What Does Your Behavior Say About You?
During a recent visit to a client’s office, I was standing outside of a customer service associate’s cubicle, out of sight, ready for our meeting. She was just finishing a telephone call. When she hung up from the call, she said to no one in particular, “What a jerk! That customer is the biggest pain in the rear.” I peered around the corner. “Oh, hi Emily! Is it our meeting time?” We headed down the hall to a small conference room.
Kelly and I had met several other times over the past year to work through her time management and workload challenges. This meeting was to be a quick update on her progress.
Kelly said things were going great. She was staying organized, meeting deadlines, and making time to research issues herself instead of interrupting others. I asked her if there was anything else I could help her with. “No, everything’s great!” she said. I asked, “How about that customer you just spoke with. Tell me about that situation.”
She told me George was a long-time client, who frequently called with questions. I delved a little deeper and learned George is a small business owner who juggles many plates. He has grown to rely on Kelly for answers. Kelly said that his questions are legitimate, but thinks he should research the answers himself. She has sent him the necessary information to do that. Other than that, George was a good, profitable client for her company.
I couldn’t resist saying, “So you’re complaining that you do a good job for George, which is why he’s calling you, and that’s annoying to you? That’s like saying this is a nice place to work except for all the clients I have to work with!” I wondered, did Kelly realized what she was saying?
Kelly justified herself by telling me that she’s certain George has no idea how she feels. She says even with her “closet” attitude, George always gets courteous and prompt service.
While I find that hard to believe, I decided not to press that point. Instead I asked her how she thought her loud verbal statement after the call (calling George a jerk) reflected on her. “What do you mean reflects on me?” she asked. I said, “How do your coworkers view you after hearing your unprofessional comments about a client?” That got her attention and we talked for quite awhile about professional behavior.
Moral to the story: Everything we do creates an impression. It’s up to us to decide if we want people to have a bad or good impression. Mind your actions and behavior even when you think no one is paying attention.
Emily Huling Selling Strategies, Inc. P.O. Box 200 Terrell, NC 28682
Phone: 888-309-8802 Fax: 888-309-7355