You know your work processes and your policies. You know what should
happen and you may know what did happen. Unfortunately, you may not
know what your customer has already been told.
I have an ongoing issue with a company. I am hearing from several
people who are very certain of what should happen and what is going to
happen next. However, although the issue remains the same, I have three
people saying very different things about how such an issue is supposed
to be handled and what is supposed to happen next.
They are all very certain! But as all three are telling me different things,
they cannot all be right.
It would be amusing to watch and hear if it wasn’t so time-consuming.
Unfortunately for the customer, when staff members are so certain about
things, it makes subsequent conversations quite difficult. The customer
now must assimilate new information that is contradictory to the
information already received in past conversations. This is difficult for any
customer to do in real time, and inevitably the customer will question the
new information, as they already have previous information that was
conveyed with certainty. Asking a question of a staff member who is
certain of their ground can be problematic. From the staff member’s point
of view, they can ‘hear’ their competence and experience being
questioned and may double down on the information they are providing:
“As I have said already…”
“What I am saying is…”
“You need to…”
Being questioned when we are certain of our ground can feel like a
challenge. If we are not careful, we can raise our voice a little (or a lot),
become forceful, and be more directive in our language (“You need to…”).
Meanwhile, the customer is just trying to get to grips with conflicting
information they have received from different staff members.
This is where conflict can easily grow without anyone intending it to.
Certainty feels right, but hearing different staff members being ‘certain’
without their information being in alignment can be confusing and
stressful for the customer. It also damages trust: if different people give
different answers, the customer starts to wonder what else the
organisation might be getting wrong. Even if the next staff member finally
gives the correct information, it may not fully land because the customer’s
confidence has already taken a hit.
Please remember that, when managing customer interactions, you may
not be the first person in your organisation the customer has spoken to.
They may be having difficulty assimilating the information they previously
received with the information you are now giving them. Find out what
they already know so you can gauge the extent of the ‘re-education’
process you need to undertake. Take time to understand the customer.
Give the customer time to understand any new information they are
getting, and be careful about putting any ‘energy’ behind your words and
actions simply because you ‘know’ you are right.
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