Emotional Management is one of the components of Emotional Intelligence, which, research shows, accounts for 2/3 of career success, regardless of the profession.

Perhaps nowhere is this skill more important than in customer service. Anyone who has ever done customer service (or sales) knows exactly what I mean.

Do your customer service staff know how to stay "In the Zone" despite the pressures of their job? Do they know how to maintain their composure or do get easily rocked and go from being friendly to testy and sharp?

I had an interesting experience the other day that illustrated how a customer service professional’s ability to maintain her composure can make or break a customer service moment of truth.

I stopped into a Starbucks and ordered one of their iced drinks and asked for whipped cream on top. When the woman making the drink put the flat lid on top, as opposed to the domed “whipped cream cover” I asked her for the whipped cream.

“Oh, this doesn’t typically come with whipped cream. In the future, let the person taking your order know you want it” she said in a neutral-to-friendly tone of voice.

“Actually, I did ask for it” I replied in a cheery voice.

“Yes, I told you he wanted whipped cream” piped up the woman who took my order.

Again, she too made her comment, not in an antagonistic or “gotcha” tone, but in a cheerful “Did that!” manner.

“Oh, well it’s hard to hear everything when I’m taking the drive through orders too” huffed the woman making the drink, as she tensed up.

She took the lid off, squirted the whipped cream on top, put the new lid on and handed it to me, never making contact, her face set in a hard expression.

Ever curious, I would have loved to ask her why she was upset. I would have loved to understand what happened inside of her for a little mistake to suddenly sour her mood.

At the risk of stating the obvious, it didn’t exactly seem like an appropriate question to ask.

But I still would have loved to have known what happened in her head.

Did she feel embarrassed that she made a mistake – even though no one was making a big deal about it, and even though it was a trivial mistake?

Did she simply not like being wrong, even over something inconsequential?

Regardless of the reason, her reaction is a good example of why it’s so important for people in the service field to develop effective emotional management skills, so they can maintain their grace and composure and not get easily rattled.

In this situation, her awkwardness translated into a sudden sullen aloofness that created an awkward customer experience – hardly the experience you want your staff to create.

Contrast this with another Starbucks – this one in NYC. They had an incredibly long line of caffeine craving, gotta-go New Yorkers. As I waited in line, I found myself absolutely mesmerized by the woman behind the counter.

She moved at breakneck speed, called out drink orders, made change, and hustled people along in a calm, friendly, yet uber-efficient way, and NEVER spoke in a rushed, harsh, or tense voice.

When it was my turn, she even called me “Honey.”

She was the Michael Jordan of service professionals – unbelievably skilled and as cool as can be under pressure.

So… do you teach your team emotional management skills?

Do you teach them how to recover if they’re upset?

…How to stay grounded so they’re less likely to be rocked by difficult customers and pressured situations?

If you teach your people these skills, if you teach them how to become more resilient, they’ll pay you back in being able to provide gracious, friendly service despite the pressure and demands of their incredibly emotionally demanding jobs.

The smart way to develop stress management/resilience skills

Oh by the way.... if you have office staff or call center staff who would like to reduce their stress level and increase their ability to be in "the Productive Zone", check out Optimal Office. They approached me about collaborating on a way to deliver "just in time" stress reduction/resilience enhancing "micro-trainings". As soon as they described what they were onto, I thought "This is the way training is supposed to be done, in bite sized chunks and when people need it."

It's a great way to develop these skills without going to a weekend retreat. So check them out.

Also, I'll soon be having some downloadable MP3 "training minutes" on different stress management/resilience enhancement techniques.

Also, also, if you want a copy of my CD "Beat Stress To Be At Your Best" email me at David@HumanNatureAtWork.com

E-mail this entry to a friend