Cool Brand Delivery

Stuff happens. Someone else screws up and you're expected to take the rap. Customers will get hopping mad. Angry exchanges are part and parcel of the customer service. We all know that. But does it have to be that way? A good friend of mine defines anger as ‘a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind’. The choice you make today will usually affect tomorrow. Choose well.

Most of the time, if you've been speaking to customers awhile, harsh words expected (even missed!). But sometimes, even a seasoned veteran can just completely lose his or her cool - everyone has his or her fair share of bad days. Harsh words break no bones but they do break hearts (and minds). So if everything goes pear shaped, and you're about ready to throw in the towel completely upset, remember this:

For every minute you are angry with someone, you lose 60 seconds of happiness that you can never get back. What’s worse, you can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying over the future!

Beware of Garbage Trucks

Delivering the brand requires constant attention to the varying moods of your customers... and front line staff! David J. Pollay provides an interesting perspective he picked up 16 years ago in the back of a New York City taxi cab. He explains what happened:

"I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car's back
end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, 'Why did you just do that?

This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.' Many people are like garbage trucks.

'They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did. "