Park Your Ego At The Door - It's Not About Being Right

Every job involves dealing with customers. It doesn't matter what business you're in: If you are in the business of selling a product or delivering a service, you are basically in the business of pleasing people.

And we all have people to please. Our customers are either internal, the people we work with and or who report directly to us, or external, the ones who end up paying for and using our products or services.

The one thing you won't hear me say in any of my customer service workshops is that the customer is always right. I don't believe it for a second and neither do you! I know from past experience that customers lie, cheat, tell half-truths and can be downright rude and difficult to deal with. I also know for certain that you must never lose sight of the fact that they ARE the customer. A business won't survive without customers. To ignore them, talk down to them, humiliate or embarrass them would be counter-productive to what you are trying to achieve. You and I know that we must do all we can, within reason, to keep our customers coming back. If our customers' needs aren't being satisfied, they will most certainly take their business elsewhere.

Then why is it most companies treat their internal customers differently from their external customers? If we acknowledge the fact that we need our customers a whole lot more than they need us (that's assuming they could get their needs satisfied by someone else), then why don't companies do all they can, within reason, to keep their internal customers satisfied, too?

Aren't we, for the most part, a reflection of the environment around us? If we feel good about our work environment and feel that we are a valued member of the team, wouldn't that positively influence how we treat our customers?

I often remind managers in my leadership workshops that they aren't the most important people in their organizations. The most important people are those who interact directly with the end-users. Your overall success as a company is based upon how well your staff members perform their roles in providing customer service. Managers need to realize that unless their internal customers buy into what it is their company is trying to achieve, they will never be able to accomplish what it is they are setting out to do.

Managing people is not about being right. If you're bent on proving you're right and they're wrong, then you're in the wrong business. I'll say it again: It's not about being right. It's about doing whatever it takes to accomplish what it is you need to accomplish to be successful. You and I both know that there are 1,000 different ways to accomplish the same goal. Does it really have to all be your way? Try not to get so caught up in the process. The more you allow your internal customers to be involved in putting the plan together, the more likely it is they will be interested in the results. Remember to park your ego at the door because being right is not as important as doing all you can to get the end result. And if that means letting them win once in awhile, so be it.

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