We fought back a tear as Nigel said, without a hint of anticipation or excitement,
“I’m leaving.”
“Leaving, what do you mean?”
“I’m no longer going to be here at the hotel, here in the restaurant.”
It was a blow of staggering proportions.
Arguably, the Sheraton Belgravia had the best captive eatery in London.
After a day of shopping, museum hopping and taking in matinee performances at the feet of the likes of Maggie Smith, Albert Finney, and Anthony Hopkins, we could always look forward to freshening up and taking the brief elevator ride to Nigel’s hospitality and cuisine.
Rituals die hard in Britain, even for tourists, though we were more than that, I suppose, in the regular habit of taking in the Winter theater season there, hitting the pre-Christmas sales, of which there were plenty, joining elaborate Christmas and New Year’s feasts, and getting away from the demands of clients.
Now, Nigel was telling us he was escaping our demands, fleeing our corner of Paradise, but to go where?
“I’m going into service,” he replied.
“Into service?”
It was obviously a cultural reference, a code phrase we didn’t understand. Noting our befuddlement, he went on to explain what going into service means.
“Yes, I’m going to be the Head Butler at an estate in the Cotswolds.”
Visions of countless Masterpiece Theater episodes danced across the screen of my imagination.
“So, it’s a step up?” I asked, smiling through, trying to see the bright side, at least from his viewpoint.
“Yes, it is,” he said, flatly, with just the smallest hint of remorse.
His thoughtful, artful, careful conveyances of carrots and meat and pastries was perfection itself that night, but an unmistakable pall crept over the dining room, in which we were, as usual, the solitary, and therefore perennially pampered guests.
“So, going into service is a promotion,” I thought, with newfound respect. “How different things are in America.”
Nigel represents something significant in the annals of “service.” Akin to the proverbial canary in the coal mine, he symbolizes something that can permit us to understand that age-old question:
“Why can’t we find good HELP, anymore?”
Britain’s class system provided, and to an extent still provides, incentives for people to “serve.” As Nigel implied, being a Head Butler at a magnificent estate is an honorific position, a lifetime engagement, a compact between the gentry, the land, and him.
It links him to an aristocratic way of life that dates back centuries, to a tradition, to the seasons, and to all of those things you and I have seen in movies and read in books.
In America, being “in service” is much more synonymous with being servile, with groveling, with being consigned to a state of inferiority.
Let me give you a dramatic example. The other day a technical support provider was speaking to a professional stock trader and investor who was upset that he lost millions because of the inability of the technician’s company to execute his trades, efficiently.
The caller was in obvious distress but instead of saying “I’m sorry that happened, let’s see what we can do for you,” the technician replied, in so many words, “Oh, really?”
He didn’t console; he taunted, and the instant effect was to enrage the client even more, who immediately got the President of the firm on the line.
The technician had been a trader, but was now in a one-down position, which he didn’t have the maturity to handle. Perceiving himself to be the caller’s equal or even superior, the rep simply refused to serve, to do the appropriate thing in the circumstance.
In a milder way, this refusal to serve, equating it with being servile, with fawning for favor, with begging, precludes many people from taking on the right role when they perform work in client or technical support.
Their self-importance is so pronounced that they feel the “real them” must come through, even at inappropriate times, otherwise they are being insincere and phony.
We cannot be self-important and make the client important at the same time. There aren’t two, number one’s.
I’m reminded of the scene in a recent film where a father is speaking about what he told his Navy bound son:
“Get on the ship. Do your job. Come home.”
In other words, do your duty.
Nigel knows what this means.
I’m sure he's serving with distinction.
Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the best-selling author of 12 books and more than a thousand articles. A frequent expert commentator on radio and TV, he is quoted often in prominent publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Business Week. President of Clientrelations.com and Customersatisfaction.com, his seminars and training programs are sponsored internationally and he is a top-rated faculty member at more than 40 universities. Dynamic, experienced, and lots of fun, Gary brings more than two decades of solid management and consulting experience to the table, along with the best academic preparation and credentials in the speaking and training industry. Holder of a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School For Communication at USC, an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a J.D. degree from Loyola, his clients include several Fortune 1000 companies along with successful family owned and operated firms. Much more than a “talking head,” Gary is a top mind that you'll enjoy working with and putting to use. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Gary_S._Goodman
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Customer Service - A Lost Art
We all have had the experience of walking into a store or business and....there you stand. No one really approaches you to ask if you need any assistance. You are left to wander the jungle of aisles and within an hour or so, I doubt you would be noticed if you raised a white flag. The cashiers are way too busy making plans for "after work," and the stockers are sitting on the boxes having a chat.
It's not only in person, you can get ignored by phone, fax, mail, and e-mail. There are just so many ways to make you feel insig- nificant and bothersome. The only time you might get someone's attention is when you get a telemarketing monotone speech and you make the statement that you are on the "Do Not Call" list. You get immediate attention - they hang up.
In bygone era days, the customer was always right, and the workers were told to jump to attention when a customer entered the estab- lishment and to make themselves available for any assistance or to answer questions. In modern times, and with so much seasonal help, like summer jobs and Christmas fill-in jobs, the younger generation just sees their job as an extension of their social life. A bit harsh - not really. Just go to a bank and your young teller is carrying on a conversation with the person next to them, and you can only hope that they get your business right - and miracle - they usually do. Maybe they have some sort of mechanism built-in their minds so they not only multi-task but multi-converse - sometimes to you but mostly to everyone around them.
