(Gulp) I know you: Reasons why you should maintain your customer service role

Last week I discussed some of the reasons why providing great customer service to your clients is important.  This week I want to discuss some reasons why you should continue to offer great customer service to the internal client (your coworkers).

No matter what industry you work in, chances are you have witnessed someone consistently be inconsiderate of other coworkers (or you may have been that someone).  This said person typically doesn’t adhere to the team player mentality and likes to play the lone wolf.  While being a lone wolf is not necessarily a bad thing, it can become bad when the wolf decides not to work well with others in the group. 

Another person who can be destructive in the workplace is simply the jerk.  This person may play well with others, but then decides to be uncooperative with a certain individual or group.  Sometimes there is a reason (whether justified or not) and sometimes they behave this way just because they can.  If this person has direct contact with clients, they may behave similarly with them as they tend to not have an off switch when they become agitated.

So what does it mean if you happen to know one of the two people above or you are one of them?  Well, if your industry is anything like the audio visual industry, there is a good chance that you will be working with that person in the future in another capacity.  One day they are sitting next to you and the next day you are buying from them (or they are buying from you).  Since the audio visual industry is rather small compared to other industries, people know each other from working together over the years.  And most of the people are passionate about what this industry stands for and they tend to stay in it, no matter what shape or form.  That makes it imperative that you treat everyone the same way you would expect to be treated: with respect.  Treat the internal client just as you would the external client.  People don’t need to be best friends at work, but they do need to work well with each other to get the job done.  Trust me, there are plenty of people that I have worked with that I would not have a beer with after work, but in the confines of the workday, we were the ultimate team to get the project done and provide the client with a fantastic service. 

If we all take the moment to review the problems we face with a rational though process, it will help to make the workplace environment more hospitable.  You may not like the person you have to deal with to fix an issue, but that doesn’t mean that the two of you can’t make it right.  It is easier to fix an issue and be done with it than to let it linger because you want to prove a point that the other person is wrong.  Maybe they are wrong, but is it really your place to point it out?  You never know if the person you choose to have a vendetta with will become your boss in the future.