Guest Blog: To Deliver or Not to Deliver?

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague John Smart shares his thoughts about the importance of good communication and interpersonal skills to customer service. This is all part of taking care of your customer and making sure they have the information they need to do business with you. – Shep Hyken

One of the key basic requirements of people is – to know.

We all want to know. Whether it’s to know what the weather is for tomorrow; what’s for lunch; what time we need to meet; what food is the best for us… The list is endless. However, when it comes to customer service, at times, it appears that others seem to know – what we should know.

I’ve had three occasions in the last two months where a person in a customer service position has ‘withheld information’ (regardless how small), probably because they felt that the news they had for me was not going to land well. So, they took the view that if it wasn’t communicated, then it would go away; if left long enough I would forget it or it would become irrelevant. It occurs in many ways such as not replying to an email, not calling back, or the false promise of ‘…we will do our best to get back to you.’ But you hear nothing, and then have to constantly follow up.

In customer service, delivery of information is so important to the end user. It either provides closure or allows the customer to make appropriate decisions. What you deliver may not be what the other person wants to hear. But to deny this right is denying a basic human need.

A good example of this is in the medical world, with the patient being the customer. When the medical problem is identified, the first thing a patient wants to know is: ‘What’s the prognosis?’ ‘What the news…?’ What’s the outcome…?’ etc. The news that the medical staff has to deliver may not be what the person wants to hear, but it has to be delivered. Withholding information because they don’t want to upset the person, or it may not be what they want to hear is not an option. Understandably, the delivery has to be correct for the situation and in context; but having this information allows the person to make choices, view their options and, if needed, take control of the situation.

So it is in any customer service situation. Not returning calls, emails, or sticking your head in the sand and hoping the other person will go away is not an option. Yes, there may be fallout. Yes, the other person may be angry, frustrated or upset. But like the medical example, they now know and have the option to make alternative choices.

Remember also, that a lot of the possible anger and frustration will more likely be aimed at the situation and not personal. It’s human nature to apportion blame on something! In this case they will more than likely vent their words around the situation, e.g., the company, the process, the system, lack of resources, paperwork, telephone delays, etc. However, by ignoring the problem, there is a better chance that their anger or frustration will become personal, and they will blame you entirely for the problem.

So, delivery is important. How this is done will require good interpersonal skills and sometimes good judgement. But the bottom line is this: don’t leave your customer in the dark.

John Smart is the author of ‘PROUD – Achieving Excellent Customer Service’. He is a development consultant, running his own consultancy, through which he has gained many years of customer service development and delivery within a diverse array of industries.

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com. Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article:

How Loose Is Your Feedback Loop? Try These Ways to Tighten It Up

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