People are feeling overextended, underprepared, angry, sad, stressed, and scared. Your customers, your staff (if you have one), you, and I are all likely experiencing some sense of these heightened emotions. The extent to which these feelings exist in each person vary greatly as do their specific circumstances. Generally speaking though, our “fight or flight” survival instincts (the body’s natural response to stressful stimuli) are lingering closer to the surface than usual.
During times of crisis, you see evidence of this all around you: the individual yelling at the cashier for the store’s “1 per person” limit; the beeping and yelling over that sought-after parking spot; and even an increased number of heated social media discussions that seem to have the voltage turned up a bit. The beneficiaries of my stress . . . ? These days, I find myself triggered by my children’s complaints of boredom (I suddenly channel my grandmother: “Be thankful you’ve got nothing to do, or I’ll give you something to do!”). And God bless the telemarketer that calls my phone this month.
So what does all this have to do with your business’s customer service? Chances are, your customers will have less patience than usual. The person (or people) who works with your customers (even if that person is you) will probably have less patience than usual. “The perfect storm.” Unfortunately, any intense interactions will likely not be forgotten once the storm has calmed. As illustrated by the info-graphic below, a disgruntled customer will process their feelings in one (or more) of a number of predictable and unfortunate ways.
Customer will acknowledge that everyone is under a lot of stress and give the company the benefit of the doubt.)
How can we prevent ourselves from alienating customers during hard times? Recognition is an extremely important first step. One parenting mantra often repeated is, “Your child isn’t giving you a hard time; your child is having a hard time.” This twist on perspective can easily apply to individuals of all ages who are having a hard time. Before answering a phone call or responding to an email, take a moment to remember all the potential scenarios that people (including you) are dealing with right now: serious health issues among family or close friends, loss of income and trouble paying bills, homeschooling children – in many cases – while working from home, etc. Acknowledge all the weight that you and everyone else is carrying around. Taking that moment will make a world of difference, I promise.
Going one step further, you may even want to solidify some more relaxed (short-term) customer service policies. Formalizing a revised posture is particularly beneficial if you have employees that will be working with your customers during this time. Having finite rules (that have been relaxed) will help your staff navigate this confusing landscape.
Good luck. Stay safe.
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