Day 21: 30-Day Gratitude Challenge

Grateful for Exceptional Customer Services

There are people we take for granted because they do whatever they do so well.

I hope you had a lovely day. Today, I will keep this post as short as possible since I'm working on an elaborate article separately. I've just taken a short break to write this post before the end of the day.

There are people we usually take for granted because they do whatever they do for us so well. We believe that just because they're doing what they are paid to do, we don't owe them our thankfulness.

Today, I called my energy supplier and spoke to two different ladies who were very courteous and professional in their approach. At the end of the conversations, I put my phone down and completely forgot about the call. An hour or so later, the phone rang. The number looked familiar, and so I picked it up. "Hello, this is [Company Name]. You called us today and would like to find out how we did…" It was an automated call to review and rate their service based on today's phone call. 

With only two questions to answer, I thought, why not. They also allowed me to record the reason behind my answers, but because I was multi-tasking and eating toast, I thought maybe not, so I ended the call. But rank them highly, I did. Immediately thought of a lady who attended to me last week in Marks and Spencer. At the point of purchase, she asked if I could rate her service via the company's website for a chance to win a prize. I rarely do this (time constraints), and I don't even know where I put the receipt with her name on it, but I was thankful for her agreeing to see me, although I didn't have an appointment booked. She was busy attending to many others. Not only that, she treated me so well and helped me find something well designed, something I was proud to wear. Ladies, go to Marks for a bra fitting, hehe! Although I thanked her, I didn't review her service. How many of us are guilty of the same? I'm talking about unexpressed gratitude. 

I understand how customer services or any other front-line service work. A company might have the best product or service, but it's the people who interact with customers or clients who can make or break the company's overall reputation. These people show up, ready to work, despite what they're going through in their personal lives to deliver an excellent service. Some of them dread going to work thanks to a barrage of abuse from impatient and ungrateful customers. I've lived in the UK long enough to know that institutions and companies take customer services seriously, and most organisations have a "customer is always right" policy. Some customers know this and will use it as a weapon against front-line staff: nurses, call centre staff, taxi drivers, fast-food operatives, cashiers, flight attendants, conductors and many more are on the receiving end of all sorts from the people they serve.

I've got a few friends who have called me at the end of their shift, distressed about the kind of treatment they get from patients. Nurses have it tough. It's incredible how some people seek to be treated well by the very people they're unwilling to treat with respect. Given a choice, some people wouldn't want to work with clients who only think about what they want, not the other person delivering the service.

Today, I am taking a moment to be thankful for the people who have made my experiences pleasant. I'm usually fortunate and seek to treat whoever is serving me with respect. I've had longer than usual chats with call centre staff. I remember the other time when I called Vodafone, and my call was answered in Egypt. The lady on the other side mentioned that it was her last week with the company. I don't even remember what I said except to give her words of encouragement as she prepared for pastures anew. 

To this day, I believe that I didn't say anything unusual, but she latched on every word. She said she loved my spirit, even though she didn't know me. It was such a lovely conversation for me as well, and I hope she wasn't fired for chit-chatting with a customer for much longer than necessary! But I'm trying to encourage you to be grateful for the services we receive. That postman could be going through stuff right now, that nurse might have an unwell child, but they are with you, so you can get better. The staff you see at KFC or McDonald's might not have slept much. Maybe it's a part-time job while they study full time. The waitress might be counting pennies to feed her family while you're enjoying lavish banqueting. They could do with kindness and gratitude from us. A little thankfulness and encouragement go a long way. Sometimes they mess up (they're human), and one is entitled to complain if they're maltreated, but I hope you realise that most of the people you rely on need caring as much as you do. 

Conclusion 

​I will try to rate more people after a service because those rankings are used as key performance indicators by the companies they work for. Who knows, your expressed appreciation might just boost someone's confidence and happiness. 

Thank you for reading. 

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