Customer Service Articles:

'DIFFERENT FREQUENCIES'

OPPOSITES ATTRACT

Have you ever known a couple that are complete opposites? They are together, but they see things completely different almost at every turn. Outsiders wonder how two people that are see the world so differently can be together. Some of these relationships where opposites attract, thrive while others crash and burn. In a relationship where two people look at the same things, but see them very differently, are like…being on two different frequencies.

THE TWO FREQUENCIES IN OUR ORGANIZATION

You can make similar relationship comparisons at our organization. Would you agree that our team members and management can often see the same situations differently? As we try to deliver a higher level of customer service, we experience this issue of being on different frequencies.

Here are the two frequencies that impact our relationships and our customer service.

FREQUENCY ONE: OUTCOMES

Leadership has expectations for customer facing team members to deliver a higher-level service. You could say that our leaders are on the frequency of outcomes…the result of what should come of our service.  Those that are tuned in to this frequency are often frustrated that customer-facing team members don’t seem to care about the complaints and the other headaches (outcomes) that are a result of a lack of a great service experience.

FREQUENCY TWO: INTENTION

Then we have customer-facing team members that are trying to deliver better service, and their frequency is dialed in to intention…their focus is on that they are trying. Those that live on this frequency feel unappreciated and can resort to thinking, ‘the leadership doesn’t appreciate all I do…I try hard every day and it’s not enough!’

TWO FREQUENCIES…ONE MISSION

You can see that if we all just stay tuned-in to our frequencies (perspective) everyone loses, and neither group gets what they need and want. It also ultimately has an impact on those that we serve…our customers. The experiences that our customers deserve is almost impossible with both frequencies tuning out the other. Our customer deserves more. Our team, just like the couples that see things completely different from each other, need a few things to provide a better relationship for all:

1. Be clear on which frequency that you occupy the most (outcomes or Intention)
2. Rather than trying to get on the same frequency, tune-in to the opposite frequency to understand their challenges
3. Seek to appreciate, recognize, and celebrate both frequencies, not just yours
4. Understand the reality that your perspective (frequency) impacts your perception.

As a result of the relationship, or union, between our leadership and customer-facing team members, we have produced kids together…our customers. Like any relationship, we can learn to thrive with our different perspectives or live miserably together. But remember, whether we are thriving or miserable, it’s the kids (customers) that are impacted the most.

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