9 What Customer Service? An intelligent and caring woman named Pam hustled to her bank to deposit her paycheck thinking that she'd beat the noontime rush. Standing in line at the bank, Pam waited quite a while for a teller who finally shouted, "Next!" with all the empathy of a prison guard. She puzzled over the teller's behavior. Later that day, as Pam waited at the airport for a flight, a monotone voice over the intercom announced that her plane was delayed... again. When she finally boarded, she found the plane crowded with passengers who'd left their manners in the terminal. Worse, she couldn't find room in the overhead bin for her bag. A preoccupied flight attendant wasn't much help. "Try the back of the plane," he barked. Why couldn't the crew member apologize for the delay, Pam wondered, or at least help her store her belongings? By the time Pam arrived at her hotel, it was late. When she checked in, she asked for an important package that she'd forwarded, but it was nowhere to be found. The exhausted clerk told her she'd have to wait until morning, because "no one knows anything on the night shift." When Pam objected, the clerk responded, "I don't know anything, lady! Come back in the morning!" At this point, it was clear that the bag of stale pretzels she'd received on the plane wouldn't sustain her until morning. So Pam dialed room service, but no one answered the phone. She found a nearby restaurant and wearily dropped into the first booth. The waitress took her order and delivered it. The service was... mechanical, she thought, just average. It wasn't horrible like her earlier encounters at the bank, airline, and hotel, but it wasn't good, either. Pam walked back to her hotel, becoming more and more distressed about the day's events. She suddenly realized that her difficult day with customer service people really wasn't that remarkable. She received this level of service on most trips. So many people lack that "something extra" when serving customers, she thought. It seems that customers like me have become so used to poor service, we've become indifferent. Our expectations are really low. Why can't service be better? Can you relate to Pam's experience? Why do many people in service positions seem uncaring and display poor attitudes? Why don't they treat customers with more courtesy, respect, and dignity? Excellent customer service seems to be the exception these days. Why do we allow this? We have many choices for most things we buy. Are you tired of poor service? How do you feel as a customer in those situations? Why is there a lack of exceptional customer service in so many businesses? All jobs require customer service. How well do you provide service to others? You can provide SuperSTAR Customer Service and deliver Moments of Magic to the customers you have one at a time. That's what this book is all about. You'll learn about and work with the strategies of the very best in customer service. These SuperSTARs surpass the norm and give extraordinary customer service on a consistent basis. You can, too! We wish you and your customers the best of success. 1: The Customer Service Challenge!