The Service Industry’s Bad Apples

FACT: Many businesses expect little from applicants trying out for their customer service positions, because they are unable to offer much in the way of compensation.

FACT: Many applicants try out for these customer service positions as a last resort, and not because they have a passion for helping people.

THE RESULT: oh-so bad customer service

The sad truth is that those who find themselves working on the front lines of the service industry often lack the personality traits required to deliver proper customer support. And those who put them there figure that if they just teach their employees what to do and say, business should remain on the up and up. But a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology (Motowidlo, Martin and Crook 2013), titled, “Relations Between Personality, Knowledge, and Behavior in Professional Service Encounters,” showed that customer service has just as much to do with acquired skills as it does with intrinsic conscientiousness.

What this means is that just because you may be doing your due diligence in providing sufficient training doesn’t mean your team is doing theirs in providing good service. But how do you spot those staff members who aren’t cut out for a customer service job? Generally, they will come in one of the following forms:

1. The Robots: They’ve been fed their commands, and now they won’t deviate from them. These are the agents who do everything by the book, even when the book is missing a chapter or two on handling special-case scenarios. Unfortunately, no manual will prepare them for every single customer they encounter, and it would behoove them to think outside the box.
2. The Naysayers: They’re the oak tree that won’t bend with the wind. They refuse to submit to the will of the customer, more out of stubbornness or complacency than out of principle. They have no reservations about using the word, “No,” and telling customers all the things they “can’t” do. They often will leave you at a dead end simply because they lack the imagination to devise other solutions. In this way, they are a close relation to the Robot.
3. The Hoity-Toities: Their policy is, “The customer is always right if they always agree with me.” They’re the know-it-alls, the experts in their fields. As such, their opinion is the most valuable and they’d rather not have to listen to yours. They’re the ones who probably challenged training because of their “background” or “years of experience.” They’re also the ones who will show favoritism to the customers who share their personal views or attitudes, while leaving the rest in the lurch.
4. The Phonies: They’re the actors who won’t be up for an Emmy anytime soon. They say all the right things, while their body language tells a much seedier story. They smile, never blinking, laugh with arms crossed, welcome you with their backs turned. They mind their Ps and Qs when speaking with you, then scold a colleague when they think you’re not listening. Not only does this behaviour hint at a breakdown in management, it also leaves the customer with the distinct feeling that the service they’re getting is disingenuous.
5. The Feelers: If the Phonies hide what they’re feeling behind a mask, the Feelers wear their emotions on their sleeves. If a Feeler is having a bad day, you’re sure to know about it. They’re the most important people in the room, and they won’t be satisfied until everyone else, including the customer, is sharing in their emotions.
6. The Zombies: They’re the employees who sleepwalked to work, somehow managing to put on decent clothes. They go through the motions, while their soul astral-travels. Efficiency is their enemy, and they can never relate to someone who’s in a rush. They’ll just keep doing things at their own pace, customers be damned.
7. The Goldfish: They have a three-second memory span and will forget you the moment something new floats into their field of vision. Unfortunately, this usually means they will promise you things they can’t deliver (at least, not in a timely manner).
8. The Cavemen: Etiquette and propriety are a foreign language to these employees. No matter how much training they receive, they’ll always fall back on their rudimentary manners. And by rudimentary, we mean rude. If swear words or inappropriate comments are being thrown around, a caveman isn’t far from sight. Just because you put a monkey in a suit, doesn’t mean it won’t still eat fleas.
9. The Downright Rude: These are the not-so-distant cousins of the Cavemen. Though in appearance they may seem refined, don’t be fooled: They have a mean streak. This makes them the most insidious, of course. They’ll remain polite and proper for as long as you’re on their side, but cross them and they’ll cut you. They’re the ones you can never level a complaint with, because they’re the likeliest to get defensive and self-righteous. At least you can blame Cavemen’s behavior on their upbringing; the Downright Rude have no excuse.
10. The Enablers: They’re the managers who turn a blind eye to all of the above. And, yes, we may be talking about you. But if you’ve given these characters warning after warning to no avail, it may be time to send them packing. You can remind your employees that they should care about customers—that customers pay their paychecks—until you’re blue in the face, but if your employees are not wired to care, they never will. And if customers are leaving your business for the competition, you can be sure there is a bad apple. Why let it spoil the bunch?

Adam Douba is a trainer and the corporate director of Operations for Oculus Training, a British Columbia-based corporate training and mystery shopping company offering sales management, reservations, sensitivity, and customer service training programs for a variety of service-based industries throughout Canada, the U.S., and the world. For more information, call 888.OCULUS4 or visit www.oculustraining.com. You also can connect with Oculus on Twitter @oculusolutions, via e-mail at peoplecare@oculustraining.com or visit it on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.