Recently I have started noticing the first 2-3 words that are said by people. I have realized that those make a big difference in the whole conversation.
These first few words said speak volumes about the intent of the person. I regularly deal with customer support staff, whether it is for my phone connections problems or my restaurant staff, or staff of other places I am involved in.
Many of them I noticed start with ‘But I did this’ or ‘The rules or Policy is this’. These are people who don’t / can’t use their creative capability to solve real problems. They are either constrained by the system or simply not trained to solve problems or unwilling to be helpful.
On the other hand, I noticed that a few of them start with ‘No Problem’ when confronted with a request or a problem. Their whole mindset is I will find a way. They work with the customer to create ways to solve the problem. They don’t start with the assumption that the other person is unreasonable. They start with ‘service’ approach.
If you are in service business, it may be a good thing to notice, what your/ your teams first few words are. Hopefully many a times they are – ‘No Problem’.
Well said. A person with “No Problem – I will do it” attitude is great to work with. However complex the issue/task may be, to start with such words solves half the problem 🙂