EVERY JOB IS A CUSTOMER SERVICE JOB

The scope of customer service goes far beyond the one on one relationship you have with the person at the cash register or on the other end of a phone or chat session on your computer. Superior customer service is as much a mindset as it is a business tool. We all know someonewho has had a horrid customer service experience in that type of situation, or maybe it's us who has the disturbing story to tell.

According to Joseph Jaffe, founder of Evol8tion, “Customer Service is everything and anything that touches a customer – directly or indirectly. Customer service means servicing customers, and it's so much more than just solving problems or addressing complaints. Customer service is part of a holistic customer experience that is capable of providing a critical competitive advantage in today's increasingly cluttered and commoditized marketplace "

That succinctly sums up everything you need to know about customer service in the year 2019, but let's explore a little bit to understand how that mindset will manifest itself in every job you have ever had, and any job you ever will have. Read on to find out how every job is a customer service job.

Businesses and individuals often miss the mark when they focus all of their customer service

training to those working at the point of contact with their clients. That is a narrow path that

leads to failure quickly, and demonstrates how that can look in the real world in the following brief analogy.

Let's say you are the owner of a brand new business that makes the most creative and

innovative widgets on the market. You have been granted carte blanche permission to walk the floors of some of the most successful companies in the world and shop for a few employees that you get to take back with you for your own business. That’s a 100% guaranteed pass that will allow you to choose from this free pool of workers! Now ask yourself what it is you will look for first. What one quality do you value above all others that are a deal-breaker when it comes to securing the kind of employee you want working for you?

If your answer isn’t customer service, we need to talk. Many are tempted to be impressed by

expertise and talents first. Don't be! Skills and talents are for sale everywhere. They are a valued commodity, but in most cases, they are also readily available. So as you walk through the departments of these excellent companies that are letting you handpick a few of their workers for yourself, you can safely assume that the most successful companies don't hire people without talent or skill in their given area. If not, you wouldn't be seeing them in your employment-seeking promenade. This begs the obvious question, So why did they choose these people over others?”

The answer is simple, customer service. But wait, you might argue that 90% of these people

have no contact with actual customers! They can be grumpy ol’ void-of-personality trolls with

bad hygiene for all you care, as long as they get the job done, right?

Wrong. To fully understand the “wholeness” of what that entails, examine this brief list of some of the personal characteristics that we frequently associate with superior customer service:

• Open to learning

• A solid work ethic

• Flexibility

• Goal-oriented

• Intuitiveness

• Self-awareness

• A personality

• Quality over quantity

• Organizational skills

• Positivity

• Ability to communicate multi-dimensionally

• Knowledge of the product(s) or service(s)

• Patience

• Focus

• “Damage-Control”

• Kindness

• Timeliness

By no means is this an exclusive list of customer service traits. However, I think it's fair to say that once you get beyond the initial talents and skills required to perform a particular job, you start to hover into the territory of the aesthetic qualities of a person – qualities that are not so easily measured.

It is vital to understand that you are not looking for clones! The best leaders seek teams that

exhibit a rainbow of personality traits and value the collective diversity of “human capital” from a mixed group of employees. But remember, abilities (or skills and talents) are abundant in

many fields. And unless you are an astronaut, your competition looks a lot like YOU, and it is

these customer service traits that will set you apart. Wise managers, CEO’s, Coordinators,

Directors or whatever you want to label a leader responsible for hiring the “ingredients” of a

company want to make good soup! Part of the fun and the mark of an excellent leader is in

understanding social dynamics in the workplace. You want a rainbow, not robots. Robots don’t need to be managed. Rainbows do and yield the best results when led by wise leadership.

Given this insight emphasizing the reality that every job is a customer service job gives you a

tremendous advantage whether you are in the process of transitioning into a new job or

seeking your first job. Your responsibility, then, is to embrace that concept and find ways to

reveal that knowledge to all prospective employers. It is important to include your

understanding of “business culture” and company hierarchy as you emphasize your value on

customer service. Without that context, you may come across as “every job is a retail job”

instead of “every job is a customer service job.”

A resume or cover letter can sum up that understanding quickly by being sure to point out how your specific role in a previous job fit into the overall scheme of a particular business. Revealing your knowledge of co-worker relationships and specific roles that all led toward the fulfilment of the same mission and goals for everybody will take some thoughtful writing and, hopefully, some astute explaining should you land an interview.

If you have had a more narrow concept of customer service up until now, thats ok. But for your own sake, you will find viewing every job as a customer service job first and foremost extremely helpful. Start looking at businesses that are both in and out of your field and mentally making a connection between excellent customer service and every position within that business. A healthy work environment always includes a customer first mantra and actively develops relationships with both their clients and their employees as well. Cheerful workers make happy customers, and happy customers return more often as a result of quality service than they do quality widgets.