Dry, Dead Eyes? Work on Your Customer Service Skills

I want to start off by telling you a little story. I went in to my local coffee shop the other day as I do most every day before work. I have to get a cup of coffee before I start the day, as most of you probably do as well.

Anyway, I waited in line for a little while because there were so many people looking to get coffee but when I finally got to the counter I was struck by how much the sales clerk looked like one of the zombie minded customers. He stared at me with the dead pan uninterested look that just scream: "What do you want?" I was so ordered my coffee and left but I felt chilled to the bone the rest of the day. To be honest, I don’t think I’ll be going back there for my morning cup o’ joe.

No one wants to be served by a zombie in the morning, or really any time of the day. In order to provide the best customer service to your customers you should realize this and work on making sure that you and all of your employees are constantly jovial, friendly, and chipper when dealing with customers. It doesn’t matter if you actually are these things, it just matters that the customer perceives that you are. Trust me; it will go a long way in building a trusted reputation that will bring in those sought after returning customers.

There are a few simple things you can do to avoid looking like you could care less about what the customer has to say to you and most of them have to do with your body language and facial contortion. Your body language says a lot about you when you’re communicating to someone. No matter what the words are that are coming out of your mouth, if you have poor body language you can still give the "I don’t give a shit" impression and put people off.

Smile with your eyes. Don’t stare coldly or blankly into the void of the customer’s face. Don’t give them those dry dead eyes. Make sure that you are raise your eyebrows slightly and open your eyes wide and clear. You want them to be able to see that you are paying attention to them and will do your best to help them in anyway you can. It’s the best way to ensure that you’re performing the proper customer service skills.

Customer Service Skills Guide
Check out this great article about how proper body language can really improve your customer service skills and improve your business' reputation.