On With the Show: Customer Service Lessons Learned From Broadway

Life lessons are all around you if you just look for them. There are golden nuggets of advice in everything from your favorite Shakespeare play to the television commercial that plays repeatedly. Even many cliches of wisdom have come from Broadway. So, how can these lessons be applied to the contact center?

Here are some customer service lessons to be learned from the Great White Way:

All the World’s a Stage

Shakespeare said it best:

All the world’s a stage.

Featured in a monologue in his famed play “As You Like It,” he explains that the world is a stage and life is a play. Little did Shakespeare know when he wrote that line how true it would ring centuries later in the age of the Internet where any average Joe with a webcam can find their 15 minutes of fame. Furthermore, for your business, you should keep this lesson in mind when assisting customers: act as if you were on camera for the world to see. Some business schools even offer acting lessons to teach them leadership and quick thinking skills, explains The Financial Times.

Sure, some days you have to deal with calls from one frustrated customer after another, and you may feel short-tempered. But, it’s essential to always keep your cool. You never know who could be watching or what customer could be recording the interaction. Think of each customer as your audience, and do your best to win them over with each performance.

The Show Must Go On

You may have had a bad day (or even a bad year). Your computer might be on the fritz. You may have heard the same customer complaint from the past six customers in a row. Whatever the trouble, like the classic saying goes, “the show must go on.”

You must do all that you can to give the audience what they came for. Some Broadway actors perform multiple shows each day, but that doesn’t stop them from delivering each line with complete and utter conviction. Channel that mentality when you’re feeling sluggish on the job and need a boost to do your best.

The Scottish Play

There are certain things that you just shouldn’t say. Whether saying it will make your company look bad or make a customer angry, for whatever the reason, some things should not be said to your customers. Like the cursed Shakespeare play, which is known by its euphemism, as a customer service representative you have to come up with your own euphemisms to help keep customers and upper management happy.

Oftentimes, this can be as simple as spinning the customer’s complaint into a more positive light. For instance, after the customer explains their issue, explain it back to them using more pleasant and less negative language. This can change the tone of the conversation to become less problem-focused and more solution-oriented, which will help resolve the issue faster.

Break a Leg

When it comes right down to it, a can-do attitude and a little luck can go a long way in the customer service industry. Sometimes all you can do is smile and hope that some of the luck is contagious. Although you can work hard, address complaints, consider how you would feel if the roles were reversed and treat customers with respect, sometimes all you need is a little luck.

Guest Blogger: Allison Wilkinson

Allison Wilkinson is a WAHM, an explorer, an amateur chef and a fitness buff. You can find her Instagramming photos of her (adorable) son or researching everything from the latest parenting theories to healthy hacks for desserts.