The Winning Essay

“Why I Love Working In Customer Service” By Gregory Upson “Don’t take it personal!” That is one of the first things I learned getting into the customer service field. Customers call in and are very angry, upset, disappointed, confused, frustrated, and overall demanding. That would be a simple statement if that was all that came with working with customers. I look at it differently than others I suppose. When I talk with a customer that has a history of disappointment and stress on expecting a product they purchased to merely work properly, I can’t not take their feelings personally. The best part of my job is being able to sympathize with the customer and put myself in their place. Knowing what options is out there to satisfy our customers, it empowers me to go far beyond what is expected of my duties. It is an exhilarating feeling knowing that you can turn someone’s day around by just merely listening to what they are saying and not feeding into how it’s said. People communicate in several different ways; the talent of being in customer service is to know how to differentiate the pattern of speech from the customer talking to you. To some it’s a gift and to others it can be a learning experience. I love working in a field where I can hear a customer’s sigh of relief because they got someone on the other end of that call that understood how they felt and what they intended on accomplishing when they made the initial call. I love knowing that the customer understands I am here to help and not hinder them from being satisfied. There is a sense of accomplishment when the call is over and before the customer hangs up the phone, they thank me and thank me again because they felt I have taken the initiative to assist them. When the call turns from customer and agent, to two people working towards a common goal, I have done my job and then some. When I can hear the smile through the phone after walking through the story and the issues, not to mention the different levels of emotion, I count myself lucky to have experienced that. It is in its self, its own reward. So…I take it personally every day. I love the job because it doesn’t feel like work…it feels like helping people. So in some small way I don’t feel like an agent working for Electrolux Major Appliances, I feel like a super hero trying to save people from the added stresses of the world. In looking at my position that way I can truly say that I love working in customer service because service to my customers is what I do best.