Last week, after sitting through one of my evening classes, I knew there was a blog post/story that was emerging. What I didn’t realize is that one of the people who would read the subsequent post was the professor from the story. This became apparent when I received an email from her the day after my post was published.
I'm so embarrassed.
Can you see me crawling under the table here?
When I opened and read her email, I was horrified and embarrassed. What would this mean for my grade? (payback can be a #$^@) No one likes to hear feedback and I did not want to come across as cruel. I really do admire this teacher and with an ESFJ personality, it is important for me to be liked in return.
Lessons in customer service pop up in the most random places, and when I find one, I share it. Some lessons occur when I am crying in front of policemen (long story, older post) and others while dressing up like my alter Madonna self. Bottom line is that until now, I have not discovered a customer service story where I felt guilty or uncomfortable.
It wasn’t as bad as I originally thought (whew)
Once I scraped myself off the floor (OK, maybe I am exaggerating a bit) I answered her email and we got into a great discussion about students (customers) who take advantage of one’s kindness by confusing it with weakness.
I considered it unbearably rude when students rose up and left mid-class. Rather than hurting her ego, she decided to focus on teaching those who appreciated her lesson. In sales and management, I know how I feel when customers walk by me as if I didn’t exist; pissed off!
a forgotten lesson…
Get up off the floor already!
She was more concerned that I was genuine and authentic in my criticism. I am unapologetic in my observations of that night. It truly was a bad experience post in the making.
Professionally, I deal with slip ups on a constant basis. No one experience is perfect. When reviewing the daily Customer Experience Survey at work, I dread the feedback. However, like my professor, I regard it as an opportunity for service improvements.
It was a hard pill to swallow, that her students found the lecture dull and unengaged. The lesson is where does she go from here? Wallow in self-pity? Quit teaching and join a commune? Not likely.
Customer experience is about learning from feedback and moving forward. It is when we believe there is nothing left to be taught that the service completely disappears.
Related articles
- Three secrets to good customer service (3dimensionallife.wordpress.com)
- a lesson in customer experience (miriamgomberg.wordpress.com)