PITFALLS TO AVOID

In the previous section we discussed why a good attitude is important to customer satisfaction. We will now consider some specific mistakes you might make as a contact point representative in handling customer needs. These mistakes grow out of negative attitudes toward the customer, the customer's problem, the Navy, and their job.

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

Quite often you may jump to a conclusion because you feel you have all the facts needed to make a decision. But when you jump to a conclusion, you are actually making a decision based on incomplete information. It is like having one half of the pieces to a puzzle! When you do that, you often ignore additional information provided by the customer.

Jumping to a conclusion for routine needs might save time, but it can lead to misunderstanding. When you make assumptions, you quit listening and begin to organize yours thoughts for your response to the customer. As a result you may miss information that could be important to solving the problem. Because of your misunderstanding, you then may be unable to provide the correct service.

You have a better knowledge of your field than the customer has. Therefore, you might assume that you know the customer's need before the customer finishes expressing it.

Earlier, we discussed the customer who has only a vague idea about the nature of a problem. Conclusion jumping seldom helps this type of customer. You have to use tactful, skillful questioning to properly identify what this customer is trying to tell you.

Case Number 7 illustrated some conclusions arrived at by both the customer and the DK. In the customer's case, SA Doe was influenced by wishful thinking. His shipmate had told him he could draw special pay; the DK agreed. The DK assumed that SA Doe knew how much he could draw and that he knew the procedures for drawing the special pay.

You are responsible for giving customers all the facts to help them receive the service they need; you shouldn't assume that the customers already know that information. Likewise, customers shouldn't jump to conclusions before hearing all the facts. In this case, the customer was misled by incomplete information, and the contact point representative initially did nothing to provide the customer with the needed information.

CONTROLLING PERSONAL REACTIONS

You may have adverse reactions to the customer. You may not like the person's appearance, speech, or attitude. These reactions can hinder you in providing the quality of service that the customer needs or deserves.

Attitude is probably the most common cause of adverse reactions. Maintaining a professional manner is difficult when the customer is cynical, overbearing, or a smart aleck. However you must overcome your personal reaction to the customer's attitude and redirect

your energy to providing the needed service-isn't that what it is all about?

Customers who have an extreme dislike for the Navy often express that feeling through their attitude or approach. Their negative attitude or approach, in turn, evokes a negative reaction. The customer sometimes unconsciously displays a negative attitude or approach to produce results that will justify the poor opinion the customer has of the Navy. If the customer receives poor service because of the negative attitude or approach, then a negative opinion is justified.

You will probably remember a customer who gave you a rough time on a previous visit, and that memory may affect your response when you serve that customer

again. Your idea of helping may then be to help the so-and-so over the side. You may see that as solving your problem, but it would not contribute very much to the customer's well-being.

Not all personal reactions are violent; they may be mild reactions caused by unconcern or lack of interest. However, these reactions can be just as deadly to a customer's satisfaction. For example, everyone possesses a feeling of self-worth. If the contact point representative denies this self-worth by showing a lack of concern or interest, the customer may show the same lack of concern or interest toward the Navy and its representatives as a defense.

You should be careful not to reflect negative attitudes through your behavior toward the customer. The following are some examples of such behavior:

l You may reflect your attitude toward a specific rating by your lack of interest in a problem of a member of the rating.

l You may reflect your view of yourself as intellectually or educationally superior in the way you to talk down to the customer.

. You may reflect your aversion to touching by placing a pen on the counter rather than handing it directly to the person. (Have you ever wiped your hand on your trouser leg after shaking hands with someone?)