The employee at the financial services firm was working with a new client on a relatively simple loan. The documentation was about as clear as it could get to the employee, but the customer had lots of questions. The employee calmly, clearly, and specifically answered each question. The meeting took a little while longer than normal, but all the paperwork was completed right the first time, and the customer walked away feeling comfortable with what they did and confident in the company.
The nurse dispenses meds to many patients every day, and she always puts the pills in a little cup for the patients to take; but one patient is much more receptive to taking the meds if they’re put in a spoon. So, the nurse makes sure that, for that one patient, there’s a spoon available. It takes a few extra seconds to get the spoon, but the patient is less hesitant to take the medication, and the encounter is much more pleasant.
The high school central office staff person is answering call after call. The questions are usually pretty simple, or she quickly identifies where to route the call. Despite the many calls she gets, with each one, she slowly and pleasantly introduces herself, notes the area she’s located, and makes a warm greeting to the caller.
Each employee is being patient. Each has a task to do, and they could spend less time doing it in the moment, but the experience would not be as good from the customer’s perspective. The perception of the employee would not be as positive. And the total time required to handle those encounters, could easily be longer if the employee was not so patient.
For example, maybe the financial services person would need a second meeting because the customer didn’t feel comfortable with how the Q&A was going. Maybe the nurse would have a longer and more challenging conversation with the patient, trying to get her to take the meds out of a cup. Maybe that caller into the central office gets transferred incorrectly, and it wastes a co-worker’s time because the central office staff person was trying to move the call along too quickly.
Rarely does patience hurt the customer experience in the short-term, and it will infrequently take up excessive company resources in the long-term.
Convey a little extra patience to create a little more positivity.
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