Trainers for customer service programmes usually have impressive credentials, and participants will enjoy listening to the many interesting stories, episodes and tips when trainers share their experience and expertise acquired over the years.
But such trainer-centred programmes do not produce the desired results when participants went back to their usual self at work. Many failed to realise that customer service can only be raised by improving the performance of all staff, processes and facilities, not just the front liners.
Effective training is trainee-centred and must include all levels of staff, starting from those meeting customers face-to-face, communicating over the phone or online. Contrary to popular belief, supervisors, executives, managers, directors, owners too need training, just like professionals.
This is because customer service is a standard that must be set by the management for the entire organisation, not just individuals, in order to be consistent and sustainable. The level of customer service delivered is crucial, as it could make or break a career or business.
If knowledge in the form of information is enough to provide good customer service, then there is no need to attend training workshops as there are ample text and videos available online for anyone interested to find out.
Most fresh graduates, particularly those with tourism degree, are unable to perform well at the workplace as they lack job relevant knowledge and skills. Many are stuck at junior positions and low salaries, with poor attitude as the main reason for not trying hard enough to keep learning.
Although religious and moral classes are taught in schools, these were learned by rote with little understanding. Schoolchildren could easily recite the Rukunegara and many adults may still remember, but few practise the fifth principle in our national philosophy, which is courtesy.
In fact, personal development is grossly lacking in our education system, such as mastery of a language in order to speak, read and write clearly, which are essential for good communication and a prerequisite for excellent customer service.
There is also a lack of good examples at home and in our society for students to learn and practise social values and skills, including interpersonal communication skills, which are far more important than nearly all subjects taught in schools or courses offered by universities.
Skilled recruiters hire people based on character and attitude, communication skills, general knowledge, job experience and academic qualifications – in that order. But most students, including their parents, think that a general degree is good enough to set for life.
Sadly, many tourism degree graduates work under their classmates who had started working after finishing school and had gained a few years job experience while they were studying tourism, with the majority cocooned in the campus without ever engaging with a foreign tourist.
As such, over 90 per cent of tourism graduates do not work in the tourism industry, as their academic qualifications are of little use for work. For those who do, they must first improve on their communication skills, but many are held back by weak corporate culture.
Many junior staff behave like in a herd, drawing strength from one another and taking the easy route with few eager or daring to try hard and rise above the crowd. They are happy remaining in the comfort zone with little incentive or motivation to excel in their work.
Many young Malaysian adults are still immature, which is evident when crossing a street in a group with little regard for their safety, as they expect to be spotted and drivers to stop or wait for them while they take their time.
Towards the end of training workshops, these participants when asked to share what they could do to improve customer service at their personal level or propose changes in facilities or processes, most would choose to keep silent, afraid of saying anything for fear of making mistakes.
At the workplace, they could only handle routine matters and are unlikely to reach out to assist customers in dire need. They may end up doing the same work with little career advancement. Those working in the same job for 20 years may only have one month’s experience repeated 240 times.
With young adults staring at their phones most of the time, does it mean they have a good general knowledge? Yes, they consume a lot of information daily, including watching videos and messages, but these are mostly superficial knowledge with little or no use at the workplace.
Combining academic qualifications, job experience and general knowledge constitute only 10 per cent of the overall weightage, as 90 per cent of the criteria for hiring staff or career development depends on character or attitude and communication skills.
Customer service starts from within, such as loving and respecting ourselves so that we could do the same to others. Communication also starts within us, such as knowing and expressing correctly how we feel, what we think, visualise, imagine and dream. It determines how fast and well we learn.
Most trainees have not taken a personality test or heard about the Johari Window. Personality tests are available online and their accuracy is not important. Those taken such the tests would know themselves better and less likely to expect others to behave just as they are after learning there are several main types of personality.
They would also learn from the Johari Window they have an “open” domain known to them and others, a “hidden” domain known to them but hidden from others, a “blind” domain known to others but unknown by them, and an “unknown” domain that no one knows.
For those who are more transparent, their “open” domain would be bigger than many others, while those secretive have a larger “hidden” domain. Those who do not bother listening to others have a big “blind” spot.
But most people have a huge “unknown” domain which can be good or bad. Good because the person has a huge potential and could be very much better. Bad because the person is underdeveloped and will remain so if no extra effort is made.
Acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to perform is no guarantee that customer service will be better if the first requirement is missing – attitude. This is clearly evident in large corporations with many senior staff busy politicking. In such a scenario, the biggest challenge is not in the marketplace but within the organisation.
A good recourse is investing more in effective training and grooming junior staff by promoting them when they perform. Apart from learning techniques on customer service, it is more important to build up their character and mental strength, so that they are eager to excel without being told.
Few people are aware that all levels of staff need counselling, which is often associated with problematic personnel. But it is critical for customer service staff that handles complaints daily, otherwise the grind will eventually take a heavy toll on them.
Counselling could help them express and manage their emotions better including anger, relief from depression or anxiety, increase their confidence and decision-making skills, and change their self-defeating habits.
Staff who have gone through the mill and pass with flying colours are highly respected by colleagues and customers, and could be the future leaders of the organisation. Customer service offers the greatest challenges and rewards, and only those properly trained could deliver.
But competition is weak as many companies and staff dish out mediocre customer service. One day, they would get a rude shock when they lose out to artificial intelligence and robots when customers are more comfortable interacting with machines than people.
Sometime in the future, babies would start using an app for what they want and no longer cry out for milk, food or playthings. They may be just as silent as adults surrounding them busy looking at their phones.
Meanwhile, we still have a large number of middle age and senior citizens that require the personal touch. Companies that can provide the level of customer service at all fronts will continue to be in business, and staff achieving standards and targets will have a promising career.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
