It’s Monday morning and you hate your job. Your weekend was average. You tried to disconnect from your "prison" as much as you could, but the thoughts of your job still crept into your brain at every turn. Saturday night you realized Sunday was near. Sunday night you zoned out in front of your television watching the Daily Ten on the E channel where you caught up on who is fat, who is on drugs, who is "hooking up", and who is breaking up; by the last commercial you realize you have to work tomorrow. Tomorrow is now. Monday morning your alarm goes off for the fourth time of hitting the snooze and you roll out of bed. How does your face and body look at this time? Come on, I know you’ve felt like this at least once in your life. Is your face tense and frowning? Are your shoulders slumped? Do you move slowly and languidly as you approach the shower? I even bet your breathing is shallow and soft.
Erase that feeling of depression for now and think about another scenario. It’s Monday morning and your house phone rings. "That’s weird" you say. "I never get phone calls at this time of the morning." The person on the other line says, "This is KWXZ radio and we are calling to inform you that you have won an all expense paid trip to Hawaii!" You scream, you jump up and down, your smiling uncontrollably, and your face loosens up. You look like one of those crazy contestants that you use to make fun of on the Price is Right game show after they beat out the other screaming contestants for the Grand Prize. Above are clear examples of your physiology.
Physiology is the movement of your body. The movement of your body affects your moods and the moods of others. Physiology is the expressions of your face, the movement of your body, the position of your eyes, posture and breathing. What most of us don’t realize is that we can change our emotions and energy by the way we move. What if in the morning after waking up, you actually stood up straight, take in a few deep breaths and smiled. Do something crazy. Pound your chest, and shout a chant; "It’s a great day!" "It’s a great day!" You are setting yourself up to have a great day. You are forcing your body and brain to move into the position of being happy before you even start the day. That is why some form of exercise or meditation is a great way to start any day because you are moving and breathing in a positive way and your emotions get a jolting charge.
How does this relate to customer service? Your positive or negative emotions affect everyone around you. That is why in the customer service industry we are told to smile, even when we answer the phone. The smiling actually sparks a positive emotion to the customer in front of you. It is important while speaking to the guest to maintain an upright posture. If you are slouching or bent over the counter, you are showing the customer that you don’t even have enough energy to stand up straight and they will subconsciously feel their energy levels drain. When I observed the customer service training at the MGM Grand Hotel And Casino in Las Vegas, I witnessed how important the pre-shift meeting was for their employees. Bernie Vasquez, the Director of Customer Excellence of the MGM described the pre-shift meeting as a way to set the tone for the day. It’s the opportunity to set the contagious mood of positive energy.
Eye contact is the key to any customer service engagement. Looking someone in the eyes while you are talking is a not only a sign of respect but it shows you are paying attention and willing to help them. This means that you are not shuffling papers, browsing your web pages or checking out the good looking patrons that are walking in behind your customers. Eye contact is difficult for some people. There are subconscious self esteem issues that causes some people to not be able to look someone in the eyes for a fixed period of time. One of the most challenging exercises I did in a Landmark Forum seminar was to stand in front of another stranger and stare into their eyes without saying a word. You find yourself laughing, looking at a fixed object, fidgeting and even sweating. A few participants even cried, because you can’t shield yourself from someone’s staring eyes. This exercise really gives you a glimpse into your non-verbal communication and your self esteem issues that you were not aware of. Looking your customer in the eyes shows that you are in control and actively listening.
The tone and speed of your speaking sets the tone of your interaction as well. Did you ever have a teacher that spoke in a monotone voice? You spend part of the class making fun of the voice and the other part of the class drifting off into another world. You do everything but pay attention. A captivating speaker speaks louder than normal but not too loud, also they use inflection and emphasis. A good speaker uses good pronunciation for clear understanding. You emphasize certain emotion based words like wonderful view, beautiful weather, or exquisite cuisine. A good customer service speaker nods "yes" while speaking and eventually the customer will nod and get in the "yes" mode themselves.
There is one final important key to your physiology and how it affects the emotions of your customers. This final key is what author and speaker, Tony Robbins refers to as "mirror and matching". Did you know that if you mirror the movements and speech patterns of another person, they will like you and not know why? That does not mean that you are a mimic. You look for subtleties in the way that they speak. Do they speak fast or slow? How are they holding their body? How do they move? I remember observing a timeshare salesperson onetime who would take on the accents of the people in front of her, which I think is taking it too far. If someone catches on that you are mirroring them, then they will be annoyed of course. The key is that you follow "some" of their patterns and that is how you build rapport with them. Rapport building is the key to all good relationships because you are discovering a common bond between you.
You can move yourself into a good mood. You can talk yourself into a good mood and your good mood will send an electrical charge to the customers in front of you. You can set the tone and control interaction by keeping yourself charged. It’s not always easy because one negative encounter can zap your power. You must shake it off and say "next", and pump your emotions up again by moving into it. My challenge to you is that you try it for a few days. When you feel that you are slouching, jolt your body upright. When your face feels tight, loosen up and put a big smile on your face. Use your positive movements with everyone you come into contact with and see if you inadvertently change the emotions of the room or the customer you serve. Don’t get discouraged when it doesn’t always work. Be committed to conducting yourself in this way at all times and the people will be attracted to your energy. Now try it!