CHAPTER 4 THE TEAM APPROACH

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to do the following: l Discuss the team approach when handling customer needs. l Identify effective ways of improving the team's ability to provide quality

service. l Discuss training techniques when relating to customer service. l Discuss and take personal inventory of the service you receive as a customer.

In the previous chapter, the emphasis was on how YOU should perform at the contact point to meet the customers' needs. However, most contact points consist of more than one person. Together these people work together as members of a team to perform the functions of the contact point. In this chapter, we will concentrate on how the members of the contact point team work together to meet the customers' needs.

ACHIEVING TEAMWORK

Each member of a football team is an individual. Yet, if each member functions as an individual on the field, the results are easily predictable. Eleven quarterbacks would have a difficult time advancing the ball. Even one or two members acting individually would have a disruptive effect on the team's performance. Whining requires teamwork

The team is not an entity in itself; it is a group of individuals. You may be a member of that group as a striker, a junior petty officer, a leading petty officer, or a supervisor. Being a member of a team does not deny you the chance to perform as an individual. Rather, it allows you to cooperate and act together with other team members toward a common goal. Thus, a team consists of individual members with varying personal traits-some positive, some negative. To achieve teamwork, you must emphasize the positive traits.

EMPHASIZING POSITIVE TRAITS

Most team members have some undesirable traits, which they may or may not be aware of. No one would argue the value to both the person and the team of having

undesirable traits identified and corrected. However, emphasizing a person's undesirable traits usually antagonizes the person and accomplishes little. Rather, by emphasizing the person's desirable traits, you may find that the undesirable traits begin to disappear. Most people have a strong desire to be accepted by their peers, and they will adopt the behavior that leads to that acceptance.

PROVIDING ENCOURAGEMENT

Yea-a-a-a team! The intent of a cheerleader's yell is to infuse spectators with enthusiasm that will give the team members the additional push they need to win. This attitude of encouragement is another important aspect of teamwork. Team members who encourage each other work well together.

PROVIDING ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE

Providing advice and assistance is an important aspect of teamwork. You might be more proficient in a specific area of your rating because you have had more experience than other team members. When that is the case, offer to provide advice and assistance to those who need it.

Remember, you are not playing a game in which you win or lose-you are providing service. If you see a team member about to make a mistake that could have adverse results for the customer, act to correct it. However, make sure your action is tactful. The scenario might go like this: "John, I may be able to save you some time. This situation is similar to the one that I just experienced a few days ago, and we found that by. . ." Thus, you have acted tactfully to correct the problem by

sharing your experience, but you have not made your teammate feel inferior.

PROVIDING A POSITIVE INFLUENCE

Each individual exerts some influence on all other members of the team. For example, the member who always has a "Good morning" for everyone influences the team to have a positive attitude. However, the member who always gripes and complains has the opposite effect.

Each member not only influences the mood of the team, but also its work habits. Work habits, in turn, influence the team's effectiveness in providing service to the customer. The first of the following examples shows how a negative influence can affect teamwork; the second example shows how it can affect customer service:

. A new member reports for duty at your contact point, and you are the first person the member meets. After introductions, you feel it is your duty to give the new member some "survival training." You begin by saying, "Senior Petty Officer Door is hard to work for, especially when she has it in for you. PO Brush won't bother you; he's so lazy it's an effort for him just to breathe. SN Frost is an eager beaver, but he is handy to have around-you can con him into almost anything." Giving these opinions places an unfair burden on the new member. Regardless of whether these statements were truth or opinion, they will have influenced the new member's attitude toward the team. . You are standing at the counter when a customer

walks in, and you ask, "May I help you?" The customer then presents a problem that involves several actions. Since you are not sure how to proceed, you ask a coworker. The coworker only gives you a negative shake of the head and advice to "ask the chief." That doesn't help much, so you turn back to the customer, muttering to yourself, "The last time I asked the chief for help, he told me to look it up myself-he didn't have time." Then to the customer, you say, "Why don't you tell the chief your problem; he'll be able to take care of it, and he won't get mad at you." You have placed the customer in an uncomfortable position. Your attitude and negative remarks have influenced the customer to feel reluctant to talk with the chief. If the customer chooses not to talk with the chief, the customer will not receive the needed service.