I like to provide real life experiences that are related to the topics covered in my blog. I had a recent customer service experience with a Koodo Mobile Representative who demonstrated a high level emotional intelligence (EI) when dealing with my request.
After a few months of putting off getting a new phone my wife finally convinced me it was time to do so. I was using an old Samsung Flip Phone which was working perfectly fine but obviously did not have the abilities of the new smart phones. In order to switch plans and get a new phone we went to a Telus Retail Store at one of our local malls. Our experience at Telus was great I picked a new phone, switched plans and did all the things necessary to complete the transaction. Then there was the final item which was transferring my old contacts to my new phone. I did not have with me what was required to do so therefore the Telus representative suggested I go down to the Koodo Retail Kiosk and get the required permission from them so Telus could access my contacts through Koodo. I thought no problem. Well the kiosk was very busy but when I arrived at the Kiosk I was greeted by a friendly smile who asked “How may I help?” I told the representative what I needed and they said “no problem, all I need from you is ID.” This would have not been a problem if the account was not under my wife’s name. The Koodo representative could obviously tell I was frustrated based upon my tone of voice and other non verbal ques. I went back to get my wife who was at the Telus Store so she could get the required information from Koodo to complete the contact transfer. When we returned to the Koodo Kiosk it was still busy but the Koodo Representative who had helped me earlier attended to us immediately and had all the required paperwork printed off ready for us.
This employee has a high EI based upon the Mayer & Salovey Model where emotional intelligence is described as the ability to perceive, express, understand and regulate emotions. Not only does she have this ability but she also has the ability to act quickly to make decisions to help resolve problems which is part of emotional intelligence.
If you are a manager/ leader in your workplace and customer service is a key performance objective please talk to your teams about EI and offer resources and support to help them improve in this area. Providing great customer service requires employees to perceive, express, understand and regulate emotions. Once they have done this they need to act in a timely manner to the customer’s request. By enabling your employees to be customer service all stars you will develop & maintain loyal customer group.