Try another way of getting attention in a store - return something or ask for a price. Besides getting the inevitable "tsk" sound from the person behind the counter, and the hand on the hip with the blank stare - no, you didn't just drop out of the sky and decide to enter. If you wait long enough, many times you just grab that package and mutter "just forget it" . Price checks usually have some person run up to the register, is shown the item, and then they leave down another aisle, sometimes never to be seen again - yet no one worries about their disappearance. Only you - because you are still standing there taking in all the glares of the consumers behind you wondering what you are doing.
If you frequent fast-food restaurants, there are usually ten young people behind the counter - all wearing their uniforms in different ways of disarray. You tell them what you would like, they start punching on that computer, they then call the manager, who is in the process of holding a bag ready for fries, and she/he looks at you, and then starts punching on the computer. Soon, the cashier tells you what your order equals - but forgot to ask you if you want it to go. You mention that either way is fine - but it is not. You must make a choice. There is an "inside" tax and a "take out" tax. No matter that they are the same amount usually, but you must make a quick decision. Your order arrives and even though you are standing right there, they look a bit past you and call out a number. You look at your receipt just to make sure it is you and you try to hand the ticket in. They are still searching the crowd - you must just be a faceless body waving some type of white paper in the air. Try going through the drive-up and be asked if you want it to go - no, you just thought you would get your order, find a parking spot, and go inside. Well, everyone does have choices. right?
While this all may seem a bit off the deep end, you must be under the age of 21, and are currently enjoying your three-month vacation. You do wish you were somewhere else - really anywhere else - but that darn car insurance has to be paid and that is your "ticket" to car-freedom. Just wait until the older generation starts a protest and we take over video stores and CD shops, as well as all those "cool" places to hang out. We will sit and discuss our latest aches and pains, stare at you because we really don't understand the twelve holes in your ear lobes - not that we are cirticizing - just friendly notice. Things will change - and then the tables will turn. Ah, just the thought of it - life will then be so good. ©Arleen M. Kaptur July, 2007
Arleen M. Kaptur has written many books and articles on everyday living and finding peace and joy in all we do.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Arleen_Kaptur
It's not only in person, you can get ignored by phone, fax, mail, and e-mail. There are just so many ways to make you feel insig- nificant and bothersome. The only time you might get someone's attention is when you get a telemarketing monotone speech and you make the statement that you are on the "Do Not Call" list. You get immediate attention - they hang up.
In bygone era days, the customer was always right, and the workers were told to jump to attention when a customer entered the estab- lishment and to make themselves available for any assistance or to answer questions. In modern times, and with so much seasonal help, like summer jobs and Christmas fill-in jobs, the younger generation just sees their job as an extension of their social life. A bit harsh - not really. Just go to a bank and your young teller is carrying on a conversation with the person next to them, and you can only hope that they get your business right - and miracle - they usually do. Maybe they have some sort of mechanism built-in their minds so they not only multi-task but multi-converse - sometimes to you but mostly to everyone around them.
Try another way of getting attention in a store - return something or ask for a price. Besides getting the inevitable "tsk" sound from the person behind the counter, and the hand on the hip with the blank stare - no, you didn't just drop out of the sky and decide to enter. If you wait long enough, many times you just grab that package and mutter "just forget it" . Price checks usually have some person run up to the register, is shown the item, and then they leave down another aisle, sometimes never to be seen again - yet no one worries about their disappearance. Only you - because you are still standing there taking in all the glares of the consumers behind you wondering what you are doing.
If you frequent fast-food restaurants, there are usually ten young people behind the counter - all wearing their uniforms in different ways of disarray. You tell them what you would like, they start punching on that computer, they then call the manager, who is in the process of holding a bag ready for fries, and she/he looks at you, and then starts punching on the computer. Soon, the cashier tells you what your order equals - but forgot to ask you if you want it to go. You mention that either way is fine - but it is not. You must make a choice. There is an "inside" tax and a "take out" tax. No matter that they are the same amount usually, but you must make a quick decision. Your order arrives and even though you are standing right there, they look a bit past you and call out a number. You look at your receipt just to make sure it is you and you try to hand the ticket in. They are still searching the crowd - you must just be a faceless body waving some type of white paper in the air. Try going through the drive-up and be asked if you want it to go - no, you just thought you would get your order, find a parking spot, and go inside. Well, everyone does have choices. right?
While this all may seem a bit off the deep end, you must be under the age of 21, and are currently enjoying your three-month vacation. You do wish you were somewhere else - really anywhere else - but that darn car insurance has to be paid and that is your "ticket" to car-freedom. Just wait until the older generation starts a protest and we take over video stores and CD shops, as well as all those "cool" places to hang out. We will sit and discuss our latest aches and pains, stare at you because we really don't understand the twelve holes in your ear lobes - not that we are cirticizing - just friendly notice. Things will change - and then the tables will turn. Ah, just the thought of it - life will then be so good. ©Arleen M. Kaptur July, 2007
Arleen M. Kaptur has written many books and articles on everyday living and finding peace and joy in all we do.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Arleen_Kaptur
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