People are judgmental creatures. Analysis has persistently proven that we type long-lasting opinions about folks inside seconds of assembly them, on all the pieces from their intelligence to their competence and their attractiveness.
These judgments could be utterly fallacious and wildly biased, however they’re stubbornly troublesome to vary. The identical speedy judgments occur on-line to each folks and companies.
First impressions are quick impressions, and should grow to be the final impressions folks have of us. For customer support professionals, who’re so typically having one-off interactions with already-upset folks, that poses a big problem.
It’s not simply the danger {that a} buyer will type a poor first impression of the individual attempting to assist them, but additionally that we are going to unavoidably do the identical to clients primarily based on little or no info.
Might creating extra optimistic first impressions enhance the standard of buyer expertise for patrons and the standard of labor life for service employees? I say sure. Sure, as a result of a lot of a customer support interplay is pushed by the attitudes and expectations of the folks concerned.
Once we really feel like somebody is genuinely attempting to assist, we’re extra keen to place effort in ourselves. We’re extra keen to be affected person and to imagine optimistic intent. All of that makes a optimistic end result a lot simpler to attain.
It’s arduous responsible folks for low expectations primarily based on years of unhealthy customer support experiences from different corporations of their life, however we’ve all had clients who, from the primary second of interplay, assume that they won’t get helpful assist. That angle makes it rather more troublesome for them to be helped. In my expertise, they don’t are likely to take pleasure in that specific irony when it’s identified to them.
We can not management the experiences folks herald with them, however we will form the expertise they’ve with us and with our companies as an entire. That shaping begins even earlier than a help request is created. How arduous is it to search out the “contact us” web page? Does that web page inform folks how lengthy they need to count on to attend for a response? Is the information base accessible and updated? Once they do ship in a request for assist, are they handled as an individual or remodeled right into a ticket quantity?
All of these tiny moments gently nudge buyer opinions a method or one other, even when the shopper could not consciously discover any of them. Once we come to reply these questions, we deliver our personal background and biases with us. Whether or not it’s explicit phrases that set off us or sure company stereotypes — even a reputation that reminds us of a schoolyard bully — there is no such thing as a avoiding that instantaneous first impression.
What we will do is pay attention to that instinctive response and acknowledge it for what it’s: a intestine feeling primarily based on little info. Each buyer deserves your greatest effort (a minimum of till they actively present you in any other case!).
We’re not machines. Our potential to really feel issues, to assume creatively, to attach with different folks, and to make intuitive leaps — that’s what makes us folks. In an age of AI automation, we need to maintain on to these issues. However we should additionally bear in mind that emotions could be fallacious.
Regardless of the first impressions are, on both facet of the dialog, they aren’t written in stone. Opinions can change over time, via publicity and energy, and that’s a lot of the work we’re requested to do.
Let’s get to it.