving into our area called 'The Rush'. Oh yeah- I've been to this place and they are really sharp! The 'YMCA' knows they are going to have some heavy-duty competition now, so we are boning up on our skills. Knowing how to serve people is SO important in life! One of the stats they gave us is that a satisfied customer tends to tell 4 people. An unsatisfied person will tell 10 others- that's more than double the influence.

I've had good service and bad. I think 'The Olive Garden' offers some of the best around. I have a love/hate relationship with Fast Food service these days. YES, it's supposed to be fast, but hey- you can still smile and be pleasant, still get the filet o'fish centered in the bun and look people in the eye when you're shoving their food out the drive-thru window- telling them to "have a nice day". If you have a Mcjob, look alive and know about your business! Few things are more annoying than being in a hurry- asking a question and none of the employees know the answer. Then waiting for the Manager to break free and come answer for them.

I believe in taking pride in the work that we do. Scripture says "Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might". I take this seriously. There's a warm feeling that comes with serving others. I love to make people smile. I feel important when I see someone coming along with a downcast face and I'm able to say or do something nice for them. Good customer service seems to be a dying art, but we can keep it alive. You don't even have to be older to know how to serve. I've had young people as waiters before who carried themselves well and demonstrated good manners. Made me want to examine my social skills and see where I may be able to improve. Great job!!

I find, for the most part, people are loyal- if you treat them well & appreciate them, they will stick around. As our Pastor said recently, "You can't keep slapping someone in the face or turn your back on them and expect to keep them as a friend."

I want to serve well...