Customer Perception

In customer service, there are seven deadly statements.

1. "I'm having a terrible day."
2. "We're short on staff today."
3. "I only work here part time."
4. "This job is really hard."
5. "That last customer was really a pain."
6. "This is the third time this week that we've had system problems."
7. "My co-worker messed up."

Reasons being a bad day is never a good excuse to make a customer's day as bad, short-staffed is also not an excuse for not meeting customers' needs, every customer expects excellent service regardless you are a full-time staff or not, one should not make serving customers seem as a burden to themselves, one should gain customers' trust and not lose them, every service personnel should have control over their own attitude and quality of service given regardless of unforeseen circumstances like technical problems, and that it is your job to make it right even if your co-worker has messed it up as customers do not get personal; they see the organisation as a whole.

The link to customer perception is that:

A good customer perception is very valuable. As a customer myself, I like to frequent shops and restaurants for good quality service. At times, I may even find myself purchasing products which I do not really fancy, all because of the good shopping experience the shopowner is capable to give me. In a nutshell, good customer perception drives good sales and ensures return customers.

I am currently taking a Service Methodology Skills module in school. During operation, I get to work at school restaurants and serve real dining customers. And I must say the seven deadly statements are very deadly indeed. Take "This job is really hard." for example... By finding the job hard, I lose confidence in doing my given tasks well as I have already believed that I am incapable of doing them even before I try. Hence, this affects my performance adversely. With this kind of negative mindset, I would not look forward to serving and thus landing myself in a bad mood which will in turn lead to poor service and attitude.

After adjusting my mindset, I find doing my given tasks a lot easier as I gradually find servicing very much enjoyable. Good mood leads to good attitude, and good attitude leads to good service. Adding on, good service, leads to goods sales, and good sales lead to good mood. And it all comes back, it is a cycle. A good start will eventually lead to a good ending if one believes in good customer service.

Corporate Politics

In class, we are taught on how to survive office politics.

There is a need to do so as, very sad to say, the corporate world is not an ideal world. In this imperfect corporate world, there are scarcity of resources, competitive work environments, subjective performance standard, unclear job definitions, imitating power holders, win-lose organisational philosophy, craving for power, machiavellian tendencies of people, belief in external forces, hunger for acceptance, self-interest, and desire to goof off. You will put yourself at an advantage if you know how use office politics positively and will more likely to succeed than others in your career.

Ways to survive the corporate politics include:

• Recognising power and the extent
• Defending against unfair politics
• Impressing higher up and others
• Knowing how to deal with your boss, co-workers, and the lower ranks

More detailed strategies:

• Don't take sides
• Don't get personal
• Make optimum use of contacts
• Volunteer for projects, task forces and assignments
• Watch out for backstabbing colleagues
• Expose dirty tricks
• Circulate your ideas to prevent "theft"

Learn How to Survive Office Politics

Office politics are like being betrayed by your younger brother when he told your parents that he saw you sneak out of the house at wee hours, or even like how your new classmate went to your best friend and told her that you called her a slut behind her back, just ten times more complicated. I came up with these analogies for a reason.

At home, you are being protected by the family bond. No matter what happens, your kins are kins and this fact remains unchanged. In school, you are protected by the teachers and school rules, just do what is right, get your graduation certificate and you have no loss. However, in the corporate world you must learn how to play. Being unprotected, one failed tactic and you may be out of the game, for good and for ever.

Everywhere we go, there are people out there who are out to hurt you for their own benefits. Just how many selfless angels can we meet in life? Very few, I would say. Most people are selfish. Hence, we must learn how to protect and defend ourselves in the corporate world other than doing our job scopes well in order to survive long and well in our companies. Always remember that a smart man is one with both IQ and EQ.

Being a student, the closest experience to office politics that I have had so far are school projects. Certain strategies that I would always apply are:

1. Complete all my given assignments so I would not be marked down for peer evaluation
2. Help fellow project mates if I am able to and getting into your good books at the same time
3. Always write down my ideas and contributions so that others cannot claim credit
4. Do not take sides when I see my project mates badmouthing each other

Even though it is just school work that I am currently dealing with, I can already see the likes of office politics in the different project groups that I have been in. I have kept myself in a safe zone so far, knowing what strategies to apply and what actions to avoid when dealing with "class politics".

