What Customer Service Should Be. By Erica Cruz Lopez

We, as Customer Service/Passenger service representatives sometime forget why our customer mean so much to both our industry, company and image.

I would like to share this short story about a well-trained, well-mannered and professional Customer service Representative, my Father. I sometimes go to my father’s place of employment to say hello. What I witness every time I am there inspires me to be both a better person and an even better Customer Service Representative.

The minute a customer walks into my father’s shop, they are greeted with a smile that lights up the room, this immediately let’s every person know that they will be greeted with warmth and personalization. These customers respond to my father with handshakes, warm hugs and sometimes kisses on the cheeks just because he smiled. All attention from my father is diverted solely to the customer. Coffee is offered, asking about family and health is exchanged and the biggest thing: Laughter, like they knew each other for years and some of them do.

My father’s customers always have a personal story to tell him, being a family man my dad can relate to almost all of them. My Dad always said that the company he works for is “The Barber Shop of the Cleaning Industry” cause as customers come to buy, they leave with a little extra and a smile.  His attention to their needs and the knowledge of every product he sells make them come back for more.

Step by step, ounce by ounce, my dad assures them about the product they are buying, the best equipment to use, etc. And with that a trust is forged. Some customers don’t even care what the cost is, because my dad knows and made the customer know they are investing well.

I have seen my dad go to every facility this company opened, sending him to either train or help train their customers. The company he works for cares that the customer comes first and everything else is second, which is a lesson we can all take, a lesson I have also learned.

Customers are the bread and butter of any company, they pay our salary, and keep our place of employment running. My father also always said that a good working team can accomplish the most difficult of tasks and best serve our customers better than any automated “press one” machine or phone.

Customers are people who need and want the attention of the business they patronize, they want assurances of our product, the courtesy of their time and the presence of a Customer Service rep with knowledge of product and mostly humility.

Thank you!