Brittany’s Reflection
After reading Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service, I learned so many useful tips on how to have great customer service and I actually got to practice some of the tips at my job over the summer. One of the tips I found really useful and interesting was the “forbidden phrases” and the alternatives that would be better. I work at a restaurant and many times when a customer has a question most employees say, “I don’t know” instead of asking one of the managers or finding out the information another way. After reading this part in the book, I had a customer ask if he could substitute french bread for cole slaw or corn because he was allergic to the ingredients in bread. I remembered this part of the book and instead of saying, “I don’t know” or “No we can’t do that” I told him I’d go check and find out for him. I found out he couldn’t do substitute the bread and even though he was unhappy that he couldn’t substitute his food, he and his wife thanked me twice for going to check for him. It showed me that instead of just automatically replying “I don’t know” or “That’s not possible” you should ask if you don’t know because the person will be very appreciative.
Another tip that I found interesting was in Chapter 19 when it was talking about the generations. After reading this chapter, I realized how true it was that the different generations expected different kinds of service. After reading this chapter, I began to notice at work how the customers my age wanted to order fast and wanted to get their food as quickly as possible while those that were elderly took their time ordering their food and sometimes got nervous if they felt rushed.
Overall, I thought the book had some interesting tips, yet there were some tips that were (or should) be clear to any employee. I thought the book was decent and had information that was relevant to any job.
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Hi Brittany! My name is Erica and going to be working with you this semester as your team leader in CAT. We will get to meet Thursday (assuming that you will hopefully be at the retreat :0) and talk more about how our team functions, but I thought I would just drop a quick hello.
Thanks for your reflection early! I love reading about people’s experiences after reading a book–whether or not they were influenced by it and what they agree/disagree with. Your comments are similar to Meen’s (another one of our team members), but you had a slightly different perspective on some of them. You experience with telling a customer “let me check” instead of “I don’t know” was great! I hadn’t thought of it from your perspective yet, because I just commented to Meen that I think admitting that you aren’t sure of the answer to a question is a good thing. But I completely agree with you. The focus should be on finding the answer from another worker or your boss, and not on the fact that you aren’t sure. I think you will find that tip really useful this semester, especially at the beginning when you’re still learning the software and where our resources are. Don’t be afraid to ask either myself, Eric, or another Info Commons worker if you need help answering someone’s questions. Or even if you’re working alone on a project and get stuck, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. We have all been in that situation and are aiming to build a support network for each other.
If you have any questions before the retreat or at any time afterwards, don’t be afraid to shoot me an email. I know that the first few weeks can feel a little crazy, so don’t be afraid to bombard me with emails or ask for some one-on-one training when we work together. I’m here to make sure your IC experience is the best it can be!