Back in secondary school when there were not much group projects to do and not much tasks to delegate to the few projects that we had, I did not know that friends could turn into nasty people when put into a different situation. Friendships are hard to manage when projects start coming in. You get angry at your best friend for being lazy... You blame your leader for not being understanding with slow submissions of your small individual assignments... The likes of the office politics I experience in school make me realise that by knowing what to do can earn me projectmates-turned-friends, and by not knowing how to deal the politics, can cause me to lose friends-turned-foes.

Building A Professional Presence

Building a professional presence can come in many ways. For example, "Meeting and Greeting", "Small Talk" and "Body Language".

Things to take note of:

• Mention the name of the person of authority or importance first
• Rise, if you are sitting down
• Establish eye contact
• Shake hands
• Introduce a senior to a junior/a man to a lady when they are of equal status
• Never introduce yourself with title
• Talk about safe topics (eg. weather, travel, sports, arts)
• Be aware of bad mouth odour
• Practise good body language

According to Tuxedo.sg, a poor introduction is the number one mistake to avoid in the business world. I have to agree, as first impressions can decide if you should fail or succeed, and first impressoins will stay for a very long time.

Business Etiquette Mistake #1: A Poor Introduction: A handshake is the first impression another person gets of you in the business world. Fumbling here might mean that you're judged to be an undesirable candidate for a job, partner for a business venture, or employer for a promotion. Remember, in the business world, every time you see a career acquaintance both inside and outside of the office, you'll be shaking hands, meaning that your whole business life will be filled with mini introductions. A firm handshake is first and foremost important. If you have a weak handshake, you may come off as a weak businessperson. In addition, stand up to shake someone's hand if you have been sitting and make eye contact. When you are meeting someone for the first time, it is also proper etiquette to repeat his or her name, which will help you remember the name for later as well. Forgetting someone's name is a sure way to make a bad impression!

The only reason why I've mentioned above about first impressions can decide if a person should fail or succed is simply because that it is highly competitve in the industry. You may one out of thirty candidates going for a particular interview. Once you make a mistake, in perhaps giving a weak handshake, you may have already lost the battle to twenty others who know how to give good and firm handshakes. It does not matter if you are highly capable when it comes to job scopes of what are expected of the position you are applying, as you have no chance to prove your worth as an employee once you fail the interview by setting a bad first impression.

Just last Friday, I went for a job interview as I need to apply for an intern position for my 3.2 semester. The day before, not only did I read up on the company's profile, I also familarised myself with business etiquette's "Dos" and "Don'ts" as I wanted to set a professional image of myself for my potential employer. It was a smart move, as I felt prepared and confident knowing what to do and what not to do during the interview. I was not lost; I could give a firm handshake, appear confident with the right eye contact, facial expressions and sitting posture, and know what to say for small talks as my potential employers were very friendly people.

I thought my body language that day was rather good for a girl who goes around slouching on all other days. I sat up straight, maintained good eye contacts and just the right amount of smiles, and kept my elbows and hands off the table.

As it was my first interview, which also meant my first-time-practice of the business etiquettes, I did not expect that just these etiquettes alone could score me the intern position when the company was only hiring one intern. I have not given them an answer though. However, I have not belittled the power of business etiquette practice eversince then. The result of the interview has made a huge impact on me on how you can actually get yourself a job as long as pay attention to follow up on the simple rules of business etiquette.

I feel that business etiquettes are knowledge which all business students should cultivate into their heads. Put the internship aside, there will come a day which I will need to enter the working society. And I cannot stress on the utility of knowing how to meet and greet as you will need the knowledge when you meet your interviewer, when you meet your boss, when you meet your clients, when you meet your potential business partners... All these will just happen on a day-to-day basis. Hence, by knowing how to meet and greet, it ensures me a good start in my future career.

I shall end this entry off with a lighthearted tutorial on handshaking.