Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

Customer service is one of those endless topics and experiences that the majority of companies, managers and employees have a difficult time getting a handle on.

Molly Gordon wrote about serving customers without getting burnt out. She has a number of excellent ways to deal with protecting yourself and your employees concerning the matter.

The major point I think of when considering customer service and burnout, is what it is we as companies are promising our customers. What are the expectations we are creating in their minds that they expect to experience?

In my experience, the greatest amount of stress comes from this disconnect. Once this happens, the situation is very difficult to resolve in a win/win for everyone.

As in any relationship, it is the communication right from the beginning that sets the stage for a successful long-term relationship. In the case of customer expectations, we need to explain to them what or business actually is. There is the possibility that they are expecting something that isn't even part of what your business offers, and you have no way of meeting their wants or needs.

Another mistake that can be made is to make promises without first thinking about whether they can be met or not. Just because we want to say yes to them, doesn't mean that we are able to do what is promised. We need to listen carefully to what the customer is asking and take in the whole picture of what they want before we throw our "yes" answer out there. I've known a number of customers in the past who have said that they were more troubled by answering in the affirmative, and then changing the answer later, than if they have been told from the beginning that it couldn't be done.

The customer must be communicated to in a way where they understand exactly what the company promises and is able and willing to do for them. There can be no uncertainty in the communication.
 
These are several ways that we as managers and our employees can offer great customer service without getting burnout from situations that aren't able to be resolved.

Have you found other ways to avoid burnout in your customer service endeavors?